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 ====== Helen Rees ====== ====== Helen Rees ======
  
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 +**Helen Rees** is a South African medical researcher based in [[africa:south_africa:Johannesburg]], [[africa:South Africa]]. 
 + 
 +===== Education ===== 
 + 
 +Rees attended the [[University of Cambridge]] as a medical student where she was an organizer for the group ‘Medicine in Society’, which “aimed to introduce topical social issues as part of a broader learning experience for medical undergraduates.” She received a Master’s Degree in Women’s Studies. 
 + 
 +After completing her early medical training in [[united_kingdom:england:London]], she and her husband moved to [[africa:Zimbabwe]]. She spent two years working at [[Harare Hospital]] as a registrar in [[pediatrics]] and [[neonatal medicine]]. 
 + 
 +===== Career and Affiliations ===== 
 + 
 +==== Wits Reproductive Health and HIV Institute (1994-present) ==== 
 + 
 +Rees is the founder and executive director of the [[Wits Reproductive Health and HIV Institute]] (RHI) at the [[University of the Witwatersrand]].((//Professor Helen Rees, Executive Director.// (2022). Wits RHI. https://archive.ph/rEX2I)) 
 + 
 +==== African Leadership in Vaccinology Excellence ==== 
 + 
 +Rees is a co-founder and co-director of [[African Leadership in Vaccinology Excellence]] (ALIVE), the flagship vaccinology programme at the University of the Witwatersrand.((//Consortium Members.// (2022). Wits-Alive. https://archive.ph/Up8kq)) 
 + 
 +==== London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine ==== 
 + 
 +Rees is an Honorary Professor in the Department of Clinical Research at the [[London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine]].((//Prof Helen Rees.// The Presidency. Retrieved June 3, 2022, from https://archive.ph/YuwxO)) 
 + 
 +==== South Africa National Advisory Group on Immunization ==== 
 + 
 +Rees is a member of [[South Africa National Advisory Group on Immunization|South Africa's National Advisory Group on Immunization]].((//Helen Rees, MD, MA, MRCGP | AME.// (2022). Academic Medical Eduction. https://archive.ph/YbD6m )) 
 + 
 +==== World Health Organization ==== 
 + 
 +Rees plays a leadership role in several [[World Health Organization]] expert committees and initiatives: 
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 +  * Chair of the International Health Regulations Review Committee on Polio((//Biographies of the members of, and advisers to, the IHR Emergency Committee concerning ongoing events and context involving transmission and international spread of poliovirus.// World Health Organization. Retrieved June 4, 2022, from https://web.archive.org/web/20211123101026/https://cdn.who.int/media/docs/default-source/documents/ihr/ihr-committee-members-polio.pdf?sfvrsn=b174ea_2 )) 
 +  * Former chair of WHO's Strategic Advisory Group of Experts (SAGE) on Immunization((//What is SAGE?// (2011, October 21). Wayback Machine; World Health Organization. https://web.archive.org/web/20141018235933/http://www.who.int/immunization/newsroom/multimedia/helen_rees/en/)) 
 +  * STI Vaccine Roadmap Committee((Gottlieb, S. L., Deal, C. D., Giersing, B., Rees, H., Bolan, G., Johnston, C., Timms, P., Gray-Owen, S. D., Jerse, A. E., Cameron, C. E., Moorthy, V. S., Kiarie, J., & Broutet, N. (2016). //The global roadmap for advancing development of vaccines against sexually transmitted infections: Update and next steps.// Vaccine, 34(26), 2939–2947. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.vaccine.2016.03.111)) 
 +  * WHO African Regional Immunization Technical Advisory Group((//GPEI-Q&A with Helen Rees.// (2020, August 25). Global Polio Eradication Initiative. https://archive.ph/Qk5OZ)) 
 +  * WHO Committee Developing Regulations to Cover Clinical Trials and Research During Emergencies((//Helen Rees - Founder, Director, Professor of Obstetrics and Gynecology in Johannesburg, Gauteng, South Africa.// (2022). EMedEvents. https://www.emedevents.com/speaker-profile/helen-rees)) 
