Professor Refilwe Nancy Phaswana-Mafuya is an Epidemiologist/Public Health Scientist (MA(SW), PGD (Epi), MSc (Epi), PhD) trained at University of Limpopo and London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine. She is Professor of Epidemiology and Public Health, Faculty of Health Sciences, University of Johannesburg and an MSc Reproductive Biology and Reproductive Health Guest Lecturer (Epidemiology) at Pan African University of Life and Earth Sciences Institute, African Union. Preceding this, she was the Deputy Vice-Chancellor for Research and Innovation at the North-West University, Acting Executive Director, Research Director, and Chief Research Manager at the HIV/AIDS/STI/TB Research Programme of Human Sciences Research Council (HSRC) for nearly 13 years, as well as Editor in-Chief and Executive Editor of an internationally accredited African Journal (SAHARA J).
Prof Phaswana-Mafuya has worked to better understand the epidemiology of HIV SA and Sub-Saharan Africa for almost 20 years and in the last 10 years she paid particular attention to marginalized populations that are at higher risk for HIV acquisition and transmission. She was awarded the NSTF TW Nkambule Award in 2017 in recognition of her outstanding contribution to science, technology and mathematics, 15 years after obtaining her PhD. Prof Phaswana-Mafuya served as Chair of the 9th SA AIDS Conference in 2019, the second largest medical meeting in the world.
She is member of Dira Sengwe AIDS Conferences; Higher Health Board; Academy of Science of South Africa (ASSAF) Council, and NRF Board. She is also Scientific Advisory Committee member of the African Health Research Institute; and expert panelist at the International Expert Panel on Infectiology, German Research Foundation, among others. She is an NRF rated scientist, fellow of the Academy of Science of South Africa, African Academy of Sciences (AAS), and Organisation for Women in Science for the Developing World (OSWD). She recently authored three books “Vision Never Dies #1, learning curves from my non-linear career journey from village girl to award-winning fighter of pandemics”; Research Mentorship: A Developmental and Transformational Tool in Shaping and Sustaining African Women’s Career Progression in Academia; Navigating Academia: Women’s Stories of Success and Struggle.
She was featured in Holding the Knife’s: Journeys of 14 Award Winning Black Women Scientists and Fair Lady Magazine (March/April 2022 Issue) as one of the world-class women scientists.
