Fellows
Mahlatse Maseeme
ACP-HIV/TB Fellowship Recipient
Africa Health Research Institute (AHRI), Durban, South Africa
Mahlatse Maseeme started his academic studies at Witwatersrand University in Johannesburg, South Africa, in 2016 where he completed both Bachelor of Science (BSc) and Bachelor of Health Sciences Honors (BHSc) degrees. He went on to join AHRI in 2021 for his Masters degree graduating cum laude. He studied immunometabolism in Tuberculosis (TB) and HIV. Metabolism is key for living cells as it provides energy and biosynthetic precursors for both resting and optimal effector functioning of immune cells, therefore understanding role of immunometabolism during TB and TB HIV co-infections has potential to uncover biomarkers for treatment response and diagnosis. For his PhD he is studying immune correlates of protection against Mycobacterial tuberculosis (Mtb). Many individuals in the world are exposed to TB yet they are without active TB diseases, indicating an existence of immunity that is protective against Mtb infection, therefore uncovering these immune protective patterns will potentially aid in the development of TB vaccine and prevention.