Professor Serwadda has made seminal contributions to HIV Prevention. He was part of the team in Uganda that reported the first cases of Slim’s Disease as an AIDS illness (Lancet, 1985). He co-founded and led the Rakai Health Science Program, which provided the first evidence for antiretroviral treatment for HIV prevention, which underpins the current global strategy. 

Further, they demonstrated that circumcision is an effective intervention for HIV prevention. In 2014-2023, Professor Serwadda became the international principal investigator to the HIV Prevention Trial Network, HPTN. This evaluates behavioral and biological HIV interventions through multi-country and multi-site enrolment of study subjects.

He was a commissioner on the Lancet and Education of Health Professionals for the 21st Century.

Professor Serwadda has published extensively in high-impact journals. He is the author of over 400 publications on HIV, sexually transmitted diseases, and other infectious diseases.

In 2011, Professor Serwadda was elected a member of the Academy of Medicine and became a Fellow of the Uganda National Academy of Science and the World Academy of Science, TWAS, in 2012 and 2019, respectively.

Professor. Serwadda is a recipient of numerous awards, including the highest civilian award given by the Government of Uganda, the Golden Jubilee Award.