BARRY III, Dr Clifton
PhD, Section Chief and Senior Investigator, Tuberculosis Research Section (TRS), National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID) at the US National Institutes of Health (NIH).
Areas of interest span the basic sciences of chemistry, biochemistry and microbiology, through to pharmacology and clinical medicine, in the areas of mycobacterial pathogenesis and TB drug discovery research.
BROWN, Prof Gordon
PhD, FRS, FMedSci, FRSB, FAAM, FRSE, RSSAf, Director MRC Centre for Medical Mycology at the University of Exeter and Director of the AFGrica Unit at The University of Cape Town (UCT). Honorary Professor at UCT.
His primary research interests are C-type lectin receptors and their role in homeostasis and immunity, with a particular focus on antifungal immunity.
COUSSENS, A/Prof Anna
Honorary Associate Professor, Wellcome Centre for Infectious Diseases Research in Africa (CIDRI-Africa) and Associate Member, Institute of Infectious Disease and Molecular Medicine (IDM), Division of Medical Microbiology, Department of Pathology, UCT. Laboratory Head, Infectious Disease and Immune Defence division, The Walter and Eliza Hall Institute (WEHI), Victoria Australia.
She is an infectious disease immunologist with a keen interest in host-pathogen interaction in tuberculosis (TB), the interaction with HIV-1, SARS-CoV-2, and other non-communicable diseases, including vitamin D deficiency and diabetes. Her research focuses on developing host-directed therapies for TB in the context of immunomodulation caused by these co-morbidities; and on the development of biomarkers of infection using systems biology approaches to integrate transcriptomic, proteomic, cellular, epigenetic and genetic variable to enable early detection of individuals at risk of developing TB, and to unravel mechanisms of protective immunity in TB through comparison between blood and site of disease markers.
She holds a dual affiliation with the The Walter and Eliza Hall Institute of Medical Research, in Australia.
GRAY, Prof Clive
Professor Emeritus of Immunology, Division of Immunology, Department of Pathology, University of Cape Town; Professor of Immunology in Molecular Biology and Human Genetics, Stellenbosch University, Cape Town; Adjunct Professor, Department of Immunology, Duke University, North Carolina, USA; Secretary-General, Federation of African Immunology Societies; Vice-Chair, Education Committee of the IUIS; Director of the Immunopaedia Foundation.
His research interests revolve around investigating immune regulation and dysregulation in the context of HIV infection or exposure. He focuses on Immune ontogeny in HIV exposed infants, placental investigations and pre-term birth, and epithelial immunity in the foreskin. He has an active group within the IDM and is based at Stellenbosch University where he directs the Reproductive Immunology Research Consortium in Africa (RIRCA). He is the past Chair of Immunology at UCT and holder of several NIH and European-based grants.
GRAY, Prof Glenda
MBBCH, FCP (Paeds) SA. Executive Director Perinatal HIV Research Unit, Wits Health Consortium, University of Witwatersrand; Associate Professor, Department of Paediatrics, University of Witwatersrand, South Africa; HVTN Director of International Programmes; HVTN Co-Principal Investigator; Chair of the standing committee on Health, ASSAF.
Her Research Unit is involved with clinical research, epidemiology and operational research, and is a treatment site for HIV infected adults and children. Her research interests include HIV vaccine research, microbicide research and other biomedical and behavioural interventions, and she is an investigator in testing two HIV vaccine regimens in late stage clinical development. Her TB research includes examining new agents to prevent TB, TB prophylaxis and TB vaccine evaluation.
GROBUSCH, Prof Martin
Professor, Dr. Med. (M.D.), PhD, M.Sc. (Lond), DTM&H (Lond), FRCP (Lond). Specialist in Internal Medicine, Infectious Diseases, Tropical Medicine. Full Professor and Chair of Tropical Medicine and Travel Medicine and Head, Center of Tropical Medicine and Travel Medicine, Amsterdam Medical Centre, University of Amsterdam in the Netherlands.
He has been an author on over 150 manuscripts in the field of infectious diseases and has an extensive track record in infectious diseases research and practice covering clinical, laboratory and epidemiological aspects.
LESLIE, Dr Al
Principal investigator Africa Health Research Institute (AHRI), Durban, South Africa; Associate Professor, University of KwaZulu Natal, Durban, South Africa; Wellcome Trust senior Fellow, department of infection and immunity, University College London, UK.
He is an HIV and TB immunologist focused on studying the immune response to these pathogens in affected tissues, and how this relates to what can be observed from the blood. The research goal is to improve understanding of the immunopathology of TB and HIV, using this information to aid in developing novel therapeutic approaches and diagnostic biomarkers.
LEWINSOHN, Prof Dave
MD, PhD, Professor and Vice Chair for Research, Department of Medicine, Director OHSU Center for Global Child Health Research, Department of Pediatrics.
His research has centered on understanding the mechanisms by which the human immune system recognises the Mycobacterium tuberculosis (M.tb) infected cell. This research has focused largely on CD8+ T cells, with a focus on both those antigens that are recognised, and the means by which they are presented. His work has a strong translational component, asking if both classically and non-classically restricted T cells are associated with infection with M. tb, reflect immunological memory, and are enriched at the site of infection.
LEWINSOHN, Prof Deborah
MD, Professor, and Vice Chair for Research, Division Head Infectious Disease, Wayne L. Tracy Professor of Infectious Disease, Department of Pediatrics, Assistant Director, OHSU Center for Global Child Health Research.
Her research focuses on understanding the role of the developing immune system on the susceptibility of young children to tuberculosis (TB) and understanding the role of innate and adaptively acquired CD8+ T cells in host defense to TB. The translational significance of this research is centred on informing the development of novel vaccines and diagnostics for childhood TB.
SCHAFER, Dr Georgia
PhD, Group Leader “Virology – Emerging Viruses” at the International Centre for Genetic Engineering and Biotechnology (ICGEB), Cape Town, South Africa (ICGEB Virology - Emerging Viruses).
Honorary Associate Professor in the Division of Medical Biochemistry, University of Cape Town. EDCTP Senior Fellow, University of Cape Town, South Africa – (TMA2018SF-2446: Georgia Schafer - International partnerships against infectious diseases (edctp.org)).
Her primary research interests are oncogenic viruses associated with AIDS-defining malignancies, such as Kaposi’s sarcoma herpesvirus (KSHV) and Human papillomavirus (HPV) ). In response to the COVID-19 outbreak, she has set up several quantitative and qualitative assays to measure SARS-CoV-2 infection to support various national and international research activities.
REDD, Dr Andrew
PhD, Staff Scientist in International HIV and STD Section, National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases at the US National Institutes of Health; Assistant Professor of Medicine at Johns Hopkins University.
His research is focused on better understanding HIV transmission and disease dynamics with a special concentration on HIV superinfection, latent HIV infection, and the role of the virus in HIV+ organ transplantation.
WILKINSON, A/Prof Katalin
Principal Research Scientist at The Francis Crick Institute London; Honorary Associate Professor, Division of Infection and Immunity, University College London; Honorary Associate Professor, Department of Medicine, University of Cape Town.
Her research focuses on the immunology of HIV-associated tuberculosis (TB). More specifically, the reconstitution of the immune response during antiretroviral treatment, in order to identify correlates of protection (including immune mechanisms that lead to reduced susceptibility to TB), and pathogenesis (such as the Tuberculosis-Associated Immune Reconstitution Inflammatory Syndrome, TB-IRIS); the biosignature of the TB infection spectrum, from latent infection to active disease; preventing TB infection in HIV infected people more effectively; and the pathogenesis of tuberculous meningitis and pericarditis.