HPP celebrates 20 years of international collaborations, science, making a difference in the community
The HIV Pathogenesis Programme (HPP) was established in 2002.
For the past 20 years, it has aimed to build on existing collaborations between the University of KwaZulu-Natal, Harvard Medical School and Oxford University, to deliver:
- A multidisciplinary HIV pathogenesis research programme anchored by an immunology programme that seeks to rapidly provide an extensive understanding of the immune responses that are effective in the control of HIV infection.
- A training programme that will invest in South Africans, enabling them to develop the expertise to be world leaders in the fields of basic and translational research from within Africa.
- The infrastructure to make possible a research centre of excellence at the site of the epidemic.
To celebrate this important milestone of 20 years, a full-day symposium was held at the Mount Edgecombe Country Club on 22 November 2022. The commemoration event was attended by HPP staff and students, UKZN representatives, former research participants, other study team members and HPP alumni. The focus of the symposium was to celebrate the achievements of the HPP department over the past two decades, and how the unit has evolved since its establishment.
Talks were given by graduates, key collaborators and current management and faculty members of HPP. The Acting DVC of Research and Innovation at UKZN, Professor Mosa Moshabela, and Professor Michelle Gordon, Academic Leader: Infectious Diseases at UKZN, both congratulated HPP on their achievements and long-standing partnership with UKZN.
One of the highlights of the day was a talk by a past research participant, whose son had been enrolled as a newborn in one of HPP’s initial research studies in 2004. The harsh reality is that without the intervention of that particular study, her son would not have survived. Yet today, the young man is 17 and about to complete Grade 12 with a world of opportunities before him. Hearing the difference that HPP has made in individual lives was inspiring and made the hard work worthwhile.
The day ended with the blowing out of candles and cutting of the official HPP birthday cake by its current Director, Professor Thumbi Ndung’u, and HPP’s longest serving employee, Tresha Moodley. Here is to the next 20 years of international collaborations, groundbreaking science and making a difference in the community. Congratulations HPP!
Words: Nombuso Dlamini