FOGARTY HATTP ANNUAL SCIENTIFIC MEETING 2024 25th October 2024
The 5th Annual Scientific Meeting of the HIV-associated TB Training Program was held on Friday 25th October 2024. The morning session was held in the Wolfson Pavilion Lecture Theatre in the Institute of Infectious Disease and Molecular Medicine from 10h00 to 12h30, followed by the afternoon session in the Neuroscience Auditorium at Groote Schuur Hospital from 14h00 to 18h00. The meeting was held in a hybrid format with local fellows and members of the local Administrative Committee and supervisors attending in person, and some of the fellows, supervisors and members of the Co-ordinating and Training Advisory Committees connecting remotely via Zoom. We were fortunate to host in-person, two of our co-investigators, Professor Jonathan Golub and Professor David Haas from Johns Hopkins University and Vanderbilt University Medical Center, respectively. Professor Aletta Nonyane from Johns Hopkins School of Public Health was also able to join in person following her attendance at the final session Fogarty HATTP Clinical Research Methods Workshop the previous day. There were 55 attendees over the two sessions.
Lead investigators and students from other Fogarty D43 funded programs in Cape Town and the Eastern Cape joined the ASM.
- Professor Andrew Medina-Marino and two of his students from the Eastern Cape: The Khulani Siphile Siphuhle Training Program (KiSS-TP)
- Associate Professor Estelle Verburgh: Research training in HIV-related transfusion medicine and hematology in South Africa
- Professor Clive Gray: Next Generation Training in HIV Research: Immunity in the First 1000 days in mother-infant dyads (TIGRIS)
- Dr Innocent Maposa and students: Africa Center for Biostatistical Excellence: Expanding biostatistical leadership for HIV/AIDS and TB Research – Stellenbosch University
The program started with an introduction and summary of the HATTP activities to date by the Principal Investigator, Graeme Meintjes.
One of the Fogarty HATTP alumni, Dr Mmamapudi Kubjane, was invited to give a plenary lecture - Overview of HIV/TB co-epidemic in South Africa sharing findings from her work and experience as an epidemiologist and mathematical modeller at Health Economics and Epidemiology Research Office.
Professor Jonathan Golub presented a plenary at the beginning of the afternoon session - During and after TB: what more can we do?. He is Professor of Medicine and Epidemiology at Johns Hopkins Schools of Medicine and Public Health. His research focuses on the epidemiology of tuberculosis in India, South Africa, and Brazil with specific focus on the drivers of TB in these settings.
In the final session we were privileged to hear presentations from:
- Dr Rob Huddy on What is a Fogarty D43 grant? He is the Proposal Development Project Manager within the Research Development Team in the Faculty of Health Sciences (FHS) Research Office
- Dr Innocent Maposa presented a talk on Building biostatistics capacity: sharing the journey on behalf of the HATTP Training Advisory Committee Chair, Professor Taryn Young. He is a Senior Biostatistician and the MSC & PhD in Biostatistics Program Convener in the Division of Epidemiology and Biostatistics, Department of Global Health, Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences, Stellenbosch University.
- Dr Tammy Phillips on Supporting people returning to HIV care after a treatment interruption: current context and stated preferences for adherence support and models of care. Dr Phillips is a member of the local HATTP committee and also holds a Fogarty K43 award.
- Dr Anastasia Koch on Engaging with the community: Lessons from Eh!Woza. She is the co-founder and co-director of Eh!woza, a community and public engagement NPO based in Khayelitsha, Cape Town.
Sixteen current Fellows and Prof Marino plus two of his students presented their research program and projects.
