Cissy Kityo

I’m a medical doctor and Public Health specialist with over 28 years experience in clinical care and health research. I have conducted and/or coordinated over 80 research projects and care program grants for HIV patients. I’m currently the Executive Director of Joint Clinical Research Centre (JCRC) and the Director for the JCRC College of American Pathologists (CAP) certified laboratories. I was among the pioneers in prescribing ART in sub-Saharan Africa and have been at the forefront of scaling up HIV treatment in Uganda including field work and extension of antiretroviral therapy (ART) to the districts in Uganda. As a member of the AIDS Task force in Uganda and previously a Chair of the Uganda AIDS Clinical Care Subcommittee, I was involved in planning and writing the first strategic plan for the national program to increase access to care and ARVs and the national ARV policy. I have been Principal Investigator, Co-PI or investigator for operational, clinical and epidemiological trials of HIV treatment and associated infections including TB, as well as intervention studies aimed at preventing HIV transmission and preparation for HIV vaccines. Many of these pioneering research projects have informed policy and clinical practice in Uganda and other developing countries. I’m currently the JCRC site PI for the Gilead Sciences Inc. studies and the JCRC Clinical Research Site (CRS) of the US NIH AIDS Clinical Trials Group (ACTG) network running for 15 years now. I played a crucial role in the development of the JCRC state of the art clinical and research laboratory equipped to perform a variety of tests and research studies including: molecular biology, HIV drug resistance (HIVDR), Tuberculosis, HIV vaccine trials, pharmacokinetic studies, clinical, and epidemiological research among others. I serve as an executive member on various local and international scientific committees in HIV research, prevention and treatment and been providing mentorship to both local and international scientists who come to Uganda. Cissy is keen to be involved in gene therapy as the new exciting frontier in medical research and care for HIV. From 2020, Cissy catalyzed the alliance of experts in gene therapy to support bridge the existing gaps between developed and developing countries. The Global Gene Therapy Initiative (GGTI) was subsequently formed to tackle the barriers to LMIC inclusion in gene therapy development and is working with various stakeholders to simultaneously address identified key areas that are requisite to successful implementation of Gene Therapy in developing countries. Cissy serves on the Advisory Board of Caring Cross, a nonprofit organization whose mission is to make gene and cell therapies accessible to resource-limited regions around the world.