Emily Wong
A5050499437- Tuberculosis Research and Epidemiology
- HIV/AIDS Impact and Responses
- SARS-CoV-2 and COVID-19 Research
- Pneumocystis jirovecii pneumonia detection and treatment
- Immune Cell Function and Interaction
- COVID-19 epidemiological studies
- Mycobacterium research and diagnosis
- COVID-19 Clinical Research Studies
- Global Public Health Policies and Epidemiology
- HIV Research and Treatment
- HIV/AIDS Research and Interventions
- Vaccine Coverage and Hesitancy
- Health Systems, Economic Evaluations, Quality of Life
- HIV-related health complications and treatments
- T-cell and B-cell Immunology
- Infectious Diseases and Tuberculosis
- Psoriasis: Treatment and Pathogenesis
- Diagnosis and treatment of tuberculosis
- COVID-19 diagnosis using AI
- Adolescent Sexual and Reproductive Health
- Diabetes, Cardiovascular Risks, and Lipoproteins
- Chronic Disease Management Strategies
- COVID-19 and Mental Health
- Cytomegalovirus and herpesvirus research
- Immunotherapy and Immune Responses
Africa Health Research Institute
2016-2025
University of Alabama at Birmingham
2020-2025
University College London
2019-2024
Office of Infectious Diseases
2024
Massachusetts General Hospital
2014-2024
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
2023-2024
University of British Columbia
2024
National Center for Emerging and Zoonotic Infectious Diseases
2023-2024
Takeda (France)
2024
Cedars-Sinai Medical Center
2024
Abstract The emergence of the SARS-CoV-2 variant concern Omicron (Pango lineage B.1.1.529), first identified in Botswana and South Africa, may compromise vaccine effectiveness lead to re-infections 1 . Here we investigated escape from neutralization by antibodies African individuals vaccinated with Pfizer BNT162b2. We used blood samples taken soon after vaccination who were previously infected or no evidence previous infection. isolated sequence-confirmed live virus an person observed that...
Rearrangement of the BCL1 (B-cell lymphoma 1) region on chromosome 11q13 appears to be highly characteristic centrocytic and also is found infrequently in other B-cell neoplasms. thought deregulate a nearby protooncogene, but transcribed sequences immediate vicinity breakpoints had not been identified. PRAD1, previously designated D11S287E, was identified as chromosomal breakpoint rearranged with parathyroid hormone gene subset adenomas; this conserved putative oncogene, which encodes novel...
SARS-CoV-2 Omicron (B.1.1.529) BA.4 and BA.5 sub-lineages, first detected in South Africa, have changes relative to BA.1 including substitutions the spike receptor binding domain. Here we isolated live viruses measured BA.4/BA.5 neutralization elicited by infection either absence or presence of previous vaccination as well from without infection. In BA.1-infected unvaccinated individuals, declines 7.6-fold for 7.5-fold BA.5. vaccinated individuals with subsequent infection, decreases...
Objectives We evaluated whether implementation of lockdown orders in South Africa affected ambulatory clinic visitation rural Kwa-Zulu Natal (KZN). Design Observational cohort Setting Data were analysed from 11 primary healthcare clinics northern KZN. Participants A total 46 523 individuals made 89 476 visits during the observation period. Exposure interest conducted an interrupted time series analysis to estimate changes with a focus on transitions prelockdown level 5, 4 and 3 periods....
Abstract The extent to which Omicron infection 1–9 , with or without previous vaccination, elicits protection against the previously dominant Delta (B.1.617.2) variant is unclear. Here we measured neutralization capacity variants of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 in 39 individuals South Africa infected sublineage BA.1 starting at a median 6 (interquartile range 3–9) days post symptom onset and continuing until last follow-up sample available, 23 19–27) symptoms allow...
