PROF MARK COTTON
Photo: Supplied
What is your field of specialty, and could you please give a brief explanation of it?
Paediatric infectious diseases; my main focus is HIV in children; initially for treatment access and now HIV remission (to achieve remission, i.e. controlling one’s own HIV immunologically without needing antiretroviral therapy
How would you say does your research contribute to the concept of “research for impact”?
The work I do, in collaboration with many collaborators, provided key data to show the importance of starting antiretroviral therapy as early as possible; this finding emphasised the importance of early infant diagnosis in conjunction.
What does attaining an A-rating mean to you professionally, and personally?
Professionally helpful but it actually reflects the great work of my co-investigators and research team. On a personal level, it is very fulfilling.
What do you enjoy most about your job and what are the aspects that you find challenging?
It’s more a way of life than a job; there are intellectual challenges, balancing many projects, keeping our team committed, solving problems in teams, and contributing to improving peoples’ lives.
What is the biggest piece of advice that you would give early-career researchers and those who are aspiring to become leaders in their respective research fields?
Don’t give up. Work hard. Always contribute positively. Seek good mentors and become a good mentor.
What do you do for fun (apart from research!)?
Being a as good a husband, father and grandfather as possible, reading and learning languages.
Professor Mark Cotton is an internationally acclaimed specialist in the field of paediatric infectious diseases with extensive experience in managing children living with HIV. He established the Children's Infectious Diseases Clinical Research Unit (KidCru) in 2002 (renamed the Family Center for Research with Ubuntu [FAMCRU]) and led a number of randomised clinical trials in children, including antiretroviral therapy (ART) strategy, isoniazid prophylaxis and antiretroviral (ARV) pharmacokinetics in children.
He completed a three-year fellowship in paediatric infectious diseases at the University of Colorado-Denver, and also conducted laboratory-based research on apoptosis in paediatric HIV supervised by Dr Terri Finkel at the National Jewish Centre for Respiratory Diseases and Immunology. On return to Stellenbosch University, he completed a PhD on the role of apoptosis in paediatric HIV infection.
He is affiliated to the International Maternal Paediatric Adolescent AIDS Clinical Trials (IMPAACT) and has been a member of the Cure scientific committee since 2012. He is also a member of Paediatric European Network for Treatment of AIDS & infectious disease (PENTA-ID) and has provided technical support for the World Health Organisation initiatives since 2004 on HIV-related issues in children and adolescents. He is co-principal investigator for the Stellenbosch University Clinical Trials Unit (SUN-CTU) with special focus on TB and HIV.
He was president of the World Society of Paediatric Infectious Diseases between 2019 and 2022 and now chairs its education committee.