Home Fellows Doreen Ditshwanelo

Fellows

Doreen Ditshwanelo

SANTHE PhD Fellow


Africa Health Research Institute (AHRI), Durban, South Africa

Collaboration Interests
  • HIV genomics
  • Phylogenetics and sequencing
Supervisor
Thumbi Ndung’u

Doreen Ditshwanelo is a PhD candidate in Virology at the University of KwaZulu-Natal (UKZN) and the Africa Health Research Institute (AHRI), Durban, South Africa. Her doctoral research focuses on paediatric HIV, investigating viral factors that influence long-term immunological and clinical outcomes in children living with HIV.

She holds a bachelor’s degree and a Master of Science in Biological Sciences and Biotechnology from the Botswana International University of Science and Technology (BIUST) in Palapye, Botswana. In addition to her doctoral studies, she is a Research Fellow at the Botswana Harvard Health Partnership (BHP), Gaborone, Botswana, where her research spans HIV and hepatitis B virus (HBV) evolutionary studies, HIV genetic polymorphisms, tuberculosis, and wastewater surveillance for pathogen genomics.

Through her work, Ditshwanelo aims to advance understanding of viral evolution and pathogen genomics to inform strategies for improved disease surveillance, treatment, and prevention.

Publications
Hepatitis B Virus Prevalence among HIV-Uninfected People Living in Rural and Peri-Urban Areas in Botswana No Difference in the Prevalence of HIV-1 gag Cytotoxic T-Lymphocyte-Associated Escape Mutations in Viral Sequences from Early and Late Parts of the HIV-1 Subtype C Pandemic in Botswana Low prevalence of archived integrase strand transfer inhibitors resistance associated mutations in Botswana before the roll out of dolutegravir based first line antiretroviral therapy HIV-1C in-House RNA-Based Genotyping Assay for Detection of Drug Resistance Mutations in Samples with Low-Level Viral Loads Genetic diversity in L1 ORF of human papillomavirus in women with cervical cancer with and without human immunodeficiency virus in Botswana and Kenya HIV-1C env and gag Variation in the Cerebrospinal Fluid and Plasma of Patients with HIV-Associated Cryptococcal Meningitis in Botswana

SANTHE is an Africa Health Research Institute (AHRI) flagship programme funded by the Science for Africa Foundation through the DELTAS Africa programme; the Gates Foundation; Gilead Sciences Inc.; and the Ragon Institute of Mass General, MIT, and Harvard.

Copyright 2026 by SANTHE. All Rights Reserved.

Site by