 +  * WHO Ebola Vaccine Working Group((Jasarevic, T. (2019, May 7). //WHO adapts Ebola vaccination strategy in the Democratic Republic of the Congo to account for insecurity and community feedback.// World Health Organizatioon. https://www.who.int/news/item/07-05-2019-who-adapts-ebola-vaccination-strategy-in-the-democratic-republic-of-the-congo-to-account-for-insecurity-and-community-feedback)) 
 +  * WHO Expert Committee on HPV Vaccines((//Strategic Advisory Group of Experts (SAGE) Working Group on potential contribution of HPV vaccines and immunization towards cervical cancer elimination (established June 2018).// (2021, November 24). World Health Organization. https://archive.ph/AdEAT)) 
 +  * WHO HIV Vaccine Expert Committee((//Professor Helen Rees.// (2015). Events Cloud. https://archive.ph/dwitN)) 
 + 
 +==== GE2P2 Global Foundation ==== 
 + 
 +Rees delivered a keynote presentation at the 2011 [[Global Vaccines 202X Access, Equity, Ethics Symposium]] titled WHO’s Immunization Policy Framework: Is it achieving its goal?((Curry, D. R. (2011, May 16). //Symposium – Global Vaccines 202X: Access, Equity, Ethics.// Center for Vaccine Ethics and Policy. https://archive.ph/zgDxl)) She was introduced to the audience by [[Paul Offit]]. The symposium was hosted by the [[Center for Vaccine Ethics and Policy]] (CVEP), a program of the [[GE2P2 Global Foundation]].((Curry, D. R. (2009, March 2). //About us.// Center for Vaccine Ethics and Policy. https://centerforvaccineethicsandpolicy.net/about/ )) Rees is a fellow of the foundation.((//Helen Rees, MD, OBE.// (2019, February 19). GE2P2 Global Foundation. https://archive.ph/MEZpD)) 
 + 
 +The GE2P2 Global Foundation is supported by the [[Alliance for Regenerative Medicine]], a consortium of [[gene therapy]] [[pharmaceutical companies]] including [[pharmaceutical_companies:Astellas]], [[pharmaceutical_companies:Bristol-Myers Squibb]], [[pharmaceutical_companies:CRISPR Therapeutics]], [[pharmaceutical_companies:CSL]], [[pharmaceutical_companies:Fresenius Kabi]], [[medical_technology_companies:GE Healthcare]], [[pharmaceutical_companies:Gilead Sciences]] (through [[pharmaceutical_companies:Kite Pharma]]), [[pharmaceutical_companies:GlaxoSmithKline]], [[pharmaceutical_companies:Johnson & Johnson]], [[pharmaceutical_companies:Novartis]], [[pharmaceutical_companies:Novo Nordisk]], [[pharmaceutical_companies:Oxford Biomedica]], [[pharmaceutical_companies:Pfizer]], [[pharmaceutical_companies:Sanofi]], [[pharmaceutical_companies:Spark Therapeutics]], [[pharmaceutical_companies:Takeda, Terumo]], and [[medical_technology_companies:Thermo Fisher Scientific]].((//Advancing Gene, Cell, & Tissue-Based Therapies.// Alliance for Regenerative Medicine. Retrieved June 3, 2022, from https://alliancerm.org/sector-report/2019-annual-report)) 
 + 
 +==== Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance ==== 
 + 
 +Rees is a member of the board of directors for [[Gavi|Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance]].((//Helen Rees.// (2022). Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance. https://archive.ph/JJMKz)) 
 + 
 +==== Population Council ==== 
 + 
 +Rees serves as a technical expert for the [[Population Council]].((//Professor Helen Rees.// (2016, May 25). Murray Edwards College - University of Cambridge. https://archive.ph/1hjWJ)) 
 +==== South African Health Products Regulatory Authority (SAHPRA) ==== 
 + 
 +Rees is chair of the [[South African Health Products Regulatory Authority]] (SAHPRA) Board.((//The SAHPRA Board.// (2022). SAHPRA. https://archive.ph/G7xmz)) SAHPRA is the organization in charge of regulating the use of all health products throughout South Africa, including [[COVID-19 vaccines]].((//SAHPRA update on Vaccine Approvals.// (2021, June 21). SAHPRA. https://archive.ph/krWIz)) Rees oversaw the approval of the injections from [[pharmaceutical_companies:Pfizer]], [[pharmaceutical_companies:Johnson & Johnson]], and [[pharmaceutical_companies:AstraZeneca]]. 
 + 
 +==== National Institute of Communicable Diseases ==== 
 + 
 +Rees is a member of the Scientific Advisory Committee at the [[National Institute of Communicable Diseases]]. 
