Discipline of HIV Pathogenesis Programme

Dr Bongiwe Ndlovu is a senior lecturer and a faculty member at the HIV Pathogenesis Programme in the School of Laboratory Medicine and Medical Sciences. She is also a career developmental fellow in the European and Developing countries Clinical Trials Partnership (EDCTP) and Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. She completed her PhD in Virology at the University of KwaZulu Natal in 2017.Her research focuses on understanding the co-evolution of HIV envelope and humoral immune responses, antibody resistance mechanisms, variations in coreceptor usage and antibody sensitivity between reservoir compartments and antibody responses to Hepatitis B (HBV) infections. Her research informs HIV prevention and vaccine development.  She is a project leader in one of the international collaborative projects within the International AIDS Vaccine Initiative (IAVI) ADVANCE research consortium.Dr Ndlovu has been a recipient of various research fellowships and grants.  More recently, she was awarded the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, European and Developing countries Clinical Trials Partnership (EDCTP) Early Career Development Fellowships and NRF Thuthuka grants. She is a recipient of the Early Career Investigator award for her oral presentation in the international 9th Norman L. Letvin Early Career Investigator Meeting. She has published peer-reviewed journal articles and graduated 10 postgraduate students.