Professor Janan Dietrich

Janan Dietrich is a leading social and behavioural scientist and an Associate Professor in Clinical Medicine at the University of the Witwatersrand in Johannesburg, South Africa. Through the university, she is Executive Director of the African Social Sciences Unit of Research and Evaluation, and the Director of Bio-Behavioural Research at the Perinatal HIV Research Unit. Prof. Dietrich leads social science research methodologies across multiple African countries in clinical research: maternal immunization, HIV, tuberculosis, COVID-19, influenza, and human papillomavirus. She is passionate about community engaged research and has a track record in user-centered solutions. She has received multiple local and international awards including the CIPHER programme of the International AIDS Society, the South African Medical Research Council, and the National Research Foundation of South Africa. She serves on multiple international bodies including the Lancet Commission for Strengthening the Use of Epidemiological Modelling of Infectious Diseases, and the socio-behavioural group of the HIV Vaccine Trials Network. She has more than 100 publications across sexual and reproductive health, HIV, mental health, and digital health. Dietrich trains local and visiting international physicians and vaccinology students in social science methodologies and supervises master’s and doctoral students in digital health. Prof. Dietrich has a PhD in Psychology.