Researchers/Supervisors
Emily Wong
SANTHE Supervisor
Africa Health Research Institute (AHRI), Durban, South Africa
Emily Wong is an infectious disease physician-scientist whose research focuses on the pathogenesis, immunity, and epidemiology of tuberculosis (TB), including TB/HIV co-infection, with the goal of improving prevention and treatment strategies.
Her work integrates molecular biology, population health science, multi-omics approaches, molecular epidemiology, AI-interpreted imaging, and spatial analysis to better understand TB disease dynamics.
She is a co-principal investigator of Vukuzazi, a large population-based health ‘omics study led by the Africa Health Research Institute (AHRI) in KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa, which enrolled over 18,000 participants to investigate genetic and environmental determinants of health and disease. Her research has highlighted the high prevalence of asymptomatic, sputum-positive TB, which has become a major focus of her work.
She also co-leads the ATTIS study, a multi-country initiative in Indonesia and South Africa launching in 2026, aimed at understanding asymptomatic TB transmission and evaluating novel diagnostic approaches.
She is a faculty lead at AHRI and an Associate Professor at the University of Alabama at Birmingham’s Heersink School of Medicine, with affiliations in the Center for AIDS Research and the Department of Microbiology.