Establishment of a Patient-Derived, Magnetic Levitation-Based, 3D Spheroid Granuloma Model for Human Tuberculosis

SAIS-Immunopaedia 2022 - An African Based Immunology Series 

Dr. Leigh Kotze is a South African immunologist with a keen interest in investigating the innate immune response to tuberculosis (TB), particularly within the human granuloma. Her PhD (Stellenbosch University) focused on immune biomarkers for TB, investigating potential new diagnostic biosignatures, TB treatment response biomarkers, as well as functional biomarkers indicative of protective immunity in the context of other co-infections such as HIV and helminths.

Her post-doctoral fellowship within the Stellenbosch University Immunology Research Group has focused on the investigation of suppressive myeloid responses during the early, innate, and later, adaptive stages of pulmonaryMycobacterium tuberculosis infection, particularly at the lung site-of disease. This work led to the development and establishment of a novel patient-derived, in vitro 3D spheroid TB granuloma model which mimics the site of infection for the study of host responses during disease. Alongside her love of lab work, she spends a large proportion of her time training future scientists, teaching students in high parameter flow cytometry and other platforms, as she enjoys sharing her excitement and love of science and immunology with the younger generation.

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