Dr Gerald Chege is a researcher at the South African Medical Research Council (SAMRC) and a research associate in the Department of Pathology at the University of Cape Town (UCT). Gerald received his education in Kenya and South Africa, obtaining his Bachelor of Veterinary Medicine and MSc degrees from the University of Nairobi, and a PhD from UCT. He has previously worked at the Institute of Primate Research in Kenya and the Department of Pathology at UCT. At SAMRC, his research is aimed at establishing and optimizing the SHIV/Rhesus Macaque model for use in HIV preventive and therapeutic studies including the testing of the efficacy of candidate HIV vaccines in South Africa. His other research includes HIV coinfection studies and evaluation of the impact of tropical infectious diseases on the protective potential of candidate HIV vaccines. He is an NRF-rated researcher and has co-authored over 20 scientific articles in peer-reviewed international journals. Gerald has served in various animal ethics committees at SAMRC and UCT and he is a member of the South African Immunology Society (SAIS) and the South African Association for Laboratory Animal Science (SAALAS).