Dr Lisa Nunes

Dr Sarah Downs is an Epidemiologist and Project Manager in the Impact, Communication and Engagement team at Wits VIDA. She leads the translation of CHAMPS data into community-focused action and policy, using her background in epidemiology and science communication. Her research interests include respiratory pathogens, vaccines, diagnostics, and infectious disease surveillance. Dr Downs holds a PhD in Clinical Microbiology and Infectious Diseases from Wits, where she developed a nanofluidic PCR platform for Streptococcus pneumoniae colonisation studies. She has worked in hospital-based surveillance, zoonotic disease research, and molecular diagnostics, including COVID-19 wastewater surveillance. Dr Downs is a passionate science communicator, featured by media such as BBC, CNN, TIME, and Global Citizen Africa, and was selected for the Gates Notes Deep Dive on Pandemic Prevention with Bill Gates.