Working at the cutting edge of tb and HIV clinical research Professor Vinodh Aroon Edward (44) has certainly travelled far from being a petrol attendant at his father’s Newlands West garage as a teenager to becoming an internationally-respected tuberculosis (TB) and HIV clinical researcher.
A
s the Regional Chief Operating Officer (COO) for Research at The Aurum Institute NPC, Edward is responsible for the Clinical and Implementation Research divisions, which have more than 300 permanent staff, over 50 active research grants and an annual operating budget exceeding $30 million. He facilitates the collaboration of a cross-disciplinary group of TB and HIV experts with complementary interests and skills to conduct transformative and translational TB and HIV research. He is also the founder and Chief Executive Officer of Global Health Innovations (GHI), which is part of the Aurum group of companies.The Aurum Institute NPC is one of Africa’s largest public benefit organisations working in TB and HIV with a presence in more than 10 countries. Edward is currently the Aurum Site Principal Investigator for the International AIDS Vaccine Initiative (IAVI) ADVANCE grant and the sub-Saharan African Network for TB/HIV Research Excellence (SANTHE) grant. He is also a co-investigator on a number of clinical trials. Edward’s typical day involves multiple meetings to discuss study progress, finance updates, and operational and human resource matters.“We have partners all over the world, so the various time zones extend the work day far beyond eight hours.” He works on strategic and business continuity aspects and is also a mentor to junior researchers. He is very involved in infrastructure development and has designed and overseen the building of clinical research centres and laboratories over the years. Edward is mentored by Professor Gavin Churchyard, founder and CEO of The Aurum Institute NPC, specialist physician and global TB expert. Being appointed as the Regional COO for Research is one of Edward’s career highlights. Another highly gratifying moment was being appointed as an adjunct assistant professor at Yale University in the USA in 2018, which is consistently ranked among the top 20 universities in the world. Lastly, Edward is particularly proud of the critical role that GHI played in supporting the KwaZulu-Natal Department of Health with COVID-19 testing last year.
vinodh Edward DUT BIOTECHNOLOGY GRADUATE (DTECH) DUTConnect // 30
