Dr Gerald Chege is a Senior Research Manager and the veterinarian at the Primate Unit & Delft Animal Centre (PUDAC) unit of SAMRC. He is affiliated with the University of Cape Town (UCT) through the position of Honorary Research Associate in the Department of Pathology. He previously held the position of Specialist Scientist at PUDAC/SAMRC and a Senior Research Officer at the Division of Medical Virology at UCT. He previously worked at the Kenya Institute of Primate Research in Nairobi, Kenya. His current   research focuses on optimization of the SHIV/rhesus macaque model for use in preclinical HIV preventive and therapeutic studies including the testing of the efficacy of candidate HIV vaccines and the impact of parasitic infections on the protective potential of vaccines. His other research includes HIV coinfection with tropical infectious diseases including schistosomiasis, leishmaniasis and other neglected tropical diseases. He is an NRF-rated researcher (re-evaluation in progress) and has served as a principal investigator on several research grants funded by the SAMRC, the NRF, and PRF in South Africa. He has served on the ethics committees at SAMRC and UCT, and on the Scientific Research Committee (Animal Research subcommittee) of the Institute of Infectious Disease and Molecular Medicine of UCT. He previously served as a member of the Veterinary Immunology Committee of International Union of Immunological Societies, is currently a member of the International AIDS Society, the South African Immunology Society and the South African Association for Laboratory Animal Science. In addition, he has mentored several postgraduate students including PhD candidates.