Mahnaz Vahedi

Biography

 Provides technical and strategic support to TDR’s regional and sub-regional networks including alumni, institution and individual researchers. Mahnaz joined TDR in 2004. Originally from Iran, Mahnaz is a clinician by training with a Masters in International Public Health from the University of Sydney. While in Australia she worked with rural communities, farmers and migrants from Viet Nam and south-east Asia. “It’s a wonderful feeling when a patient puts his/her trust in your hand,” she says, adding, “I also want to make a difference to the well-being of underprivileged populations, particularly women, who often have no voice”. To this day, Mahnaz takes her stethoscope with her on trips to Africa (she travels frequently to remote clinics to mentor and ensure accuracy of results). She has a longstanding interest in tuberculosis and HIV co-infection and in working for disadvantaged communities.

Research Interest

 A highlight for Mahnaz’s TDR career has been to work on the 4FDC and TB-HAART projects, where TDR coordinated large randomized multi-country clinical drug trials on tuberculosis/HIV in several sub-Saharan countries.