Dr Kondwani Jambo

Lab Name: Viral Immunology Research Group

Country: Malawi

Institution: Malawi-Liverpool-Wellcome Trust Clinical Research Programme (MLW)

Research Areas: Mucosal Immunology, Neonatal Immunology, HIV, Streptococcus pneumoniae, Mycobacterium Tuberculosis

Lab Website: www.mlw.mw/index.php/viral-immunology

The group’s main focus is understanding how viral infections impact mucosal immunity in low-income settings. The group has previously mainly focused on characterising HIV-mediated perturbations in the lung, and how this impacts host immunity against common respiratory pathogens, including Streptococcus pneumoniae, Mycobacterium tuberculosis and Influenza virus, in low-income settings. We have shown that HIV-mediated perturbations in the lung are extensive, are not completely restored by antiretroviral therapy (ART), and that HIV persists in the lung of ART-treated aviremic patients. The group’s interest now includes defining the mechanisms of HIV persistence in the mucosal tissues (lung and gut) in ART-treated aviremic patients, with the goal of gaining insights to inform novel HIV cure strategies. In addition, the group also has growing interest in early immune development, especially in understanding how neonatal immune profiles impact vaccine responses and clinical outcomes later in life.