Doty Ojwach

Dr. Doty Ojwach obtained her Biomedical Science degree from Maseno University, Kenya and relocated to South Africa to further her studies. She obtained her MmedSci and PhD degrees in medical virology, both from the University of KwaZulu-Natal. She is a two-time best sub-Saharan African Network for TB/HIV excellence trainee (2017-2018) and a Lindau Nobel laureate fellow (2020-2021). Currently, she is a postdoctoral fellow at Stellenbosch University. Doty is applying her scientific skills and understanding of the interplay between HIV replication and HIV-specific T cell immunity, to maternal HIV/CMV co-infection and the impact this has on the development of foetal immunity, starting by investigations in the placenta. Her current research is funded by the African Research Excellence Fellowship (2022) where she will be undertaking further skills training at University of Oxford and Surrey in the UK. My goal in this sustainable development goal 3 research endeavour is to facilitate improved knowledge and policy decisions around mother-child dyad. I want to identify whether maternal immunity to HIV/CMV infections and antiretroviral therapy contributes to placental inflammation and adverse birth outcomes, such as spontaneous pre-term delivery and poor infant immune development. I want this because Africa experiences the brunt of HIV and large numbers of HIV exposed uninfected infants are born every year.  Despite vertical transmission prevention, these new born infants are often not healthy. I can do this because I have experience in HIV virology including vast sequence and data analysis, which are instrumental in building the expected predictive models for the clinical outcomes of pre-term birth and infant immunity. 

Doty Ojwach was a participant at the Female Science Talents 2023 Intensive Track.