Ryan G. Wagner
Barrow Neurological Institute, SAMRC/Wits Rural Public Health & Health Transitions Research Unit (Agincourt), University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg
Research areas: Medicine · Psychiatry and Mental health · HIV/AIDS Research and Interventions · Epilepsy research and treatment · Dementia and Cognitive Impairment Research
0000-0003-2741-3676
About
Ryan G Wagner, Associate Professor (Reader) in the Wits School of Public Health, is an award-winning epidemiologist with training in neuroscience, health economics and clinical medicine. He attained a PhD in Medicine from Umeå University (Sweden), with a Global Health focus in 2016, and an MSc (Medicine) by research and MBBCh from the Wits in 2012 and 2022, respectively.
He has been based within the MRC/Wits Agincourt Research Unit in the Wits School of Public Health for the past 16 years- 10 of which he lived and worked at the rural Agincourt research site.
He supports ongoing population-based research focused on epilepsy, cognition and mental health as well as primary health care strengthening through work with traditional healers. In addition to research, Prof. Wagner regularly teaches at the undergraduate level and currently supervises both Masters and PhD candidates, he serves on several international committees and reviews for numerous international funding bodies and journals.
Employment
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Barrow Neurological Institute Adult Neurology Resident2024 - Present
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SAMRC/Wits Rural Public Health & Health Transitions Research Unit (Agincourt) Associate Professor (Reader)2024 - Present
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SAMRC/Wits Rural Public Health & Health Transitions Research Unit (Agincourt) Senior Researcher2022 - 2024
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SAMRC/Wits Rural Public Health and Health Transitions Research Unit (Agincourt) Research Fellow2008 - 2021
Education
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Barrow Neurological Institute Adult Neurology Resident2024 - Present
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University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg MBBCh2018 - 2021
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Umeå Universitet Enheten för Epidemiologi och global hälsa PhD2011 - 2016
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University of the Witwatersrand Faculty of Science MSc(Med)2008 - 2011
- 2003 - 2007
Projects & Funding
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Integrating MITS into established community-based mortality surveillance in rural South Africa: contributing to strengthening verbal autopsy RTI International2022 - 2025
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Traditional healer-initiated HIV counseling and testing in rural South Africa National Institute of Mental Health2021 - 2023
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The Risk of HIV Acquisition among Traditional Healers in South Africa: Implementing Novel Strategies to improve protective Behaviors National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases2020 - 2024
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Cognitive Function, Alzheimer's Disease and Related Disorders in the HAALSI Cohort National Institute on Aging2018 - 2024
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Health, Aging and Dementia in South Africa: A Longitudinal Study (HAALSI) National Institute on Aging2013 - 2028
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Mavabyi ya ku wa: the prevalence of and risk factors for epilepsy in a rural South African surveillance site National Research Foundation2011 - Present
Publications (126)
- Episodic memory trajectories of older adults with and without HIV: A longitudinal population-based study in rural South Africa Save
- Association between depressive symptoms and tuberculosis diagnosis stage in older adults: a 4-year longitudinal cohort study in rural South Africa Save
- Second-year blues: a qualitative study exploring themes related to anxiety among second year undergraduate students at a South African university Save
- Challenges of Teaching and Learning under Lockdown at Wits University: Implications for the Future of Blended Learning Save
- Estimating household contact matrices structure from easily collectable metadata Save
- Magnetic resonance imaging findings in Kenyans and South Africans with active convulsive epilepsy: An observational study Save
- Exploratory validation of relationship functioning and non-pregnant partner behavior scales in pregnant people living with HIV in Mpumalanga Province, South Africa. Save
- Navigating Life With HIV as an Older Adult on the Kenyan Coast: Perceived Health Challenges Seen Through the Biopsychosocial Model. Save
- Violence Related to Daily Water and Sanitation Needs in South Africa. Save
- Pulmonary tuberculosis vs. Tindzhaka and Mafularha: A mixed methods inquiry of traditional healers' perceptions of tuberculosis in rural South Africa. Save
- The adolescent HIV executive function and drumming (AHEAD) study, a feasibility trial of a group drumming intervention amongst adolescents with HIV. Save
- Feasibility of an online consensus approach for the diagnosis of cognitive impairment and dementia in rural South Africa. Save
- Women want male partner engagement in antenatal care services: A qualitative study of pregnant women from rural South Africa. Save
- Development and validation of a diagnostic aid for convulsive epilepsy in sub-Saharan Africa: a retrospective case-control study. Save
- Significant Improvement in Blood Pressure Levels Among Older Adults With Hypertension in Rural South Africa. Save
- The relationship between depression symptoms and academic performance among first-year undergraduate students at a South African university: a cross-sectional study. Save
- A community mobilisation intervention to improve engagement in HIV testing, linkage to care, and retention in care in South Africa: a cluster-randomised controlled trial. Save
- Prevalence and factors associated with mild depressive and anxiety symptoms in older adults living with HIV from the Kenyan coast. Save
- Cohort Profile Update: Cognition and dementia in the Health and Aging in Africa Longitudinal Study of an INDEPTH community in South Africa (HAALSI dementia). Save
- Associations between WASH-related violence and depressive symptoms in adolescent girls and young women in South Africa (HPTN 068): a cross-sectional analysis. Save