Cesora

Professor Zaza Ndhlovu is an eminent HIV immunologist who has made significant contributions in the field of HIV pathogenesis research, vaccine, and cure research. He has numerous publications in top tier journals and has been awarded multiple competitive grants. Read more about Zaza and his research programme at Africa Health Research Institute (AHRI) here.

Dr Bongiwe Mahlobo holds a PhD in HIV immunology. Her doctoral research delved into the complex realm of HIV and sought to gain insights into the role of regulatory CD4+ T cells in the lymphoid tissues of individuals with early treated HIV-1 infection. As the CESORA programme manager, Bongiwe is responsible for the day-to-day running of the centre.

Dr Andrea Papadopoulos is a postdoctoral research fellow at AHRI. She holds a PhD from Wits university. Her postdoctoral research focuses on characterising T cell responses to Covid-19 vaccines, and she is leveraging the first GeoMx platform in Africa to understand how spatial organisation of tissue immune microenvironments aids or restricts HIV reservoir persistence.

Thandeka Nkosi completed her master’s degree in medical sciences at UKZN. Her research demonstrated that initiating antiretroviral (ART) treatment at an early stage is associated with a mitigated but measurable CD8+ T cell response that is functionally competent and durable. Thandeka oversees the daily operations of the Ndhlovu lab at AHRI.

Trevor Khaba is the senior research technician within the HIV Pathogenesis Programme (HPP) at UKZN. The focal point of Trevor’s research revolves around investigating the immunology of lymphoid tissue infected with HIV-1.

Alex K. Shalek, PhD, is the J. W. Kieckhefer Professor in the Institute for Medical Engineering & Science and the Department of Chemistry, and an Extramural Member of The Koch Institute for Integrative Cancer Research at MIT. He is also an Institute Member of the Broad Institute, a Member of the Ragon Institute, an Assistant in Immunology at MGB, and an Instructor in Health Sciences & Technology at HMS. Dr. Shalek received his bachelor’s degree summa cum laude from Columbia University and his Ph.D. from Harvard University in chemical physics under the guidance of Hongkun Park, and performed postdoctoral training under Hongkun Park and Aviv Regev (Broad/MIT). 

His lab’s research is directed towards the development and application of new approaches to elucidate cellular and molecular features that inform tissue-level function and dysfunction across the spectrum of human health and disease. Dr. Shalek and his work have received numerous honors including a NIH New Innovator Award, a Beckman Young Investigator Award, a Searle Scholar Award, a Pew-Stewart Scholar Award, the Avant-Garde (DP1 Pioneer) Award from the National Institute for Drug Abuse (NIDA), and an Alfred P. Sloan Research Fellowship in Chemistry, as well as the 2019-2020 Harold E. Edgerton Faculty Achievement Award at MIT and the 2020 HMS Young Mentor Award.

Dr. Estes graduated from Brigham Young University with a B.S. in Microbiology and Molecular Biology in 1999. He continued his graduate education at Brigham Young University and obtained his Ph.D. in Immunology and HIV Pathogenesis in 2003 in the laboratory of Dr. Gregory Burton. From 2003 to 2007, he was a postdoctoral fellow in the laboratory of Dr. Ashley Haase in the Department of Microbiology at the University of Minnesota focusing on the in vivo immunopathology of lentiviral infections. 

Following postdoctoral training, Dr. Estes joined the AIDS and Cancer Virus Program at the Frederick National Laboratory for Cancer Research and was a Principal Investigator of the Retroviral Immunopathology Section and Senior Principal Scientist and Head of the Tissue Analysis Core. Dr. Estes was appointed an Adjunct Professor in the School of Health and Biomedical Sciences in the College of Science, Engineering and Health at RMIT University in Melbourne, Australia in 2017. In 2017, Dr. Estes accepted a dual appointment as Professor within the Vaccine and Gene Therapy Institute (VGTI) and Chief of the Division of Pathobiology & Immunology in the Oregon National Primate Research Center (ONPRC) at OHSU.

Dr. Karen Makar is a PhD immunologist, molecular epidemiologist, and Deputy Director in the Discovery & Translational Sciences team in Global Health. She leads the Global Health Discovery Collaboratory, a grantee network program and domain in D&TS that brings the frontiers of technological innovation to priority global health problems by sourcing cutting-edge technologies, lowering barriers to accessing innovative technologies, and cultivating interdisciplinary partnerships between members to catalyze discovery of novel biomedical solutions. 

The Collaboratory Platforms, the flagship program of the Collaboratory, provide early access to best-in-class tools, technology platforms, and expertise to Collaboratory members to elevate the level of scientific rigor and accelerate discovery and translation efforts across the foundation. Karen has a 20+ year career cultivating and harvesting cutting-edge science and technology to advance innovative vaccines, biologics, diagnostics and other health interventions, first at Dendreon Corporation and then as Director of the Molecular Epidemiology Laboratory at the Fred Hutchison Cancer Research Center— prior to joining the D&TS team as a member of the Vaccines & Biologics domain in 2015.

Thumbi Ndung’u is the Director for Basic and Translational Science at the Africa Health Research Institute (AHRI) in Durban, South Africa; Programme Director for the Sub-Saharan African Network for TB/HIV Research Excellence (SANTHE); Professor of Infectious Diseases at University College London; Scientific Director of the University of KwaZulu-Natal’s HIV Pathogenesis Programme; and Associate Member of the Ragon Institute. He is Co-chair of the International AIDS Society (IAS) Towards an HIV Cure Advisory Board.

He has a Bachelor of Veterinary Medicine degree from the University of Nairobi, Kenya, completed a PhD in Biological Sciences in Public Health from Harvard University, USA and performed post-doctoral research in Virology at Harvard Medical School. He is a recipient of the South African Medical Research Council Gold award for scientific contributions that have impacted on the health of people and is a member of the Academy of Science of South Africa and an African Academy of Sciences Fellow. His research focuses on understanding how the immune system may be harnessed for HIV prophylactic or therapeutic strategies.