Speaker: Donald Nyangahu, PhD Title: Influence of birth microbiota on BCG immunogenicity Donald Nyangahu is a postdoctoral fellow at Seattle Children’s Research Institute under the mentorship of Dr. Heather Jaspan. He completed his Ph.D. in Immunology from the University of Cape Town where he developed an interest in maternal factors that impact offspring health. During his Ph.D., he investigated using murine models the role of maternal gut microbiota as well as infections during both pregnancy and breastfeeding on offspring gut colonization and immunity. His postdoctoral work utilizes a germ-free maternal-neonatal mouse model to study the causative effect of stool microbiota from infants HIV-Exposed Uninfected (iHEU) on BCG vaccine responses. The aim is to identify intestinal bacteria that could be used to improve infectious disease outcomes in iHEU infants who have an altered immune profile. Although Dr. Nyangahu has been conducting basic research examining the influence of maternal microbiota on offspring health and immunity, he is currently expanding his research interests into clinical settings in South Africa and Kenya. |