Zaza Ndhlovu

Zaza Ndhlovu is an immunologist whose research focuses on cellular immune responses to HIV-1, with the ultimate goal of identifying phenotypic targets for an effective HIV vaccine. His work investigates early immune events that drive dysfunction and disease progression, using excisional lymph node samples from individuals with acute and chronic HIV infection to understand how brief viral exposure shapes durable protective immunity.

He earned his PhD in Molecular Microbiology and Immunology from Johns Hopkins University and completed postdoctoral training at Harvard University, where he studied HIV-specific CD8+ T cell responses in elite controllers—individuals who spontaneously suppress HIV without antiretroviral therapy. His research uncovered key functional characteristics of CD8+ T cell subsets associated with viral control and immune escape. Ndhlovu later relocated his research program to South Africa to study HIV at the epicenter of the epidemic and contribute to scientific capacity building on the continent. He serves on the faculty at AHRI, is an Assistant Professor of Medicine at Harvard Medical School, an adjunct faculty member at the University of KwaZulu-Natal, an HHMI International Research Scholar, and currently acts as Interim Director of Science on AHRI’s executive committee.