Samanta Tresha Lalla-Edward

Samanta Tresha Lalla-Edward holds a Master's degree in Social and Behavioural Studies in HIV/AIDS. She has worked in the field of HIV since 2006 and has exposure to clinical trials, social science and implementation science research, as well as public health systems implementation. She is currently the Technical Head of Non-Communicable Disease Research at the Wits Reproductive Health and HIV Institute (Wits RHI). This follows eight years of work in monitoring and evaluation (M&E), during which she led Wits RHI's dynamic M&E team and portfolio. With approximately ten years of experience working in the NGO/academic sector, her work has spanned developing M&E strategies, plans and frameworks, responding to donor requirements, and grant writing, as well as compiling M&E resources and capacity-building materials and programmes. In addition, at Wits RHI, she has provided collaborative assistance to all levels of the Department of Health. Her research interests lie in key and mobile populations (particularly men's health), with a current focus on truck and taxi drivers. In addition to working on South Africa-implemented programmes, she has experience collaborating on regional projects and evaluating regionally implemented healthcare interventions for priority populations. Her work has been presented at national and international conferences and published in both peer-reviewed and non-peer-reviewed journals.