Biography

Thumbi Ndung’u is the Director for Basic and Translational Science at the Africa Health Research Institute (AHRI) in Durban, South Africa; the Provost’s Visiting Professor of HIV Virology and Immunology at Imperial College London; Programme Director for the Sub-Saharan African Network for TB/HIV Research Excellence (SANTHE); Professor of Infectious Diseases at University College London; and the Scientific Director, Professor and Victor Daitz Chair at the HIV Pathogenesis Programme of the University of KwaZulu-Natal.

He graduated with a Bachelor of Veterinary Medicine degree from the University of Nairobi, Kenya, completed a PhD in Biological Sciences in Public Health from Harvard University, USA and performed post-doctoral research in Virology at Harvard Medical School. He is a member of the Academy of Science of South Africa, a fellow of the African Academy of Sciences and a member of the United States National Academy of Medicine.

Ndung’u has received more than US $100 million in grant funding. He has mentored many early career researchers and has a special interest in translation of science into innovation in Africa. He has co-authored more than 350 original research publications. His research focuses on understanding interactions between HIV and the immune system and how these may be harnessed and translated for HIV prevention or cure.