Ms Lisa Telford holds a Bachelor of Social Science Honours degree and a Master of Public Health degree both from the University of Cape Town. Lisa first joined the unit as a part-time research assistant and NRF intern in February 2017. After completing her NRF internship in April 2018, she joined the team in a full-time capacity. Her primary role within the unit involves maintaining the CHDRU's website and contributing to the upkeep of regulatory documentation on a number of studies. Lisa jointly holds a Technical Officer position at Reach, a Swiss-based organisation providing technical support and policy translation for the prevention and control of Rheumatic Fever (RF) and Rheumatic Heart Disease (RHD) worldwide. Here her work centres around supporting the efforts of the WHO regional office for the Eastern Mediterranean to eliminate RF/RHD in countries.

Ms Jessica Abrams joined the team in April 2017 while completing her Masters in Public Health in Epidemiology through the University of Cape Town. Her skills in the areas of systematic review, implementation science, and collaboration provide valuable contribution to various projects and activities at the CHDRU. Jessica also holds a Technical Officer position with Reach, a non-governmental organisation which provides technical support and policy translation to amplify Rheumatic Heart Disease control efforts locally, regionally and globally. From grant-writing to project managing international health worker education programmes, Jessica’s experience spans academia and technical support.