Background

Jennifer Giandhari joined our group studies as a postdoctoral researcher under the supervision of Prof. Tulio de Oliveira. Her postdoctoral research focuses on identifying new drug resistance mutations to protease inhibitors outside of the protease gene by using a genomics and bioinformatics approach. This will assist in the management of patients failing second-line therapy and help guide effective third line options. The project forms part of the Southern African Treatment Resistance Network (SATuRN) and will provide the largest sample dataset of patients failing protease inhibitors in South Africa.

Current Affiliations:

NGS Platform Manager: KRISP - KwaZulu-Natal Research and Innovation Sequencing Platform, UKZN, Durban, South Africa.

Post-Doctoral fellow: College of Health Sciences, University of KwaZulu-Natal (UKZN), Durban, South Africa.

DST-NRF PDP felllow, Centre for the Aids Programme of Research in South Africa (CAPRISA), Durban, South Africa.

Education:

PhD in Virology from the University of Witwatersrand in 2015.

MSc in Virology from the Nelson R Mandela School of Medicine, UKZN, in 2012.

Trends in Pretreatment HIV-1 Drug Resistance in Antiretroviral Therapy-naive Adults in South Africa, 2000–2016: A Pooled Sequence Analysis.
Chimukangara B, Lessells RJ, Rhee S-Y, Giandhari J, Kharsany ABM, Naidoo K, Lewis L, Cawood C, Khanyile D, Ayalew KA, Diallo K, Samuel R, Hunt G, Vandormael A, Stray-Pedersen B, Gordon M, Makadzange T, Kiepiela P, Ramjee G, Ledwaba J, Kalimashe M, Morris L, Parikh UM, Mellors JW, Shafer RW, Katzenstein D, Moodley P, Gupta RK, Pillay D, Karim SSA, de Oliveira T, EClinicalMedicine (Lancet) (2019), DOI:https://doi.org/10.1016/j.eclinm.2019.03.006:.

Predicted antiviral activity of tenofovir versus abacavir in combination with a cytosine analogue and the integrase inhibitor dolutegravir in HIV-1-infected South African patients initiating or failing first-line ART.
Derache A, Iwuji CC, Danaviah S, Giandhari J, Marcelin AG, Calvez V, de Oliveira T, Dabis F, Pillay D, Gupta RK, J Antimicrob Chemother. (2018), doi: 10.1093/jac/dky428:doi:10.1093/jac/dky428.

Genetic markers for protease inhibitor drug resistance in regions outside of the protease gene.
Giandhari J, Gordon M, van Vuuren C, Moodley P, de Oliveira T, Virus Evolution (2017), :doi: 10.1093/ve/vew036.018.

Contribution of Gag and Protease to HIV-1 Phenotypic Drug Resistance in Pediatric Patients Failing Protease Inhibitor-Based Therapy.
Giandhari J, Basson AE, Sutherland K, Parry CM, Cane PA, Coovadia A, Kuhn L, Hunt G, Morris L, Antimicrob Agents Chemother. (2016), 60(4):2248-56.

Genetic Changes in HIV-1 Gag-Protease Associated with Protease Inhibitor-Based Therapy Failure in Pediatric Patients.
Giandhari J, Basson AE, Coovadia A, Kuhn L, Abrams AJ, Strehlau R, Morris L, Hunt GM, AIDS Res Hum Retroviruses (2015), 31(8):776-82.