Associate Professor Andrew Medina-Marino joins CIDRI-Africa as a Contributing Investigator
Andrew recently joined the CIDRI-Africa team as a Contributing Investigator; he is an Honorary Associate Professor in the Division of Infectious Diseases and HIV Medicine, Department of Medicine, Faculty of Health Sciences at the University of Cape Town. He is also a Chief Researcher in the Division of Molecular Biology and Human Genetics at Stellenbosch University and an Associate Professor at the University of Pennsylvania, where he leads research focused on tuberculosis (TB), HIV, sexually transmitted infections (STIs), implementation science, and health equity in southern Africa.
His research focusses on the development and evaluation of community-based and in-home approaches to TB diagnosis. His studies have demonstrated the feasibility and acceptability of bringing molecular diagnostic technologies directly to households, helping to identify people with TB earlier and reducing barriers to accessing care. More recently, his work has explored innovative tongue-swab based testing strategies with the potential to transform community TB screening programmes.
Over the past decade, Andrew has established an internationally recognised research programme aimed at improving infectious disease prevention, diagnosis, and care in high-burden settings. His work has focused particularly on strengthening TB case finding and retention in care, expanding access to HIV prevention services, and understanding how social determinants such as gender, stigma, poverty, and mental health influence health outcomes.
Andrew currently leads and collaborates on several large international research projects funded by organisations including the U.S. National Institutes of Health, the Gates Foundation, and FIND. He is also deeply committed to developing the next generation of African researchers. As Director of the NIH-funded Khulani Siphile Siphuhle Training Program (KiSS-TP), he supports doctoral training and research capacity development among scholars from historically disadvantaged institutions in the Eastern Cape. Through this programme and his extensive mentoring activities, he has supported numerous students, postdoctoral fellows, and early-career investigators to pursue impactful careers in public health and biomedical research.
Andrew's academic training spans molecular biology, epidemiology, and public health. He holds a BA from Swarthmore College and an MA and PhD in Molecular Biology from the California Institute of Technology. Following his doctoral studies, he completed the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's Epidemic Intelligence Service programme, receiving advanced training in field epidemiology and outbreak investigations. His career has included leadership roles with the CDC, Médecins Sans Frontières during the West African Ebola epidemic, the Foundation for Professional Development, the Desmond Tutu Health Foundation and the Rural Health Advocacy Project.