Network motifs are statistically overrepresented sub-structures (sub-graphs) in a network, and have been recognized as 'the simple building blocks of complex networks'. Study biological network may reveal answers to many important questions. The main difficulty detecting larger networks lies the facts that number possible sub-graphs increases exponentially with or motif size (node counts, general), no known polynomial-time algorithm exists deciding if two graphs topologically equivalent....
Background Mortality in the first months of antiretroviral therapy (ART) is a significant clinical problem sub-Saharan Africa. To date, no post-mortem study has investigated causes mortality these patients. Methods HIV-positive adults who died as in-patients at Johannesburg academic hospital underwent chart-review and ultrasound-guided needle autopsy for histological microbiological examination lung, liver, spleen, kidney, bone marrow, lymph node, skin cerebrospinal fluid. A...
A hallmark of pulmonary tuberculosis is the formation macrophage-rich granulomas. These may restrict Mycobacterium (Mtb) growth, or progress to central necrosis and cavitation, facilitating pathogen growth. To determine factors leading Mtb proliferation host cell death, we used live imaging track infection outcomes in individual primary human macrophages. Internalization aggregates caused macrophage phagocytosis large was more cytotoxic than multiple small containing similar numbers bacilli....
Abstract Cellular immunity is critical for controlling intracellular pathogens, but individual cellular dynamics and cell–cell cooperativity in evolving human immune responses remain poorly understood. Single-cell RNA-sequencing (scRNA-seq) represents a powerful tool dissecting complex multicellular behaviors health disease 1,2 nominating testable therapeutic targets 3 . Its application to longitudinal samples could afford an opportunity uncover factors associated with the evolution of...
Summary Mucosa‐associated invariant T ( MAIT ) cells express the semi‐invariant T‐cell receptor TRAV 1–2 and detect a range of bacteria fungi through MHC ‐like molecule MR 1. However, knowledge function phenotype bacteria‐reactive 1‐restricted + from human blood is limited. We broadly characterized in response to bacteria‐infected targets defined phenotypic panel identify these circulation. demonstrated that shared effector functions cytolytic CD 8 cells. By analysing an extensive markers,...
BackgroundThere has been remarkable progress in the treatment of HIV throughout sub-Saharan Africa, but there are few data on prevalence and overlap other significant causes disease endemic populations. Our aim was to identify infectious non-communicable diseases such a population rural South Africa.MethodsWe did cross-sectional study eligible adolescents adults from Africa Health Research Institute demographic surveillance area uMkhanyakude district KwaZulu-Natal, Africa. The participants,...
Nursing home residents have experienced disproportionally high levels of COVID-19-associated morbidity and mortality were prioritized for early COVID-19 vaccination (1). Following reported declines in vaccine-induced immunity after primary series vaccination, defined as receipt 2 doses an mRNA vaccine (BNT162b2 [Pfizer-BioNTech] or mRNA-1273 [Moderna]) 1 dose Ad26.COV2 (Johnson & Johnson [Janssen]) (2), CDC recommended that all persons aged ≥12 years receive a booster dose.* Moderately to...
High expression of CD161 on CD8+ T cells is associated with a population thought to play role in mucosal immunity. We wished investigate this subset an HIV and Mycobacterium tuberculosis (MTB) endemic African setting.A flow cytometric approach was used assess the frequency phenotype CD161++CD8+ cells. 80 individuals were recruited for cross-sectional analysis: controls (n = 18), latent MTB infection (LTBI) only 16), pulmonary (TB) 8), 13), LTBI co-infection 15) TB 10). The impact acute...
In recent years, chronic immune activation and systemic inflammation have emerged as hallmarks of HIV disease progression mortality. Several studies indicate that soluble inflammatory biomarkers (sCD14, IL-6, IL-8, CRP hyaluronic acid), well surface markers T-cell (CD38, HLA-DR) independently predict to AIDS mortality in HIV-infected individuals. While co-infections been shown contribute activation, the impact latent tuberculosis infection (LTBI), which is widely endemic areas most affected...