Prof Kathleen Kahn

Kathleen Kahn is a South African public health epidemiologist widely associated with the University of the Witwatersrand and the MRC/Wits Rural Public Health and Health Transitions Research Unit, where she plays a leading role in the Agincourt Health and Socio-Demographic Surveillance System. Her work integrates population surveillance, epidemiology, and health systems research to address pressing health challenges in rural South Africa and across sub-Saharan Africa.

Her scholarship centers on HIV, aging, chronic disease, and social determinants of health. Recent studies examine caregiver–adolescent relationships and sexual health outcomes, food insecurity and later-life cognitive function, and the distribution of informal caregiving for older adults. She also contributes to large collaborative initiatives such as AWI-Gen, exploring cardiometabolic risk, obesity phenotypes, and genomic research in African populations.

Kahn’s research further evaluates health system resilience, including analyses of service disruptions during COVID-19 and innovations such as telephonic verbal autopsies. Across infectious and noncommunicable diseases, her work is characterized by rigorous longitudinal methods, community-based data, and a strong policy orientation, shaping evidence-informed interventions in resource-limited settings.