F. Xavier Gómez-Olivé holds a PhD in public health from the University of the Witwatersrand, South Africa. As a postdoctoral fellow, he continued his work on the link between HIV and non-communicable diseases (NCDs) in the elderly. His research aimed to give insight into how health policies and interventions can effectively respond to the demands of an aging population that has been and will continue to be profoundly affected by these two conditions. Prior to starting as a Bell Fellow, Xavier worked on the HAALSI study through his role as the field research manager of the MRC/Wits Rural Public Health and Health Transitions Research Unit (Agincourt).
