In the early 1980s, Serwadda was one of the earliest physicians in Uganda to recognize the new disease that caused patients to lose weight and "slim" down to abnormal cachectic sizes.[4] The new disease, at first called Slim Disease, became known as HIV/AIDS.[5] He has been a leading researcher in the epidemiology of HIV/AIDS in sub-Saharan Africa. He has published the finding of his research in numerous medical journals and other peer publications. He has attended many national, regional and International conferences as a presenter and/or moderator on the subject matter.[6]
In the 1990s, he was appointed Director of the then Makerere Institute of Public Health. He served in that position until 2007 when he was promoted to the position of Dean, Makerere University School of Public Health, following the elevation of the institute to a constituent School of Makerere University College of Health Sciences. He later resigned as Dean of the School of Public Health, but he continues to teach and carry out research in his capacity as Professor of Public Health.
Serwadda is a Fellow of the Uganda National Academy of Sciences.[7]
Research
As a medical researcher he has been involved in several scientific studies some of which are listed below;
HIV-1 infection associated with abnormal vaginal flora morphology and bacterial vaginosis. (co-authored) published in the Lancet.[8]
Control of sexually transmitted diseases for AIDS prevention in Uganda: a randomised community trial. (co-authored) published in the Lancet.[9]
Health professionals for a new century: transforming education to strengthen health systems in an interdependent world (co-authored) in the Lancet.[10]
Viral load and heterosexual transmission of Human Immunodeficiency Virus Type 1. (co-authored) and published by the New England Journal of Medicine.[11]
Male circumcision for HIV prevention in men in Rakai, Uganda: a randomised trial. (co-author) published in the Lancet.[12]
Rates of HIV-1 transmission per Coital Act, by stage of HIV-1 infection, in Rakai, Uganda. (co-author) published in the Journal of infectious diseases.[13]
Probability of HIV-1 transmission per coital act in monogamous, heterosexual, HIV-1-discordant couples in Rakai, Uganda. (co-author) published by the Lancet.[14]
Personal details
Serwadda is married and, by his wife Deborah Serwadda, is the father of three adult children.[citation needed]
^Serwadda, D. et al (1985) Slim disease: A new disease in Uganda and its associations with HTLV-III infection, The Lancet, Vol.326, Issue. 8460, pp. 849-852
^Simpson, Brian W. (2006). "World-Class Research on the "Slim Disease"". Johns Hopkins Public Health Magazine: The Magazine of the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health. Retrieved 27 December 2014.