Limakatso Lebina
Associate Professor Limakatso Lebina holds a medical degree (MBChB) from the University of Cape Town (UCT) as well as a masters in public health from the University of Liverpool and a PhD in Public Health from UCT. She has managed multiple clinical trials and implementation science research studies on HIV, TB and Covid-19 prevention and treatment. Limakatso has conducted clinical trials on TB preventative therapy, new TB drug regimens, vaccines for Covid-19 prevention and HIV pre-exposure prophylaxis in adolescents. She was an investigator of a cohort study that assessed influenza, RSV and Covid-19 community burden and transmission dynamics in South Africa.
Some of her research work includes the targeted universal testing for TB (TUTT) in high-risk clinic attendees, which was a study that was conducted in three provinces of South Africa. The TUTT study demonstrated that the reliance on symptoms is inadequate to identify some TB patients. These data were used to revise the TB screening guidelines in South Africa. Her work on an HIV self-testing demonstration project influenced the South African national guidelines on HIV self-screening. She has also implemented several TB contact tracing studies in Gauteng, Limpopo, Free State and North-West provinces. Limakatso provided epidemiological data on TB, silicosis and HIV among miners and ex-miners to support the selection and design of occupational health services for mineworkers in 10 SADC countries as part of the TIMS (TB in the mining sector in Southern Africa) project.
Limakatso also has a passion for public health policy development and is a member of the South African TB Think Tank Executive Committee and leads the ‘Finding the Missing TB Patients’ task team. The TB Think Tank was established to leverage on the country’s TB expertise for the purpose of advising the national Department of Health on TB control policy and programmes. In addition, Limakatso is also a member of the BRICS TB Research Network, which aims to promote collaborative scientific research for the development of innovative diagnostics, vaccines and treatment regimens for TB in the BRICS countries. She was also the lead writer for the South African HIV, TB and STIs National Strategic Plan 2023-2028.
Get in touch with Limakatso via limakatso.lebina@ahri.org
Click here for a full list of publications
Research at AHRI
The clinicals trials unit (CTU) at AHRI aims to investigate the effectiveness of new experimental health products that are relevant and essential for the communities we serve. The AHRI CTU was established in 2021, and will leverage on the extensive implementation, clinical and population research to further enhance research capacity at the institution. The newly built and equipped CTU is located at the Somkhele Research Campus. The focus of the AHRI CTU will be on investigating diseases that are major public health problems in the surrounding communities, such as HIV, TB and Covid-19, as well as non-communicable diseases.
Selected Recent Publications
Machowski EE, Letutu M, Lebina L, Waja Z, Msandiwa R, Milovanovic M, Gordhan BG, Otwombe K, Friedrich SO, Chaisson R, Diacon AH, Kana B, Martinson N (2021). Comparing rates of mycobacterial clearance in sputum smear-negative and smear-positive adults living with HIV. BMC Infectious Diseases, vol. 21, no. 1, Dec. 2021, p. 466. DOI.org (Crossref).
Cohen, Cheryl, et al. Asymptomatic Transmission and High Community Burden of Seasonal Influenza in an Urban and a Rural Community in South Africa, 2017–18 (PHIRST): A Population Cohort Study. The Lancet Global Health, vol. 9, no. 6, June 2021, pp. e863–74. DOI.org (Crossref).
Nash S, Dietrich J, Ssemata AS, Herrera C, O'Hagan K, Else L, Chiodi F, Kelly C, Shattock R, Chirenje M, Lebina L, Khoo S, Bekker LG, Weiss HA, Gray C, Stranix-Chibanda L, Kaleebu P, Seeley J, Martinson N, Fox J; CHAPS team. Combined HIV Adolescent Prevention Study (CHAPS): Comparison of HIV Pre-Exposure Prophylaxis Regimens for Adolescents in Sub-Saharan Africa—Study Protocol for a Mixed-Methods Study Including a Randomised Controlled Trial. Trials, vol. 21, no. 1, Dec. 2020, p. 900. DOI.org (Crossref).
Lebina L, Oni T, Alaba OA, Kawonga M. . A Mixed Methods Approach to Exploring the Moderating Factors of Implementation Fidelity of the Integrated Chronic Disease Management Model in South Africa.. BMC Health Services Research, vol. 20, no. 1, Dec. 2020, p. 617. DOI.org.
Lebina L, Kawonga M, Oni T, Kim HY, Alaba OA. The Cost and Cost Implications of Implementing the Integrated Chronic Disease Management Model in South Africa. PLOS ONE, edited by Alana T. Brennan, vol. 15, no. 6, June 2020, p. e0235429. DOI.org.