 + 
 +==== Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations ==== 
 + 
 +Rees is Chair of the Scientific Advisory Board of the [[Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations]] (CEPI).((Gutierrez, Jr., O. R. (2020, June 29). //Partnership science.// POZ. https://archive.ph/mKx1V)) 
 + 
 +==== International AIDS Vaccine Initiative ==== 
 + 
 +Rees is a member of the Board of the [[International AIDS Vaccine Initiative]] (IAVI).((//Professor Helen Rees (Chairperson).// (2013, October 7). World Health Organization. https://web.archive.org/web/20200909093333/https://www.who.int/immunization/sage/members/bio_rees/en/)) 
 + 
 +==== Sabin-Aspen Vaccine Science & Policy Group ==== 
 + 
 +Rees is a member of the [[:Sabin-Aspen Vaccine Science & Policy Group]], an initiative of the S[[abin Vaccine Institute]] and the [[:Aspen Institute]].((//The Group.// The Sabin-Aspen Vaccine Science & Policy Group. Retrieved June 5, 2022, from https://archive.ph/WqVzI)) The group is funded by the [[:Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation]] and [[Wellcome Trust]]. 
 + 
 +==== Ministerial Advisory Committee on COVID-19 and Vaccines ==== 
 + 
 +Rees is a member of the [[Ministerial Advisory Committee on COVID-19]],((//Ministerial Advisory Committees on COVID-19// (pp. 4, 8). (2020). Bhekisisa Centre for Health Journalism. https://web.archive.org/web/20220303122616/https://bhekisisa.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/05/38bf41e2-ministerial-advisory-committees-on-covid-19.pdf)) and a member of the [[Ministerial Advisory Committee on COVID-19 vaccines]].((SABC News. (2021, August 22). //Focus on the COVID-19 vaccines with Professor Helen Rees.// YouTube. https://web.archive.org/web/20220603233806/https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T9pJL_u6wog)) ((Witz RHI. (2022, March 9). //French National Order of Merit awarded to Professor Helen Rees - Wits University.// University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg. https://archive.ph/nQTlU)) 
 + 
 +==== COVID-19 Clinical Research Coalition ==== 
 + 
 +Rees is a member of the Steering Committee of the [[COVID-19 Clinical Research Coalition]].((//Helen Rees.// COVID-19 Clinical Research Coalition. Retrieved June 3, 2022, from https://archive.ph/pBgkH)) 
 + 
 +The coalition was co-launched and is hosted by the [[Drugs for Neglected Diseases initiative]] (DNDi),((//Donors.// COVID-19 Clinical Research Coalition. Retrieved June 3, 2022, from https://archive.ph/OAJwb)) which is partnered with a very large number of [[pharmaceutical companies]] including [[pharmaceutical_companies:Astellas]], [[pharmaceutical_companies:AstraZeneca]], [[pharmaceutical_companies:Bayer]], [[pharmaceutical_companies:Boehringer Ingelheim]], [[pharmaceutical_companies:Bristol-Myers Squibb]], [[pharmaceutical_companies:Genzyme]], [[pharmaceutical_companies:Gilead Sciences]], [[pharmaceutical_companies:GlaxoSmithKline]], [[pharmaceutical_companies:Janssen]], [[pharmaceutical_companies:Johnson & Johnson]], [[pharmaceutical_companies:Merck]], [[pharmaceutical_companies:Novartis]], [[pharmaceutical_companies:Pfizer]], [[pharmaceutical_companies:Roche]], [[pharmaceutical_companies:Sanofi]], [[pharmaceutical_companies:Takeda]], [[medical_technology_companies:Thermo Fisher Scientific]], [[pharmaceutical_companies:Vertex]], [[pharmaceutical_companies:Viatris]], and [[pharmaceutical_companies:Zoetis]].((//Industry partners and service providers.// DNDi. Retrieved June 3, 2022, from https://archive.ph/28sJH)) 
 + 
 +Other partners include the [[Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation]], the [[Global Fund]], [[Horizon 2020]], [[Imperial College London]], [[Institut Pasteur]], [[London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine]], [[McGill University]], [[National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases]] (NIAID), [[National Institutes of Health]], [[Pan-American Health Organization]] (PAHO), [[PATH]], [[Rockefeller Foundation]], [[Task Force for Global Health]], [[UKaid]], US [[Food and Drug Administration]], the [[United States Navy]], [[Unitaid]], [[University of Washington]], [[United States Agency for International Development]], [[Wellcome Trust]], and the [[World Health Organization]].((//Universities and Research Centres.// DNDi. Retrieved June 3, 2022, from https://archive.ph/Jsnj9)) ((//Non-profit Organizations and Networks.// DNDi. Retrieved June 3, 2022, from https://archive.ph/EY0c1)) ((//Ministries of Health and Governments.// DNDi. Retrieved June 3, 2022, from https://archive.ph/9wUBu)) 
