Dr. Lenine Liebenberg, Ph.D. is a Scientist based at the CAPRISA Mucosal Immunology Laboratory. She is an honorary Senior lecturer at the University of KwaZulu-Natal, a Royal Society & African Academy of Sciences Future Leaders – Independent African Researcher (FLAIR) Fellow, and an Affiliate member of the African Academy of Sciences. Dr Liebenberg’s combined academic training in medical virology, microbiology, genetics, and immunology direct the scope of her research in understanding immune responses at the human genital mucosa. She has documented methods to improve genital cell isolation from men and women, and has characterised genital and systemic immune factors facilitating HIV infection, viral shedding and HIV transmission. Her current interests centre on investigating cytokine and cellular biomarkers of genital immune activation and inflammation, their relative causes, and the consequences to the risk of HIV and other STI acquisition and transmission