The Neutraliser - Penny Moore
Prof Penny Moore: Virologist; South African Research Chair of Virus-Host Dynamics; Research Professor and Academic Head of the Divisions of Virology and Immunology Reader/Associate Professor and DSI/NRF; South African Research Chair of Virus-Host Dynamics at the University of the Witwatersrand and National Institute for Communicable Diseases (NICD) ; Director of the Antibody Immunity Research Unit, an extramural unit of the SA Medical Research Council (SAMRC) ; Honorary Senior Scientist at CAPRISA and University of KwaZulu-Natal; SANTHE Scientific Advisory board member. Mother of two energetic boys.
Her Research: The fastest land animal, as we all know, is a cheetah, but it has to be fast to catch the springbok, the second fastest animal on the veldt. The predator and the prey are locked in a battle to see who can outwit, or out race, the other. There are many examples in biology, from bats and moths, to viruses and antibodies. The faster, better jumping springbok will live another day and make baby springboks that can do the same as their mother. The same for the faster cheetah.
For Penny and her team, the battle that they study is between viruses and antibodies made by the immune system. The work described below is specific to Penny’s HIV research. Her team has applied the same thinking and techniques to understand COVID-19 and the 501Y.V2 variant of the virus and their work has made international headlines.
Penny’s work is fascinating and could help lead to an HIV vaccine. When a person is infected by HIV or another virus, the immune system develops antibodies against the virus. The antibodies will bind to a specific viral protein and neutralise these viruses. But because the HIV virus has established an infection and because it mutates (the genetic code changes) new viruses are made with proteins that are slightly different and aren’t recognised by the antibody. These versions escape the immune system until the body creates antibodies against them as well. This cat and mouse game continues over years and Penny and her lab can study how the antibodies and viruses change learning a lot about HIV and the immune system in the process.
While studying this, they’ve also found antibodies that act against parts of the virus that can’t easily change. These are called broadly neutralising antibodies and they are developed against a piece of a protein that is critical for the normal function of the virus. If there was a mutation in the code for this protein, the virus would be much weaker. These antibodies are very important, and while they don’t stop HIV for someone who is already infected, they will soon be tested as part of a medical trial to test their ability to prevent HIV infection.
Penny’s work is ultimately to understand the race between the immune system and HIV so that we can make effective antibodies against HIV in the lab or through a vaccine. See her publications and read other articles she’s written about her science.
Top Tip: Embrace the unknown with curiosity, not nervousness!
We asked each scientist to rank what is most important to succeed in science, for Penny it’s: Curiosity first, followed by creativity, communication, and hard work
What else do you need? Generosity
Superpowers: Time traveler – able to go into the freezer and pull out virus and antibody samples to see how the they have changed over time. Viral particle sequencing and single cell sequencing - determining the genetic sequence of a single virus particle, one particle! 120nm (nanometers, 1million nanometers in a milimeter) big, or a single cell. Next generation DNA sequencing - DNA sequencing so fast that a human genome can be completed in hours. The first human genome sequencing took 13 years and over $1billion.
Scientific strengths: Communication, mentorship, leadership, outreach at schools showing learners and trainees that science is about passion.
In isiZulu
USolwazi Penny Moore: UProfessor Ofunda/Ohlanganisa naye kanye noSihlalo Wocwaningo WaseNingizimu Afrika we-DSI/NRF we-Virus-Host Dynamics eNyuvesi yaseWitwatersrand kanye neSikhungo Sikazwelonke Sezifo Ezithathelwanayo (NICD); UsoSayensi Omkhulu Ohlonishwayo eCAPRISA, eNyuvesi yaKwaZulu-Natal, ilungu lebhodi le-SANTHE Scientific Advisory. Umama wabafana ababili abanomdlandla.
Ucwaningo Lwakhe: Isilwane sasemhlabeni esishesha kakhulu, njengoba sazi sonke, ingulule, kodwa kufanele isheshe ukubamba i-springbok, isilwane sesibili esisheshayo edlelweni. Umhlaseli kanye nempango bavaleleke empini ukuze babone ukuthi ubani onganqoba, noma akhiphe umjaho, omunye. Kunezibonelo eziningi ku-biology, kusukela kumalulwane namabhu, kuya kumagciwane namasosha omzimba. I-springbok esheshayo, engcono kakhulu egxumayo izophila ngolunye usuku futhi yenze ama-springbok amancane angenza okufanayo nomama wabo. Okufanayo ku-cheetah esheshayo.
