Professor Gerhard Walzl

Country: South Africa

Institution: Stellenbosch University

Research Areas: Tuberculosis immunology

Lab Website: www.sun.ac.za/english/faculty/healthsciences/Molecular_Biology_Human_Genetics/Immunology_Research_Group

Our research focuses on the immunology of Mycobacterium tuberculosis (MTB) infection, and in particular topics with translational potential. We are a team with both clinical and fundamental science expertise and combine the study of well-characterized community participant groups with different MTB infection and disease phenotypes with laboratory investigations. The group houses different independent research units. This includes the clinical trial unit, led by Dr Stephanus Malherbe (MBChB, PhD), an innate immunity lab (Dr Nelita du Plessis, PhD) focusing on myeloid derived suppressor cells), a B cell lab (Dr Andre Loxton, PhD), a diagnostic biomarker lab (Ass Prof Novel Chegou, PhD), a immune-endocrine lab (Dr Leanie Kleynhans, PhD, with a focus on TB-diabetes) and a treatment response biomarker lab (Prof Gerhard Walzl, MMed, PhD). We have also set up murine TB infection models to investigate host-pathogen interaction mechanistically. Our research spans the divide between clinical and fundamental (laboratory) sciences in a high TB prevalence area. The SU-IRG is part of several international consortia and we use advanced immunological and molecular biology techniques. Our laboratory is ISO15189 accredited as TB immunology laboratory by the South African laboratory accreditation authority (SANAS).