Cari van Schalkwyk studied Mathematical Statistics at the University of Stellenbosch and started her relationship with SACEMA in 2007 through her Masters project on estimating mean duration of recent HIV infection. She started working at SACEMA as a Statistician in November 2010 and has been involved in projects related to HIV, TB, COVID, HPV and cervical cancer. Her PhD work (with Dr Leigh Johnson at the University of Cape Town) focused on HIV and HPV transmission dynamics, the natural history of HPV and the impact of different vaccination and screening strategies on cervical cancer incidence in South Africa.