Gail Hughes, DrPH, MPH

Director
University of Western Cape
South African Herbal Institute and Medicine Institute
Private Bag X17
Belville South Africa 7535
Email: gaildhughes@hotmail.com

Biographical Sketch: Gail Hughes is Professor and Deputy Director at the South African Herbal Science and Medicine Institute at the University of Western Cape in Cape Town South Africa with primary interest in understanding traditional medicine for better public health. She is responsible for conducting Phase II clinical trials investigating the herb Sutherlandia among persons diagnosed with HIV/AIDS. She trained at the University of California-Berkeley in Epidemiology with specialty in International Health. Professor Hughes has been a public health professional for more than 25 years with training as an ethno-social epidemiologist. Her work in South Africa started in 1994 investigating influence of male migration patterns on rural women’s risk of HIV/AIDS. She returned to South Africa in 2000 to investigate the increasing prevalence of chronic diseases among populations living in the townships. In addition, she has worked for several years in the pharmaceutical industry with specialty in pharmacovigilance and safety. On a personal note, she is a 5th generation Mississippian with a great grandmother who was a midwife and herbalist in the rural South.

Papers:
3080.0 Costs and economic impact of traditional herbal medicine utilization for non-communicable diseases