Denise Naniche
Research Professor Global Viral and Bacterial Infections
Denise Naniche is an epidemiologist and immunologist with more than 20 years of experience in infectious disease research in low- and middle-income countries. Her work bridges the gap between clinical immunology and implementation research, with a career-long commitment to capacity strengthening and training the next generation of global health leaders.
After obtaining a PhD in Immunology in 1993 from Université Claude Bernard in Lyon, France, she spent over a decade conducting research on measles and HIV immunology at the Centre d’Immunologie de Marseille-Luminy (CIML) and later at the Scripps Research Institute in California. She subsequently completed a Master of Public Health (MPH) in Epidemiology at San Diego State University in 2003.
Since joining ISGlobal in 2004, her efforts have focused on implementation research to improve the HIV care cascade in Sub-Saharan Africa. Between 2020 and December 2025, she served as Scientific Director of ISGlobal, and she currently co-coordinates the Emergency Preparedness Research Hub. In addition, she is Associate Professor at the University of Barcelona, where she coordinates and teaches the Vaccinology module of the Master in Global Health programme.
Lines of research
- HIV Care Cascade: Evaluation and development of tools to improve HIV diagnosis, treatment, and control in Sub-Saharan Africa.
- Pathogen Surveillance: Capacity building and strengthening of infectious disease surveillance in resource-limited settings.
- Emergency Preparedness: Developing evidence-based solutions for effective responses to global health emergencies.
Main publications
- Saura-Lázaro A, Augusto O, Fernández-Luis S, López-Varela E, Fuente-Soro L, Bila D, Tovela M, Macuacua N, Vaz P, Couto A, Bruno C, Naniche D. HIV care retention in three multi-month ART dispensing: a retrospective cohort study in Mozambique. AIDS. 2024 Jul 15;38(9):1402-1411. doi: 10.1097/QAD.0000000000003913.
- Saura-Lázaro A, Bock P, Bogaart EVD, van Vliet J, Granés L, Nel K, Naidoo V, Scheepers M, Saunders Y, Leal N, Ramponi F, Paulussen R, de Wit TR, Naniche D, López-Varela E. Field performance and cost-effectiveness of a point-of-care triage test for HIV virological failure in Southern Africa. J Int AIDS Soc. 2023 Oct;26(10):e26176. doi: 10.1002/jia2.26176.
- Shoham S, Batista C, Ben Amor Y, Ergonul O, Hassanain M, Hotez P, Kang G, Kim JH, Lall B, Larson HJ, Naniche D, Sheahan T, Strub-Wourgaft N, Sow SO, Wilder-Smith A, Yadav P, Bottazzi ME; Lancet Commission on COVID-19 Vaccines and Therapeutics Task Force. Vaccines and therapeutics for immunocompromised patients with COVID-19. EClinicalMedicine. 2023 May;59:101965. doi: 10.1016/j.eclinm.2023.101965.
- Okere NE, Censi V, Machibya C, Costigan K, Katambi P, Martelli G, de Klerk J, Hermans S, Gomez GB, Pozniak A, de Wit TR, Naniche D. Beyond viral suppression: Quality of life among stable ART clients in a differentiated service delivery intervention in Tanzania. Qual Life Res. 2022 Jan;31(1):159-170. doi: 10.1007/s11136-021-02889-z.
- Silva NJ, Paixão ES, Brachowicz N, Barreix G, Landin-Basterra E, Rubio FA, Boccia D, Ribeiro-Silva RC, Barreto ML, Naheed A, Macicame I, Naniche D, Rasella D. Early life exposure to economic shocks and association with childhood malnutrition: a pooled analysis of 230 nationwide surveys from 68 low-income and middle-income countries. Lancet Glob Health. 2025 Aug;13(8):e1367-e1377. doi: 10.1016/S2214-109X(25)00153-6.
