The Immunology in Africa Podcast

Hosted by ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Wealth Okete⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠, The Immunology in Africa Podcast explores narratives at the nexus of immunology & Africa. We ask professors, postdocs, PhD students, and everyone in between to tell us about their journey into immunology, the questions driving their current work, and the impact they hope to make on the continent. To support our efforts towards amplifying African stories of immunology, you can ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠buy us coffee⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ or ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠nominate a guest⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠. -- Thumbi Ndung’u is a faculty member at the Africa Health Research Institute (AHRI) in Durban, South Africa; Professor and Victor Daitz Chair in HIV/TB Research at the HIV Pathogenesis Programme, University of KwaZulu-Natal; Programme Director for the Sub-Saharan African Network for TB/HIV Research Excellence (SANTHE); Professor of Infectious Diseases at University College London, UK; Associate Member of the Ragon Institute; Adjunct Professor of Immunology and Infectious Diseases at Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health; and Provost's Visiting Professor of HIV Virology and Immunology at Imperial College London, UK. He is the recipient of several awards for scientific excellence and leadership contributions, including the South African Medical Research Council Gold Scientific Achievement Award, the Leadership Award in Public Health Practice from the Harvard T. H. Chan School of Public Health, and the KT Jeang Retrovirology Prize in recognition of outstanding work on HIV. He has also received grant funding from the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, the Wellcome Trust, the Science for Africa Foundation, the Howard Hughes Medical Institute, the South African National Research Foundation, the National Institutes of Health, and others. His research focuses on understanding interactions between HIV and the immune system and how these may be harnessed and translated for HIV prevention or cure.  -- In this episode, he talks about his journey with HIV and immunology that has spanned at least three decades and birthed several groundbreaking contributions, the most recent being Africa’s first HIV cure trial for women living with the virus. -- To participate in our Trivia questions, visit our social media platforms via the links below. - ImmunoAfrica: linktr.ee/immuno.africa - Immunopaedia: immunopaedia.org.za -- Timestamps: 00:00 – podcast intro 1:05 – guest intro 2:00 – starting out, maximising opportunities: from a coffee farm to veterinary school 05:19 – getting into immunology research 07:16 – ImmunoAfrica x Immunopaedia quiz interlude I            08:40 – making a mark in immunology, from Nairobi to Harvard | isolating subtype C strain of HIV 12:15 – misconceptions and big questions in HIV research 17:30 – research and contributions leading up to the HIV Cure Project 21:04 – convincing people living with HIV to stay off medications (antiretroviral therapy, ART) for trial 23:51 – integrating socioeconomic empowerment into biomedical research | The FRESH project 25:45 – designing, conducting the HIV Cure trial | more on The FRESH project 31:50 – major findings from, next steps for the HIV Cure trial 39:40 – why only women were recruited for the cure trial 41:33 – adverse outcomes in participants 43:40 – ImmunoAfrica x Immunopaedia quiz interlude II 45:00 – coming up with new ideas 46:52 – visibility for scientists and its role and strengthening local R&D 53:32 – experience with mentorship: paying it forward 56:55 – final remarks 57:42 - outro