Wedzanai Manjeese

Wadzanai Manjeese is a biomedical scientist, born and raised in Zimbabwe where she completed her undergraduate and master’s degrees in Microbiology and Biotechnology. She has a keen interest in infectious diseases especially tuberculosis (TB). She relocated to Durban, South Africa to pursue her PhD in Neuroscience through the University of KwaZulu-Natal (UKZN). Her PhD studies examined the effect of prenatal infection with Mycobacterium tuberculosis (Mtb) on the neurodevelopment and autistic-like behaviours in the off-spring of a mouse model of autism. In her current role, Manjeese is seeking to understand the mechanisms in which Mtb evades immunity for its survival. The ability of cellular metabolism to influence immune cell function during infection may suggest potential therapeutic targets to promote clearance of Mtb in early stages of infection. Her research efforts strive to actively contribute to fighting the global TB pandemic to improve human health. “Somewhere something incredible is waiting to be known, the important thing is to remain curious in research,” she says.