Dr. Ramona Hurdayal

I am a Lecturer and team leader of the Leishmaniasis Research Group in the Department of Molecular and Cellular Biology, University of Cape Town, and senior researcher within the Cytokine and Diseases Research Group of the International Centre for Genetic Engineering and Biotechnology (ICGEB), Cape Town component. I graduated with an MSc in Biochemistry from the University of KwaZulu Natal, which focussed on malaria diagnosis. This nurtured my interest in infectious diseases and I then completed a PhD and post-doctorate in immunology, relating to murine models of human leishmaniasis, at the Division of Immunology, Institute of Infectious Disease and Molecular Medicine under the supervision and mentorship of Prof Frank Brombacher. My research team focuses on identifying host determinants of resistance and susceptibility to leishmaniasis in mammalian models, as potential targets for developing host-directed therapies.

My career is/has been supported by the National Research Foundation of South Africa, German Research Foundation (IRTG 1522), the Claude Leon Foundation, the Poliomyelitis Research Foundation and the University of Cape Town.