Dr Anna-Ursula Happel

Senior Research Officer, University of Cape Town

Anna-Ursula Happel is a translational scientist with experience in clinical and laboratory sciences, who is currently the Senior Research Officer in the Division of Immunology and Associate Member of the Institute of Infectious Disease and Molecular Medicine at the University of Cape Town.

Anna-Ursula leads multiple research projects focused on improving mucosal health of women, and the intersection of reproductive health, mucosal microbiota and infant immunity, with close collaborations within South Africa, Kenya and the United States.

Her long-term career vision is to actively contribute to the development of locally implementable intervention strategies and policies to improve maternal and child health in Southern Africa and beyond. She is passionate about creating enabling environments and mentoring the next generation of African scientists.

Selected publications:

See publications and profile on Research Gate.

Contact details:
Email: anna.happel@uct.ac.za

Group members:

Member Position
Adijat Jimoh PhD student
Lesedi Dikhona PhD student
Valencia Chauke PhD student
Blessing Moses PhD student
Janine Fredericks PhD student

Collaborations:

Vaginal Microbiome Research (VMRC) consortium (www.VMRC4health.org)

Vaginal Microbiome Research (VMRC) 4 Africa consortium (www.VMRC4Africa.org)

Professor Heather Jaspan (University of Cape Town, South Africa & Seattle Children’s Research Institute, United States)

Professor Jo-Anne Passmore (University of Cape Town, South Africa)

Professor Clive Gray (Stellenbosch University, South Africa)

Dr Marijke Fagan-Endres (University of Cape Town, South Africa)

Dr De Wet Wolmarans (North-West University, South Africa)

Professor Kathleen Powis (Harvard Medical School, United States)

Professor Arvind Varsani (Arizona State University, United States)

Professor Renee Heffron (University of Washington, United States)

Ongoing projects include:

  • Assessing vaginal virome and bacteriome in pregnant women living with HIV in sub-Saharan Africa and risk of preterm birth
  • Assessing the relationship between Bifidobacterium infantis supplementation, gut microbiota and neurodevelopment in infants exposed to HIV
  •  Assessing the impact of fermented food consumption on gut microbiota of South African mothers
  • Developing and evaluating live biotherapeutics for treatment of bacterial vaginosis in South African women

Completed projects:

The VaViBa (Interaction of Vaginal Virome and Bacteriome in pregnant women living with HIV in sub-Saharan Africa and risk of preterm birth) project was funded by the European and Developing Countries Clinical Trials Partnership (EDCTP) through a Career Development Fellowship in poverty-related diseases and child and adolescent health from July 2021 – December 2024.

This project leveraged the infrastructure and rigorous metadata of a pregnancy cohort study in Khayelitsha, Cape Town, South Africa. The study aimed to evaluate the effect of HIV infection on the vaginal virome, identify in vivo associations between virome and bacteriome, validate key bacterial-viral interactions in vitro, and evaluate if changes in the vaginal virome are associated with preterm birth in women with HIV.

We found that vaginal DNA virome profiles were distinct between pregnant women with and without HIV. The observed -per participant richness of viral operational taxonomic units (vOTUs) was lower in pregnant women with HIV compared to those without HIV. Papillomavirus vOTUs were uniquely detected in pregnant women with HIV, while herpesvirus vOTUs were noted in both groups of women to a similar extent. Strikingly, in both groups of women, the vaginal viral community was dominated by bacteriophages, making up > 95% of the total vOTUs. Bacteriophage vOTUs with the predicted bacterial hosts Prevotella and Fannyhessea vaginae were more prevalent in pregnant women with HIV than women without HIV, while those predicted to target Peptoniphilus were only present in pregnant women living without HIV. Bacteriophages with a predicted temperate lifestyle were more common than those predicted to be lytic in both groups of women.

Differences in vaginal viral diversity and composition suggests that, like the bacterial microbiome, the vaginal virome might also differ between women living with and without HIV. Future research is needed to understand its impact on reproductive health outcomes. Understanding the interplay between vaginal viruses, bacteria and preterm birth is relevant for developing novel diagnostics and interventions for improving birth outcomes among women with HIV, and to potentially decrease infant morbidity and mortality.