 + 
 +===== Research ===== 
 +  
 +==== SOLIDARITY Trial (2020-2022) ==== 
 + 
 +Rees is the Co-Chair of the South African arm of the [[SOLIDARITY Trial]], the [[World Health Organization]]-sponsored study on repurposed drugs for use as [[COVID-19 treatments]].((WHO Solidarity Trial Consortium. (2020). //Repurposed antiviral drugs for COVID-19 — Interim WHO Solidarity Trial results.// New England Journal of Medicine. https://doi.org/10.1056/nejmoa2023184)) ((//#ListenToTheExperts Prof Helen Rees, Exec Director, Wits RHI tells us about the Solidarity Trial.// (2020, May 18). SA Corona Virus Online Portal. https://sacoronavirus.co.za/2020/05/18/listentotheexperts-prof-helen-rees-exec-director-wits-rhi-tells-us-about-the-solidarity-trial/)) The drugs under examination included [[hydroxychloroquine]], [[remdesivir]], and “[[antiviral drugs]] commonly used for [[HIV]].”((WHO Solidarity Trial Consortium. (2022). //Remdesivir and three other drugs for hospitalised patients with COVID-19: final results of the WHO Solidarity randomised trial and updated meta-analyses.// The Lancet, 0(0). https://doi.org/10.1016/S0140-6736(22)00519-0)) 
 + 
 +==== CROWN CORONATION Study (2020-2022) ==== 
 + 
 +Rees is a Principal Investigator for the [[COVID-19 Research Outcomes Worldwide Network for CORONAvirus prevenTION]] (CROWN CORONATION) study, investigating strategies to protect healthcare workers against [[COVID-19]] infection.((Avidan, M., Washington University School of Medicine, & COVID-19 Therapeutics Accelerator. (2022, January 27). //An international, multi-site, Bayesian platform adaptive, randomized, placebo-controlled trial assessing the effectiveness of candidate agents in mitigating COVID-19 disease in adults.// ClinicalTrials.gov. https://archive.ph/Ploh3)) The study is sponsored by the [[COVID-19 Therapeutics Accelerator]], a funding initiative paid for by the [[Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation]], [[Mastercard]], [[Wellcome Trust]],((//COVID-19 Therapeutics Accelerator.// (2020, March 10). Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. https://archive.ph/uXOjt)) ((Suzman, M. (2020, March 10). //Announcing the COVID-19 Therapeutics Accelerator.// Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. https://archive.ph/Z8Q5l)) the [[Government of the United Kingdom]], [[Madonna]], and the [[Chan Zuckerberg Initiative]],((Au-Yeung, A. (2020, April 3). //A Bill Gates-backed accelerator for COVID-19 therapeutics treatment partners with Madonna and Mark Zuckerberg’s Chan Zuckerberg Initiative.// Forbes. https://archive.ph/WGnvO)) as well as pharmaceutical companies [[medical_technology_companies:BD]], [[pharmaceutical_companies:Boehringer Ingelheim]], [[pharmaceutical_companies:bioMerieux]], [[pharmaceutical_companies:Eisai]], [[pharmaceutical_companies:Eli Lilly]], [[pharmaceutical_companies:Gilead Sciences]], [[pharmaceutical_companies:GlaxoSmithKline]], [[pharmaceutical_companies:Johnson & Johnson]], [[pharmaceutical_companies:Merck]] (both the US and German divisions), [[pharmaceutical_companies:Novartis]], [[pharmaceutical_companies:Pfizer]], and [[pharmaceutical_companies:Sanofi]].((Staines, R. (2020, March 26). //Pharma giants including Novartis collaborate on COVID-19 therapies.// Pharmaphorum; Pharmaphorum Media Limited. https://archive.ph/8TAzM)) 
 + 
 +==== Additional Funding ==== 
 + 
 +Rees has received funding from the [[Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation]], [[Boston Consulting Group]], [[Mary Wohlford Foundation]], [[Microbicide Trials Network]], [[National Institutes of Health]], [[Public Health Institute]], [[United States Agency for International Development]] (USAID), and [[Wellcome Trust]].((Rees, H. //Multipurpose Prevention Technologies: New drugs, New Delivery Systems.// South African HIV Clinicians Society. Retrieved June 5, 2022, from https://sahivsoc.org/Files/Fri_Helen_Rees%20Co-formulation%20HIV%20prevention%20and%20contraception.pdf))
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