HATTP FELLOWS’ PRESENTATIONS:
|
Rephaim Mpofu – Clinical Pharmacology Supervisor: A/Prof Phumla Sinxadi |
Pharmacokinetics of a drug-drug interaction between TAF and Rifampicin in South African People with TB/HIV-1 infection |
|
Hannah Gunter – Allergy and Clinical Immunology Supervisor: Prof Jonny Peter |
Pharmacogenomics of adverse drug reactions to first-and secondline antituberculosis drugs |
|
Avuyonke Balfour – CIDRI-Africa Supervisor: Prof Muki Shey |
MAIT cell phenotypes associated with resistance to Mtb infection and to latent tuberculosis infection |
|
Phuti Choshi - Allergy and Clinical Immunology Supervisor: Prof Jonny Peter |
Pharmacogenomics of rifampicin induced severe cutaneous adverse reactions to first line anti-TB drugs |
|
Jacqui Mugo - Allergy and Clinical Immunology Supervisor: Prof Jonny Peter |
A replication study of variants associated with rifampicin induced SCAR using low-pass whole genome sequencing (LPWGS) in a SA cohort |
|
Bianca Sossen – Medicine Supervisor: Prof Graeme Meintjes |
Urine based diagnostics for adults with HIV associated tuberculosis |
|
Raymond Moseki – Medicine Supervisor: Prof Graeme Meintjes |
Profiling longitudinal perturbations in gene expression in people who develop paradoxical tuberculosis associated immune reconstitution inflammatory syndrome |
|
Andrew Medina-Marino – Desmond Tutu Foundation – PI KiSS-TP |
Research Training and Capacity Development in Eastern Cape: The Khulani Siphile Siphuhle Training Program (KiSS-TP) |
|
Bulelwa Makhutha - Desmond Tutu Health Foundation Eastern Cape Supervisors: Dr Melissa Wallace and Prof Jeniffer Welloza |
Exploring the effectiveness and challenges of integrating interpersonal counselling in HIV Care: Enhancing mental health support and outcomes - an implementation science methodology |
|
Dawie Olivier - Desmond Tutu Health Foundation Eastern Cape Supervisor: Prof Andrew Marino-Medina |
Examining the effect of multi-level and intersectional stigma and social support on linkage to Tuberculosis Care Services in South Africa: A multi-level analysis of TB, HIV, Gender Dynamics and Social Support |
|
Katlego Motlhaoleng – Centre for Disease Control South Africa Supervisors: Profs Gary Maartens and Jonathan Golub |
Healthcare professionals’ perspectives on challenges and solutions in implementing targeted universal tuberculosis testing |
|
Maxine Höft – Virology Supervisor: Prof Wendy Burgers |
Investigating the long-term T cell memory responses towards SARS-CoV-2 in people living with HIV |
|
Astrid Kühn – Human Cell Biology Supervisors: Dr Saskia Janssen and Prof Dirk Lang |
Sequestration of leukocyte-platelet aggregates in patients with HIV associated Tuberculosis |
|
Herman Bagula – Medicine Supervisor: Prof Graeme Meintjes |
Comparison of the diagnostic yield when Xpert Ultra is performed on sputum versus urine versus pooled sputum-urine specimens in adult HIV-positive patients admitted to medical wards in Cape Town |
|
Zaayid Omar – Cardiology/CIDRI-Africa Supervisor: Prof Mpiko Ntsekhe |
Association between TB infection and cardiac fibrosis in persons with HIV in South Africa |
|
Linda Boloko – CIDRI-Africa Supervisor: Prof Graeme Meintjes |
Hyperferritinaemia associates with bacillary load and mortality in admitted patients with HIV-associated tuberculosis |
|
Tafadzwa Chimbetete - Allergy and Clinical Immunology Supervisor: Prof Jonny Peter |
Spatial immune profiling of Rifampicin-DRESS skin in HIVinfected patients |
|
Haroon Moolla (ZOOM) - School of Public Health Supervisor: A/Prof Leigh Johnson |
ART interruptions and the burden of TB disease |
|
Zinhle Cindi (ZOOM) – University of Pennsylvania Supervisor: A/Prof Phumla Sinxadi and Prof Marylyn Ritchie |
Using polygenic scores to predict the risk of drug-induced liver injury after initiating antiretroviral therapy in people living with HIV |
In the closing session, Professor Meintjes thanked all the fellows and speakers for their great presentations, resulting in a exciting day of discussion on the developments in HIV-associated TB science!
Some pics from the ASM 2024
Click to enlarge and see delegate's names
