SANTHE SCIENTISTS SHINE AT CROI 2026

A group of SANTHE scientists made strong scientific contributions at the 33rd Conference on Retroviruses and Opportunistic Infections (CROI 2026), held 22 to 25 February 2026 in Denver, Colorado, USA – a premier global forum for the latest HIV and related infectious disease research.

These presenters, who shared cutting‑edge findings across HIV cure, treatment and basic science, included:

• Thumbi Ndung’u, SANTHE Programme Director, Africa Health Research Institute (AHRI), Durban, South Africa, who opened the CFAR Africure satellite session with a powerful keynote on strengthening and sustaining HIV cure research in Africa.
• Gabriella Cromhout, Researcher, University of KwaZulu-Natal (UKZN), Durban, South Africa, who delivered an oral presentation on how very early antiretroviral therapy (ART) initiation is linked to sustained aviremia in time‑to‑rebound pediatric ATI studies.
• Natasha Moraka, Researcher, Botswana Harvard Health Partnership (BHP), Gaborone, Botswana, who showcased poster findings on susceptibility patterns to broadly neutralising antibodies in children from Botswana.
• Zaza Ndlovu, Interim Science Director, Africa Health Research Institute (AHRI), Durban, South Africa, who presented on spatial transcriptomic and proteomic profiling of HIV in tissues.
• Paradise Madlala, Senior Lecturer, HIV Pathogenesis Programme/University of KwaZulu-Natal (UKZN/HPP), Durban, South Africa, who shared insights on the association between estrogen receptor‑1 and HIV‑1 inducible reservoirs in premenopausal women on ART.
• Aude Christelle Ka’e, Researcher, Centre International de Référence “Chantal Biya” pour la recherche sur la prévention et la prise en charge du VIH / SIDA (CIRCB), Yaoundé, Cameroon, who spoke on willingness to participate in HIV cure research and determinants of viremia among young people with perinatally acquired HIV in Cameroon.
• Ajibola Gbolahan, Clinical Researcher, Botswana Harvard Health Partnership (BHP), Gaborone, Botswana, who presented research on viral control with combination broadly neutralising antibodies in children in Botswana.

These presentations contributed to rich scientific dialogue on advancing HIV science and cure strategies at one of the field’s most important annual conferences.