Leadership
Our leadership team, composed of global health researchers who are nationally recognized for their extensive and multidisciplinary expertise, has well-defined positions that correspond to the unique needs and composition of the INSIGHT program and its consortium partner institutions.
INSIGHT strongly values the principle of de-colonization in global health education, and we place deep-rooted equitable partnerships at the core of our program.
Multiple Principal Investigators
Jessica G Burke, PhD 
INSIGHT MPI and Program Director
Professor, Social and Behavioral Sciences, Associate Vice Chancellor for Global Affairs in Health Sciences, University of Pittsburgh
Dr. Jessica Burke, PhD is a professor in social and behavioral sciences and the Associate Vice Chancellor for Global Affairs in Health Sciences at the University of Pittsburgh. She brings extensive experience in mentoring, capacity building, and institutional strategy, making her well-positioned to lead initiatives like the INSIGHT program, which provides mentored research training.
As a professor in the University of Pittsburgh School of Public Health, she directs the Concept Mapping Institute and the Community-Based Participatory Research and Practice certificate program. Her research—centered on HIV/AIDS, substance use, and mental health—employs systems-oriented, participatory methods. Her teaching and mentorship activities focus on equipping students with interdisciplinary and methodological tools to tackle complex global health challenges.
Since 2003, she has mentored over 80 students and fellows. She has also mentored junior faculty across health sciences disciplines, supporting their research and academic advancement. Dr. Burke will coordinate and direct all aspects of this training program from the University of Pittsburgh. She will liaise with fellow PIs, and the Technical Advisory Committee for trainee selection and project evaluation. With the help from other PD/PIs, she will communicate and coordinate with training faculty. She will communicate with partner institutions in the USA and globally regarding the training requirements and progress of trainees in the current program. She will also help to arrange workshops and symposia.
Anna Maria Mandalakas, MD, PhD
INSIGHT MPI and Program Director
Professor of Pediatrics
Director of the Global TB Program,
Baylor College of Medicine (BCM);
Adjunct Professor of Epidemiology,
University of Texas Health Science School of Public Health
Dr. Mandalakas's research focuses on the epidemiology, diagnosis, and pathophysiology of childhood TB and HIV. She is PI on several large multi-national studies focusing on HIV-associated TB including:
- Quantifiable Stool-based TB PCR to Improve Diagnostics and Treatment Monitoring (R01AI137527-01A1)
- Closing - TB GAPs - For people living with HIV: TB Guidance for Adaptable Patient-Centered Service (U01GH002278)
- Fogarty HIV Research Training Program in Eswatini (D43TW011547)
- Primary mentor for two NIH-sponsored career development awards:
- Persistent DNA Methylation of the IFN-γ Signaling Pathway During Tuberculosis (K23AI141681A)
- Developing Clinical Prediction Tools to Define Strategies for Differentiated Service Delivery in Children and Adolescents Living with HIV in Sub-Saharan Africa (K01TW011482-01A1).
She also serves as the Eswatini site PI for two multi-national EDCTP funded projects. Dr. Mandalakas has over two decades of experience investigating child TB and HIV in Sub-Saharan Africa and Southeast Asia and has a robust mentorship record evident by over two dozen senior author publications featuring junior first authors from over a dozen countries in the past six years.
Man Charurat, PhD
INSIGHT MPI and Program Director
Professor of Medicine and Epidemiology
Global Director of the Center for International Health, Education, and Biosecurity,
University of Maryland School of Medicine
Dr. Charurat is an infectious disease-trained PhD epidemiologist with 20 years of experience designing, implementing, and leading cohort and implementation science studies across eight countries in sub-Saharan Africa related to vulnerable and under-researched populations, including women, children, and key populations.
He is PI on two active and recently completed two NIH funded R01: Microbiome and Health Outcomes among HIV-exposed Uninfected Infants (R01DE025174); Network-Based Recruitment of MSM into HCT, Care, Treatment and Prevention Services at Trusted Community-based Venues (R01MH099001); Optimizing ARV-based Prevention for Marginalized MSM (R01AI120913); Adolescent to Adult Patient-centered Transition (R01HD089866), and Impact of Non-B HIV-1 Subtype on second-line Protease Inhibitor Regimens in Africa (INSPIRE, R01AI147331).
He is currently PI of the Fogarty HIV Research Training program in Nigeria (D43TW010051). He recently led population-based HIV impact assessment surveys in Nigeria, Botswana, and Zambia. He currently serves as primary mentor for one NIH-sponsored career development award: Role of anal microbiota, local cytokines, and HIV in the persistence of high-risk papillomavirus (K07CA225403).
Olakunle Alonge, MD, PHD
INSIGHT MPI and Program Director
Professor and Director of Health Policy and Organization,
University of Alabama at Birmingham
Director of the Sparkman Center for Global Health,
University of Alabama at Birmingham