Prof Gayle Sherman

Gayle G. Sherman is a South African clinician-scientist affiliated with the National Institute for Communicable Diseases and the National Health Laboratory Service. Her work centers on paediatric and maternal HIV surveillance, viral load monitoring, and strengthening laboratory-linked public health systems. She has played a pivotal role in integrating routine laboratory data into national HIV program evaluation and policy, particularly in prevention of vertical transmission and child health services.

Her publications highlight longitudinal analyses of antiretroviral adherence among adolescents, viral load suppression patterns, and attrition in paediatric care. Research on social protection, food security, and adolescent-responsive healthcare demonstrates how structural and service-level “accelerators” improve treatment adherence, viral suppression, and stigma-related outcomes. Studies on maternal viral load monitoring and point-of-care testing further inform strategies to reduce vertical transmission risk.

Additional contributions address the resilience of HIV services during the COVID-19 pandemic and the ethical governance of health data under privacy legislation. Across her body of work, Sherman combines epidemiology, programmatic surveillance, and policy insight to advance equitable, data-driven HIV care for children, adolescents, and women in South Africa.