Helen Rees

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

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 London, she and her husband moved to Zimbabwe. She spent two years working at Harare Hospital as a registrar in pediatrics and neonatal medicine.

Rees is the founder and executive director of the Wits Reproductive Health and HIV Institute (RHI) at the University of the Witwatersrand.¹⁾

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.²⁾

Rees is an Honorary Professor in the Department of Clinical Research at the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine.³⁾

Rees is a member of South Africa's National Advisory Group on Immunization.⁴⁾

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

• Chair of the International Health Regulations Review Committee on Polio⁵⁾
• Former chair of WHO's Strategic Advisory Group of Experts (SAGE) on Immunization⁶⁾
• STI Vaccine Roadmap Committee⁷⁾
• WHO African Regional Immunization Technical Advisory Group⁸⁾
• WHO Committee Developing Regulations to Cover Clinical Trials and Research During Emergencies⁹⁾
• WHO Ebola Vaccine Working Group¹⁰⁾
• WHO Expert Committee on HPV Vaccines¹¹⁾
• WHO HIV Vaccine Expert Committee¹²⁾

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?¹³⁾ 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.¹⁴⁾ Rees is a fellow of the foundation.¹⁵⁾

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.¹⁶⁾

Rees is a member of the board of directors for Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance.¹⁷⁾

Rees serves as a technical expert for the Population Council.¹⁸⁾

Rees is chair of the South African Health Products Regulatory Authority (SAHPRA) Board.¹⁹⁾ SAHPRA is the organization in charge of regulating the use of all health products throughout South Africa, including COVID-19 vaccines.²⁰⁾ Rees oversaw the approval of the injections from Pfizer, Johnson & Johnson, and AstraZeneca.

Rees is a member of the Scientific Advisory Committee at the National Institute of Communicable Diseases.

Rees is Chair of the Scientific Advisory Board of the Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations (CEPI).²¹⁾

Rees is a member of the Board of the International AIDS Vaccine Initiative (IAVI).²²⁾

Rees is a member of the Sabin-Aspen Vaccine Science & Policy Group, an initiative of the Sabin Vaccine Institute and the Aspen Institute.²³⁾ The group is funded by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and Wellcome Trust.

Rees is a member of the Ministerial Advisory Committee on COVID-19,²⁴⁾ and a member of the Ministerial Advisory Committee on COVID-19 vaccines.^{25) 26)}

Rees is a member of the Steering Committee of the COVID-19 Clinical Research Coalition.²⁷⁾

The coalition was co-launched and is hosted by the Drugs for Neglected Diseases initiative (DNDi),²⁸⁾ which is partnered with a very large number of pharmaceutical companies including Astellas, 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.²⁹⁾

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.^{30) 31) 32)}

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.^{33) 34)} The drugs under examination included hydroxychloroquine, remdesivir, and “antiviral drugs commonly used for HIV.”³⁵⁾

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.³⁶⁾ The study is sponsored by the COVID-19 Therapeutics Accelerator, a funding initiative paid for by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, Mastercard, Wellcome Trust,^{37) 38)} the Government of the United Kingdom, Madonna, and the Chan Zuckerberg Initiative,³⁹⁾ 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.⁴⁰⁾

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.⁴¹⁾