Tariro Makadzange

Tariro Makadzange is a Physician Scientist, holding an MD from Harvard Medical School and a DPhil in Immunology from the University of Oxford as a Rhodes Scholar. Specializing in Internal Medicine (University of Washington) and Infectious Diseases (Massachusetts General Hospital and Brigham and Women’s Hospital), she has built a career in medical research and public health.

Dr. Makadzange co-founded the Parirenyatwa Hospital Family Care Centre, a leading HIV treatment program in Zimbabwe. She also developed at the University of Zimbabwe a comprehensive clinical research program, merging implementation science studies with fundamental immunology research.

Her academic career includes a previous faculty position at Harvard Medical School/Massachusetts General Hospital in Infectious Diseases. Here, she fostered international collaborations, notably establishing the Infectious Diseases Research Laboratory in Harare, focusing on research in HIV and other infectious diseases. She is currently an Assistant Clinical Professor in Medicine at Stanford University.

Dr. Makadzange's academic endeavours include significant contributions to HIV management, research on HIV co-infections, adolescent HIV, and advances in basic immunology, including antibody discovery for HIV and respiratory viruses research. Transitioning to industry, she served at Gilead Sciences, in clinical development of therapeutics, including HIV antibodies and therapeutic vaccine discovery, and holds patents in vaccine immunogen design. She led the Virology sector of the External Innovation program at Gilead playing a key role in external collaborations and research investments.

In 2021, she founded the CRMG and Mutala Trust, aiming to boost Africa inspired and led research and clinical trials in Africa. CRMG supports commercial clinical trials, from protocol development to execution in their clinical trial site in Zimbabwe. Mutala Trust is dedicated to clinical research, public health research, and discovery basic science research in HIV, vaccines, other infectious diseases, and public health.

Dr. Makadzange is a passionate advocate for research capacity building in Africa and has mentored numerous medical doctors and research scholars. She serves on various non-profit and scientific advisory boards, including the Rhodes Trust, Population Services International (PSI), Global Pathogen Analysis Service, CEPI's Portfolio Strategy and Management Board, and the Global Health Scientific Advisory Board of The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation.