Today we mark #InternationalNursesDay and celebrate the incredible contribution nurses make to improving health around the world. At AHRI, our nurses' dedication, compassion and expertise are a vital component of our research. Happy International Nurses Day!

Great progress on vaccines & host-directed therapies (HDT) in TB. Our review on IL-17👇 🎯protective early on & post-vaccine in animal models 👉desirable for vaccines? 🎯Drive pathology in TB disease👉target for HDT to limit post-TB lung damage? With @ahri-news.bsky.social @plos.org #TBSky #ImmunoSky

Exciting milestone for the #ATTIS study. The first 6 volunteers were screened for TB in KZN, South Africa! This marks the culmination of a huge amount of work to obtain this grant and set-up the study. It’s also just the beginning. 6 participants enrolled and 89,9994 to go! 1/2

#WorldHepatitisSummit poster - our team shared #CommunityEngagement experience from our 'EVOLVE' #HBV project in #SouthAfrica to enhance interventions for #hepatitis #elimination. 🧪 👏 #WHS2026 #NoHep #MedSky #LiverSky @ahri-news.bsky.social @uclnews.bsky.social @crick.ac.uk doi.org/10.6084/m9.f...

🫁 The GRR-HTB is a collaborative platform of pathologists & scientists dedicated to transforming how TB is studied. We aim to accelerate global TB research through access to human TB tissue samples and advanced analytical services 🧵 1/3 #TBsky #IDsky

📢 AHRI has co-launched a new working group to tackle #HPV with the University of KwaZulu-Natal, CAPRISA, the Department of Health & the NHLS ✅ It aims to build a network of experts to advance HPV knowledge, improve patient care & support evidence-informed policy & practice. 📽️ youtu.be/ZjRNFUzx0A0

AHRI Executive Director Prof Willem Hanekom is delivering the Annual Stephen Lawn Memorial Lecture today at the University of Cape Town. 💉New vaccines to dramatically interrupt the TB epidemic 🗓 31 March | ⏰ 17:00 (SAST) 💻 Watch live: us02web.zoom.us/j/8360578402...

We were honoured to host the @wellcometrust.bsky.social Board of Governors and senior leadership this week. Wellcome is a key partner in supporting AHRI’s work and the visit was a valuable opportunity to deepen understanding of our work and identify new areas for collaboration.

Very proud to release this work! - huge collaboration to assess #HBV #epidemiology ( #infection & #immunity) in a large population study in #SouthAfrica. High prevalence, high #treatment need, low #vaccine mediated protection. @crick.ac.uk @uclnews.bsky.social @ahri-news.bsky.social 🧪 #MedSky

✅ As we mark #WorldTBDay 2026, we're celebrating a milestone for one of our major studies: screening has started in South Africa to investigate asymptomatic TB transmission. @emilybethwong.bsky.social explains how & why the ATTIS study is exploring asymptomatic TB www.youtube.com/watch?v=M053...

Single-cell and spatial profiling highlights #TB-induced myofibroblasts as drivers of lung pathology. From Ian Mbano and colleagues @ahri-news.bsky.social rupress.org/jem/article/... 📘 Updates on the Immune Responses to #Tuberculosis and #HIV: rupress.org/jem/collecti... #KSTB26 #KSHIVVax26

New from AHRI in @jem.org AND on the cover! 📸 shows a human TB granuloma in lung tissue. The red, green & yellow cells shown, for example, are all different type of macrophage - immune cells that fight infection by engulfing & killing microbes like Mtb #TBSky #IDSky 🔗 rupress.org/jem/article/...

Proud to be part of this inspiring team delivering #research & implementation for #hepatitisB #HBV in the lab, in #clinic and for #PublicHealth across disciplines & continents. #WomenInSTEM #STEM #science #MedSky 🧪 @crick.ac.uk @ahri-news.bsky.social #InternationalDayofWomenAndGirlsinScience

🎉 We’re proud to share that AHRI postdoc Dr Afrah Khairallah has been named one of 30 recipients of the 2025 L’Oréal -UNESCO For Women in Science Young Talents Awards. Her research aims to inform HIV vaccine & treatment design. Huge congratulations, Afrah!

How close are we to an HIV cure❓ Earlier in 2025 we announced results from a groundbreaking HIV cure trial led by our Prof Thumbi Ndung'u. 📽️ Watch this video reflecting on his journey from rural Kenya to eminent HIV scientist &what the trial results mean www.youtube.com/watch?v=RVl1... #WorldAidsDay

❓ Could symptom-free people be unknowingly passing TB to others? ✅ A major study has launched in South Africa & Indonesia to try to answer this critical gap in our #TB knowledge. AHRI faculty member & study co-lead @emilybethwong.bsky.social explains #endTB #WCLH2025 📽️ youtu.be/M053QPGZaac

📢 AHRI at #WCLH2025 When new #TB vaccines arrive, we must be ready! AHRI's Prof Limakatso Lebina was part of a panel on engaging & preparing communities for new TB vaccines at a @stoptb.bsky.social side event 'Innovate, Integrate, Impact: a symposium on new tools to END TB' @theunion.org

Three years after the KwaZulu-Natal floods, families are still living in “the falling-down place.” @bhekisisa.org 's story shows how extreme weather erodes both homes and mental health. 📷 Delwyn Verasamy bhekisisa.org/special-repo...

25 years ago, AHRI’s HDSS was born in rural KZN to help confront HIV & build lasting science. Today, it follows over 150,000 people, generating vital insights. Join us for a public lecture on its past & future: 🔊 Prof Geoff Solarsh 🗓️ 16 Oct at 5.30pm, SAST 🔗 RSVP: forms.office.com/r/0MB44x4fjN

"Some languages don't have certain mental health diagnoses. Like, how do you say post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) in Zulu?" — @ahri-news.bsky.social researcher, Collins Iwuji, on #MentalHealth and #ClimateChange. bhekisisa.org/special-repo...

We are hiring! Please circulate in your networks. Join us in beautiful warm and wonderful KZN to answer some important questions about asymptomatic / subclinical TB. #TBsky #IDsky 🧪

📢 AHRI is #hiring for 2️⃣ key roles for an exciting new study on asymptomatic TB transmission. Successful candidates will join the leadership of the study, working closely with our director for clinical trials Limakatso Lebina & @emilybethwong.bsky.social More ➡️ ahri.wd3.myworkdayjobs.com/AHRI1

🥳 Celebrating 🔟 years of the DELTAS Africa Programme! It's been a packed 3 days at the DELTAS Africa Scientific Meeting, featuring cutting-edge research in health, climate & social sciences; strengthening partnerships & reflecting on a decade of impact in building Africa’s research capacity

It’s #WorldHepatitisDay! We work all through the year with amazing international and interdisciplinary partners to improve awareness, advocacy, training and access to interventions. Thanks to an amazing team! @crick.ac.uk @ahri-news.bsky.social @cnwl.nhs.uk #KWTRP #UVRI #NoHep #HBV 🧪🌍🦠💉🏥

The Department of Health & @who.int are hosting 🇿🇦 's 1st national TB Vaccine Preparedness Workshop, bringing together policymakers, scientists, civil society & community leaders to ensure our systems are ready to deliver when a new TB 💉 becomes available. AHRI's Prof Willem Hanekom is there 👇🏾

Big #lenacapavir news this week: 1. @who.int recommends 2x yearly injectable LEN as PrEP 2. @bhekisisa.org reports SA has accepted an offer of +- R520-million from the Global Fund to buy the jab AHRI is proud to have contributed to the landmark LEN results 📽️ www.youtube.com/watch?v=jHRV...

Our interdisciplinary team for the EVOLVE project tackling #HBV #hepatitisB met with the Community Advisory Board in #SouthAfrica to exchange feedback & ideas. Lots of food for thought: #vaccines #treatment #diagnosis & much needed care pathways. #NoHep #HepSky 🧪 @ahri-news.bsky.social @crick.ac.uk

📢 It's a big day for African health research: the African Population Cohorts Consortium has formally launched! Hosted by the Science for Africa Foundation & funded by @wellcometrust.bsky.social APCC brings together 40+ cohorts across 16 countries in Africa to drive health research & policy. 🧵(1/2)

Poster by Gloria Sukali & team at #EASLCongress, showing measurement of #tenofovir levels in people living with #HIV ± #HBV in South Africa. Viraemic suppression more reliable in HIV; even with high levels HBV can persist. 🧪🌍🇿🇦🦠💊 @ahri-news.bsky.social @crick.ac.uk @ucl.ac.uk @easlnews.bsky.social

It’s #WorldImmunisationWeek - a moment to spotlight the research we are doing on vaccines 💉 At AHRI, Prof Limakatso Lebina leads our clinical trials: ✅ We’re currently testing 2️⃣ novel TB vaccines for adolescents and adults, and we are preparing for an HIV vaccine study A short 🧵:

As we mark #WorldImmunizationWeek we stand at an historic moment: the development of a new TB vaccine that holds the greatest promise since the invention of BCG over a century ago. Read how science is bringing us closer to a future free of TB ➡️ dailymaverick.co.za/article/2025... #VaccinesWork

In the past 50 years immunization has ⬇️ infant mortality by 40%. That means more children now reach their 5th birthday than ever before in human history. Celebrate & protect this incredible achievement. Fund immunization! A healthier world is #HumanlyPossible #vaccineswork

Access to liver health - a priority for everyone... everywhere. While cuts bite hard, we will push for ongoing training, research, funding, employment, advocacy and access. 🧪 #MASLD #HBV #HCV #NoHep #LiverSky @worldhepalliance.bsky.social @ahri-news.bsky.social @hepbcompanion.bsky.social

#WorldLiverDay We live with a huge & neglected burden of disease from viral #hepatitis. We have the tools for prevention, diagnosis & treatment... now we must fight to keep using them. @crick.ac.uk @ahri-news.bsky.social @cnwlnhs.bsky.social @uclhresearch.bsky.social #CDC #PEPFAR #NoHep #HBV 🧪🌍

We're proud to share that AHRI's head of clinical trials, Prof Limakatso Lebina, has been awarded the Calestous Juma Science Leadership Fellowship. ✅ The fellowship brings together accomplished innovators to form a community of global health opinion shapers & influencers Congrats, Limakatso!