KuPenny nethimba lakhe, impi abayifundayo iphakathi kwamagciwane namasosha omzimba enziwe amasosha omzimba. Umsebenzi ochazwe ngezansi uqondene ngqo nocwaningo lukaPenny lwe-HIV. Ithimba lakhe lisebenzise ukucabanga okufanayo nezindlela zokuqonda i-COVID-19 kanye nokwehluka kwegciwane le-501Y.V2 futhi umsebenzi wabo uye waba sematheni emhlabeni jikelele.
Umsebenzi kaPenny uyajabulisa futhi ungasiza ekuholeni ekugomeni i-HIV. Uma umuntu etheleleke nge-HIV noma elinye igciwane, amasosha omzimba akhiqiza amasosha omzimba alwa naleli gciwane. Amasosha omzimba azobophezela kuphrotheni ethile yegciwane futhi enze lawa ma-virus angabi namandla. Kodwa ngenxa yokuthi igciwane lesandulela ngculaza selisungule ukutheleleka futhi ngenxa yokuthi liyashintsha (ikhodi yofuzo iyashintsha) amagciwane amasha enziwa ngamaprotheni ahluke kancane futhi angabonakali i-antibody. Lezi zinguqulo zibalekela amasosha omzimba kuze kube yilapho umzimba udala amasosha omzimba ngokumelene nawo. Lo mdlalo wekati negundane uyaqhubeka phakathi neminyaka futhi u-Penny kanye nelebhu yakhe bangafunda ukuthi amasosha omzimba namagciwane ashintsha kanjani ukufunda okuningi nge-HIV kanye namasosha omzimba ngesikhathi kuqhubeka inqubo.
Ngenkathi befunda lokhu, bathole namasosha omzimba asebenza ngokumelene nezingxenye zegciwane ezingakwazi ukushintsha kalula. Lawa abizwa ngokuthi amasosha omzimba anciphisa kakhulu amandla futhi akhiwa ngokumelene nocezu lwephrotheni olubalulekile ekusebenzeni okuvamile kwegciwane. Uma bekunokuguqulwa kwekhodi yale phrotheni, igciwane belizoba buthaka kakhulu. Lawa amasosha omzimba abaluleke kakhulu, futhi nakuba engayivimbi i-HIV kumuntu osevele ethelelekile, maduzane azohlolwa njengengxenye yocwaningo lwezokwelapha ukuze kuhlolwe amandla akhe okuvimbela ukutheleleka nge-HIV.
Umsebenzi kaPenny ekugcineni uwukuqonda umjaho phakathi kwamasosha omzimba kanye ne-HIV ukuze senze amasosha omzimba asebenzayo ngokumelene ne-HIV elebhu noma ngomgomo. Bona okushicilelwe kwakhe futhi ufunde nezinye izindatshana azibhalile mayelana nesayensi yakhe.
Ithiphu ephezulu: Yamukela okungaziwa ngelukuluku, hhayi ukwethuka!
Sicele usosayensi ngamunye ukuthi ahlele lokho okubaluleke kakhulu ukuze aphumelele kwisayensi, ngoba uPenny: Ilukuluku kuqala, kulandele ubuhlakani, ukuxhumana, nokusebenza kanzima.
Yini enye oyidingayo? Ukuphana
Amandla Amandla: Umhambi wesikhathi - okwazi ukungena efrijini futhi akhiphe amasampula egciwane kanye nama-antibody ukuze abone ukuthi ashintshe kanjani ngokuhamba kwesikhathi. Ukulandelana kwezinhlayiyana zegciwane kanye nokulandelana kwengqamuzana elilodwa - kunquma ukulandelana kofuzo kwezinhlayiyana zegciwane elilodwa, inhlayiya eyodwa! 120nm (ama-nanometers, ama-nanometers ayizigidi ezingu-1 kumilimitha) enkulu, noma iseli elilodwa. Ukulandelana kwe-DNA yesizukulwane esilandelayo - Ukulandelana kwe-DNA ngokushesha kangangokuthi i-genome yomuntu ingaqedwa ngamahora. Ukulandelana kofuzo lomuntu kokuqala kwathatha iminyaka eyi-13 nangaphezulu kuka-$1billion.
Amandla esayensi: Ukuxhumana, ukweluleka, ubuholi, ukufinyelela ezikoleni okukhombisa abafundi nabaqeqeshwayo ukuthi isayensi imayelana nothando.