Derseree Archary

Professor Derseree Archary, PhD, is a Senior Scientist at CAPRISA and honorary Associate Professor in the School of Laboratory Medicine and Medical Sciences, in the College of Health Sciences at the University of KwaZulu-Natal. Her primary area of research interest interrogates factors of HIV risk in the female genital tract. Her research aims to prevent infection in women and better protect women with the current HIV prevention modalities that include vaccines, PrEP and combination prevention strategies to advance the field of HIV-1 prevention. 

Professor Archary's primary research areas are in understanding the immunology in HIV disease and pathogenesis, mucosal immunology for HIV prevention - and more specifically the role of mucosal HIV-1 specific binding antibodies and biomarkers of risk of HIV-1 acquisition in pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP).  She has piloted a study that optimized genital mucosal sampling methods. This study has informed the use of the menstrual cup for the collection of cervicovaginal secretions. Softcup has been adopted by the HIV Vaccine Trials Network (HVTN) genital fluid collection. Her research focus also interrogates the interplay between inflammation and the microbiome with PrEP use.  She was awarded a European & Developing Countries Clinical Trials Partnership (EDCTP) Senior Fellowship Grant entitled: “PrEP-Underlying Mucosal immunity Before & After or PUMBA”.

Her expertise in humoral immunology has equipped her to participate in SARS-CoV-2 immunology and virology research with AHRI. She has co-authored two high impact papers in Nature and CID on antibody responses of SARS-CoV-2 in individuals during natural infection, re-infections, and during post-vaccination with either Pfizer BioNTech or the J&J vaccines.

She has trained 13 honours, masters and PhD students and continues to train post-graduates and post-doctoral fellows from underrepresented groups to develop research infrastructure, science and capacity in southern Africa and Africa.