​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​The​ African Microbiome Institute (AMI)​​​


Scientific Forum


Charissa Naidoo.jpg Dr Charissa Naidoo
Scientific Meetings Organiser

Charissa organises the quarterly African Microbiome Institute Scientific Forum. The forum is a series of microbiome-related presentations (research findings, planned studies, protocols, student proposals, etc) held quarterly. It promotes networking amongst microbiome researchers in various disciplines. Charissa is a postdoctoral fellow in the Clinical Mycobacteriology & Epidemiology (CLIME) group headed by Prof Grant Theron at Stellenbosch University. Her research focus is on the microbiome of tuberculosis (TB) patients, which includes how microbial communities in the oral cavity, airways and gut fluctuate during treatment, their association with clinical outcomes (including drug side effects and post-treatment sequelae like relapse), and the fundamental mechanisms that likely underpin these relationships (i.e. modulation of host immune responses). ​



Suventha Moodley.jpg Dr Suventha Moodley
Assistant Scientific Meetings Coordinator

Suventha assists in coordinating the quarterly African Microbiome Institute Scientific Forum. Suventha is currently a postdoctoral fellow in the Clinical Mycobacteriology & Epidemiology (CLIME) group headed by Prof Grant Theron at Stellenbosch University. Her research focuses on understanding the role of the microbiome in latent tuberculosis (TB), microbiome associated metabolites in TB patients and the influence of TB treatment on antimicrobial resistance in ESKAPE bacteria. These investigations include the quantification of short chain fatty acids in TB cases and symptomatic controls, describing how stool microbiota changes during latent TB infection and quantification of antimicrobial resistance amongst the ESKAPE bacteria in TB cases longitudinally.