Dr. Megan Burke

Megan Burke is a clinical researcher specializing in pediatric infectious diseases, with a strong focus on perinatal HIV and maternal–child health in South Africa. Her work centers on very early antiretroviral therapy in neonates, viral reservoir dynamics, and predictors of virologic response, highlighting the interplay between maternal health and infant outcomes. She has also examined growth trajectories and immune markers in infants and children living with HIV.

A significant strand of her scholarship explores how maternal viral load, immune status, and treatment exposure shape infant viral burden, immune recovery, and long-term outcomes. Her studies on bone health and inflammation among children living with HIV reveal persistent metabolic and immunologic alterations despite viral control, contributing to improved understanding of chronic HIV management in pediatric populations.

More recently, Burke has investigated the impact of SARS-CoV-2 infection during pregnancy, including timing of infection, placental pathology, antibody transfer, and birth outcomes in high HIV-prevalence settings. This integrated portfolio reflects expertise in longitudinal cohort design, translational immunology, and public health, with meaningful implications for clinical guidelines in resource-limited contexts.