Powerful words from @emilybethwong.bsky.social @ahri-news.bsky.social As precious and powerful resources are cut, we have to stand together, we have to keep going, & keep our eyes on the goals. We mourn, but we also mobilise. #worldTBday #TB #HIV #StandUpForScience #MedSky #IDSky #SouthAfrica

As we mark #WorldTBDay2025 we stand on the threshold of creating only the second tuberculosis vaccine 💉 ever, and the first in more than a century since the BCG vaccine in 1921. ✅ Words from AHRI's Prof Willem Hanekom, in @dailymaverick.co.za www.dailymaverick.co.za/article/2025... #endTB #stopTB

Today in the midst of a man-made crisis for science and health we mark #WorldTBDay. The irony is that because of the gem of 🇿🇦🇺🇸🌍 TB science we have better tools than ever and with sustained commitment and funding we coule actually #EndTB. Join us as we discuss the state of TB today at 1pm SAST!

📢 Today is #WorldTBDay2025 Join us to mark the day with a panel discussion focussed on innovations in #TB research in partnership with the University of KwaZulu-Natal & CAPRISA 📆 Monday, 24 March ⏰ 1 - 2.30pm SAST 🔗 youtube.com/@UKZNSouthAf... @emilybethwong.bsky.social #WorldTBDay #endTB

Stepping up efficient use of diagnostics, medication, expertise & infrastructure to support research, clinical & public health programmes for #HBV alongside #HIV. Gloria Sukali presenting on agile use of PrEP. @ahri-news.bsky.social @crick.ac.uk @ucl.ac.uk @maryamshj.bsky.social #NoHep #HepSky 🧪

A thread to share some highlights from our team & colleagues who are at the #globalhepatitissummit #GHS2025 focusing on diagnosis, prevention & treatment of #HBV. #LiverSky #HepSky #MedSky #EpiSky #NoHep #hepatitis #GlobalHealth #AcademicSky @ahri-news.bsky.social @crick.ac.uk @ucl.ac.uk 🌍🧪 1/n

Poster describing our training and use of #Fibroscan to collect #elastography and other data on liver health, including #MASLD and #HBV, by Motswedi Anderson @ahri-news.bsky.social, working through partnerships in Uganda #UVRI, and Kenya #KWTRP with @lou-downs.bsky.social 4/n

Join us to mark #WorldTBDay with a panel discussion focussed on innovations in #TB research featuring Dr @emilybethwong.bsky.social & colleagues from UKZN & CAPRISA 📅 24 March ⏲️ 1 - 2.30pm SAST 🔗 www.youtube.com/@UKZNSouthAf... #StopTB #endTB #WorldTBDay2025

A groundbreaking HIV cure trial has demonstrated promising results in achieving ART-free virus control: 20% of participants remain off ART and are virally suppressed after 1.5 years. The results give insights toward the development of future HIV cure approaches. www.ahri.org/groundbreaki...

After 5 years, 150k papers and 17 million genomes, here's what we learned about SARS-CoV-2 and viruses in general. It holds lessons for future pandemics - only if we listen. "We’re in a worse place in terms of pandemic prevention" @eddieholmes.bsky.social told me. www.nature.com/articles/d41...

4️⃣ ways #COVID changed virology: lessons from the most sequenced virus of all time New in @nature.com by Ewen Callaway and with reflections and commentary from AHRI's Prof Alex Sigal & Prof Ravi Gupta www.nature.com/articles/d41...

The groundbreaking 2024 #lenacapavir trial results mark a major step forward in #HIV prevention. AHRI is incredibly proud to have played a role as one of the Purpose 1 clinical trial sites. 📽️ 💉👩🏾‍⚕️ Watch this short video documenting our contribution 👇🏾 www.youtube.com/watch?v=jHRV...

Dr. Ingrid Bassett and teams at @ahri-news.bsky.social and @mgh-mpec.bsky.social assessed uptake of PrEP and contraception among women receiving an innovative package of care in hair salons in Durban, South Africa. doi.org/10.1186/s128... #HarvardCFAR

Join us in Durban, South Africa, for the Keystone Symposia on HIV Cure. Register by February 26 for a $200 discount. Don't miss out! keysym.us/KSHIV25 #KSHIV25 #keystoneconferences #HIV #AIDS #HIVcure #HIVvaccine #HIVlatency #HIVreservoir #HIVeradication @ahri-news.bsky.social

Diversity, equity and inclusion are important values that deserve to be honored in science and societies striving for justice. As scientists we have to continue to call for these values steadfastly. This day and every day. #InternationalDayForWomenAndGirlsInScience #MedSky #TBSky