Elisa Nemes

Elisa Nemes

Principal Research Officer

University of Cape Town (UCT), South Africa

Email: Elisa.nemes@uct.ac.za

 

 

 

 

VALIDATE Role:

Network Investigator

 

Research Keywords:

TB, Clinical Trials, Vaccines, Immunodiagnostics, Immunology

 

Biography:

Dr Elisa Nemes completed a PhD in HIV-specific T-cell immunology in Italy and France in 2008. She then worked on paediatric immune responses to HIV and TB in Cameroon. In 2011 Dr Nemes joined the South African Tuberculosis Vaccine Initiative (SATVI) at the University of Cape Town, where she has been involved in basic immunology studies; the development of immunodiagnostics and clinical trials of new TB vaccines; studies of host correlates of risk of TB disease and correlates of protection from M.tb infection and TB disease in infants, adolescents and adults.

 

Related Websites:

South African Tuberculosis Vaccine Initiative

 

Key Publications:

  • Borges A.H., Russell M., Tait D., Scriba T.J., Nemes E., Skallerup P., van Brakel E., Cabibbe A., Cirillo D., Leuvennink-Steyn M., Rutkowski K., Wood G., Thierry-Carstensen B., Tingskov P., Meldgaard E.C., Kristiansen M., Søndergaard R., Hansen C., Follmann F., Jensen C.G., Gela A., Ntinginya N.E., Ruhwald M., Shenje J., White L., Innes C., Selepe P., Ngaraguza B., Holmgren C., Collings T., Andersen P., Dawson R., Churchyard G., Sabi I., Diacon A., Mortensen R., and Hatherill M. A phase 2b, double-blind, randomised, placebo-controlled study to evaluate the immunogenicity, safety and efficacy of the vaccine H56:IC31® in reducing the rate of tuberculosis disease recurrence in HIV-negative adults successfully treated for drug-susceptible pulmonary tuberculosis. The Lancet Infectious Diseases, 2025 Mar 5:S1473-3099(24)00814-4.
  • Imbratta C.*, Gela A.*, Bilek N., Mabwe S., Cloete Y., Mortensen R., Borges A., Maenetje P., Mlotshwa M., Churchyard G., Sudi L., Sabi I., Meewes P., Wallis C.L., Hatherill M., Scriba T.J. and Nemes E. Qualification of the Differential Leukocyte Count and Immunophenotyping in Cryopreserved Ex Vivo Whole Blood Assay. Cytometry Part A, 2023 Sep 7.
  • Murphy M., Suliman S., Briel L., Veldtsman H., Khomba N., Africa H., Steyn M., Snyders C.I., van Rensburg I.C., Walzl G., Chegou N.N., Hatherill M., Hanekom W.A., Scriba T.J.* and Nemes E.* Newborn BCG vaccination induces robust infant IFNg-expressing NK cell responses to mycobacteria. International Journal of Infectious Diseases, 2023 Feb 25:S1201-9712(23)00069-3.
  • Nemes E.*, Fiore-Gartland A.*, Boggiano C., Coccia M., D’Souza P., Gilbert P., Ginsberg A., Hyrien O., Laddy D., Makar K., McElrath J., Ramachandra L., Schmidt A.C., Shotorbani S., Sunshine J., Tomaras G., Yu W-Y., Scriba T.J.* and Frahm N.*; the BCG Correlates PIs Study Team & the M72 Correlates PIs Study Team. The quest for vaccine-induced immune correlates of protection against tuberculosis. Vaccine Insights, 2022; 1(3), 165–181.
  • Mpande C.A.M.*, Steigler P.*, Lloyd T.*, Rozot V., Mosito B., Schreuder C., Reid T.D., Bilek N., Ruhwald M., Andrews J.R., Hatherill M., Little F., Scriba T.J., Nemes E. and the ACS Study Team. Mycobacterium tuberculosis-specific T cell functional, memory, and activation profiles in QuantiFERON-reverters are consistent with controlled infection. Frontiers in Immunology, 2021 Aug 30; 12:3441.
  • Mpande C.A.M., Musvosvi M., Rozot V., Mosito B., Reid T.D., Schreuder C., Lloyd T., Bilek N., Huang H., Obermoser G., Davis M.M., Ruhwald M., Hatherill M., Scriba T.J*, Nemes E.* and the ACS Study Team. Antigen specific T cell activation distinguishes between recent and remote tuberculosis infection. Am J Respir Crit Care Med, 2021 Jun 15;203(12):1556-1565.
  • Nemes E.*, Geldenhuys H.*, Rozot V.*, Tucker Rutkowski K., Ratangee F., Bilek N., Mabwe S., Makhethe L., Erasmus M., Toefy A., Mulenga H., Hanekom W.A., Self S.G., Bekker L.G, Ryall R., Gurunathan S., DiazGranados C.A., Andersen P., Kromann I., Evans T., Ellis R.D., Landry B., Hokey D.A., Hopkins R., Ginsberg A.M., Scriba T.J.*, and Hatherill M.*, for the C-040-404 Study Team. Prevention of Infection with M. tuberculosis by H4:IC31 or BCG Revaccination. New England Journal of Medicine; 2018 Jul 12;379(2):138-149.
  • Nemes E.*, Rozot V.*, Geldenhuys H., Bilek N., Mabwe S., Abrahams D., Makhethe L., Erasmus M., Keyser A., Toefy A., Cloete Y., Ratangee F., Blauenfeldt T., Ruhwald M., Walzl G., Smith B., Loxton AG., Hanekom WA., Andrews JR., Lempicki MD., Ellis R., Ginsberg AM., Hatherill M., Scriba TJ.; C-040-404 Study Team and ACS Study Team. Optimization and Interpretation of Serial QuantiFERON Testing to Measure Acquisition of M. tuberculosis Infection. Am J Respir Crit Care Med, 2017 Sep 1;196(5):638-648
  • Andrews J.R., Nemes E., Tameris M., Landry B.S, Mahomed H., McClain J.B, Fletcher H.A, Hanekom W.A., Wood R., McShane H., Scriba T.J, Hatherill M. Serial QuantiFERON testing and tuberculosis disease risk among young children: an observational cohort study. Lancet Resp Med, 2017 Apr;5(4):282-290.
  • Musvosvi M., Duffy D., Filander E., Africa H., Mabwe S., Nkantsu L., Bilek N., Llibre A., Rouilly V., Hatherill M., Albert M., Scriba T.J.* and Nemes E.*. T cell biomarkers for diagnosis of tuberculosis: candidate evaluation by a simple whole blood assay for clinical translation. Eur Respir J, 2018; 51: 1800153