Biography

Charles is originally from Louisville, Kentucky and has a Master of Public Health in Epidemiology from the University of Kentucky. After completing Graduate School, he began working as an Epidemiologist with the Kentucky Department for Public Health (KDPH) in Tuberculosis (TB) Prevention and Control Program. During his time in this role, he also was a part of Kentucky’s COVID-19 Pandemic Response Team. The experience he received as an infectious disease epidemiologist is what sparked his interest in pursuing a PhD in Epidemiology to become a more skilled and technically distinguished researcher.

Expertise

TB Diagnostics
Public Health

Key Impacts

Comparative analysis of bedaquiline-based treatment outcomes in peope who are HIV-positive and HIV-negative with rifampicin-resistant TB in Gauteng Province, South Africa

Despite comparable TB treatment efficacy (culture conversion rates), and high ART coverage, systemic factors disproportionately affect PLWH, resulting in higher unfavourable DR-TB outcomes. This underscores the urgent need for integrated care models and tailored bedaquiline-based strategies to address inequities in this population.

Source: Conference 2024