Dr Azure Tariro Makadzange (PC 92-94), from Zimbabwe, concentrates her research on HIV/AIDS in Africa.  "So many diseases that tend to affect Africans living in a tropical climate are not as well studied as they could be," she says. "Especially by physicians with both the practical clinical and scientific skills to ask the appropriate questions and use the appropriate tools to tackle those questions". 

After attending Pearson College, Tariro obtained her Bachelor degree in Biochemistry at Smith College in the United States.  She then went on to complete two years of medical school at Harvard University, after which she earned her Ph.D. in immunology at Oxford University as a Rhodes Scholar. 

Tariro then returned to Harvard and completed medical school and an internship in Paediatrics. She was awarded a research grant and decided to take a year off her residency programme to conduct a clinical trial in her home-country of Zimbabwe and assist in the running of a HIV treatment programme in one of the largest hospitals in Harare.  She will be returning to Boston in late 2007 to complete her residency, but intends to return to Zimbabwe shortly afterwards. 

Throughout her studies at various universities, Tariro has also taken time to act as a mentor for younger students.  Recently, she returned to Pearson College to share her experiences with a presentation about her work with HIV and Aids.