Dr. Thandeka Moyo-Gwete

Thandeka Moyo-Gwete is a South African immunologist affiliated with the University of the Witwatersrand and the National Institute for Communicable Diseases, with collaborations across CAPRISA and major vaccine research networks. Her work sits at the forefront of viral immunology, focusing on antibody and T cell responses to HIV-1 and SARS-CoV-2, particularly in high-burden African settings.

Her research explores neutralizing antibody breadth, viral escape, and immune imprinting, including resistance to broadly neutralizing antibodies in HIV prevention trials and population-level shifts in SARS-CoV-2 immunity during variant waves. She has played a key role in studies evaluating heterologous COVID-19 booster strategies, hybrid immunity, and immune responses in people living with HIV.

Moyo-Gwete’s contributions also extend to nanoparticle HIV vaccine design and comparative immunogenicity models, as well as pediatric and inflammatory immune profiling in COVID-19. Her scholarship is recognized for integrating detailed immunoprofiling with clinical trial data, informing vaccine design, booster policy, and understanding of viral evolution in diverse populations.