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Helen Rees

Helen Rees is a South African medical researcher based in Johannesburg, South Africa.

Education

Rees attended Cambridge University 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 London, she and her husband moved to 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.

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.

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.

South Africa National Advisory Group on Immunization

Rees is a member of South Africa’s National Advisory Group on Immunization.

World Health Organization

Rees plays a leadership role in several World Health Organization expert committees and initiatives:

  • Chair of the International Health Regulations Review Committee on Polio
  • Former chair of WHO's Strategic Advisory Group of Experts (SAGE) on Immunization
  • STI Vaccine Roadmap Committee
  • WHO African Regional Immunization Technical Advisory Group
  • WHO Committee Developing Regulations to Cover Clinical Trials and Research During Emergencies
  • WHO Ebola Vaccine Working Group
  • WHO Expert Committee on HPV Vaccines
  • WHO HIV Vaccine Expert Committee

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? 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. Rees is a fellow of the foundation. The GE2P2 Global Foundation is supported by the Alliance for Regenerative Medicine, a consortium of gene therapy pharmaceutical companies including Astellas, Bristol-Myers Squibb, CRISPR Therapeutics, CSL, Fresenius Kabi, GE Healthcare, Gilead Sciences (through Kite Pharma), GlaxoSmithKline, Johnson & Johnson, Novartis, Novo Nordisk, Oxford BioMedica, Pfizer, Sanofi, Spark Therapeutics, Takeda, Terumo, and Thermo Fisher Scientific.

Population Council

Rees serves as a technical expert for the Population Council. The Population Council was founded by the Rockefeller family and is rooted in eugenics. Its first president, Frederick Osborn, was a former head of the American Eugenics Society. In its 1957 Annual Report, the council explains that “the Council is increasingly in a position to contribute to the understanding and so, perhaps, to the solution of problems of world population growth and change.” The council runs its Center for Biomedical Research (CBR) out of Rockefeller University in New York.

The Population Council has a history of funding from Bayer, the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, the Ford Foundation, KPMG, the Markle Foundation, and the National Institutes of Health (NIH)., Its Board of Trustees has included representatives from AT&T, the Atomic Energy Commission, Brown University, the Carnegie Institution of Washington, Chase Manhattan Bank, Columbia-Presbyterian Medical Center, General Electric Company, Harvard University, the Milbank Memorial Fund, Mt. Sinai Hospital, the Rockefeller Institute, and Scripps Foundation for Research in Population Problems. In 2015, the council convened a meeting on quality of care sponsored by the Packard Foundation, and attended by representatives from Abt Associates, Family Planning 2020, Harvard School of Public Health, Ibis Reproductive Health, ICF International, Jhpiego, Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, MSI Reproductive Choices, O’Hanlon Health Consulting, Population Action International, PSI, United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA), University of North Carolina, and the World Health Organization.

South African Health Products Regulatory Authority (SAHPRA)

Rees is chair of the South African Health Products Regulatory Authority (SAHPRA) Board. SAHPRA is the organization in charge of regulating the use of all health products throughout South Africa, including COVID-19 vaccines. Rees oversaw the approval of the injections from Pfizer, Johnson & Johnson, and 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).

International AIDS Vaccine Initiative

Rees is a member of the Board of the International AIDS Vaccine Initiative (IAVI).

Sabin-Aspen Vaccine Science & Policy Group

Rees is a member of the Sabin-Aspen Vaccine Science & Policy Group, an initiative of the Sabin Vaccine Institute and the Aspen Institute. 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, and a member of the Ministerial Advisory Committee on COVID-19 vaccines.,

COVID-19 Clinical Research Coalition

Rees is a member of the Steering Committee of the COVID-19 Clinical Research Coalition. The coalition was co-launched and is hosted by the Drugs for Neglected Diseases initiative (DNDi), which is partnered with a very large number of pharmaceutical companies including Astellas Pharma, AstraZeneca, Bayer, Boehringer Ingelheim, Bristol-Myers Squibb, Genzyme, Gilead Sciences, GlaxoSmithKline, Janssen, Johnson & Johnson, Merck, Novartis, Pfizer, Roche, Sanofi, Takeda, Thermo Fisher Scientific, Vertex, Viatris, and Zoetis.

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 US Navy, Unitaid, University of Washington, USAID, Wellcome Trust, and the World Health Organization., ,

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., The drugs under examination included hydroxychloroquine, remdesivir, and “antiviral drugs commonly used for HIV.”

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. The study is sponsored by the COVID-19 Therapeutics Accelerator, a funding initiative paid for by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, Mastercard, Wellcome Trust,, the UK Government, Madonna, and the Chan Zuckerberg Initiative, as well as pharmaceutical companies BD, Boehringer Ingelheim, bioMerieux, Eisai, Eli Lilly, Gilead Sciences, GlaxoSmithKline, Johnson & Johnson, Merck (both the US and German divisions), Novartis, Pfizer, and Sanofi.

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, US Agency for International Development (USAID), and Wellcome Trust.

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