Melanie Bisnauth

Bisnauth is a doctoral researcher at the University of Witwatersrand, South Africa in the School of Public Health currently working with USAID in improving health across the country. She has conducted her research at the Empilweni Services Research Unit in PMTCT programming for migrant HIV-positive women. She served previously as a research coordinator in the Department of Physical Therapy at the University of Toronto and as the Canada-International HIV Rehabilitation and Research Collaborative Coordinator. Melanie is very passionate in providing a platform for marginalized women to voice their experiences about the barriers they face when accessing HIV/AIDS health care services. She has demonstrated strong interest in strategic intervention for community based and patient centered care approaches in the HIV/AIDS field. Melanie has worked in Johannesburg, South Africa where she monitored and evaluated WHO's guidelines on the use of antiretrovirals for treatment and prevention of HIV and its impact on PMTCT programming and services. Her research has allowed her to develop and execute strategic ways to create sustainable system-level change between healthcare professionals and patients. In addition, Melanie has worked in Australia as a Communications and Corporate Services Officer where she developed funding strategies to invest in healthcare infrastructures which addressed stigma and supported outreach care amongst Indigenous peoples experiencing mental health and substance use issues. Melanie has collaborated with the AIDS Committee of Toronto in data analysis and developing a policy toolkit for the Women's HIV/AIDS Initiative executed across the province of Ontario, Canada.