Dr Coussens is an infectious disease immunologist with a keen interest in host-pathogen interaction in tuberculosis (TB), the interaction with HIV-1, and other non-communicable diseases, including vitamin D deficiency and diabetes. Her research focuses on developing host-directed therapies for TB in the context of immunomodulation caused by these co-morbidities and the development of biomarkers of infection, using systems biology approaches to integrate transcriptomic, proteomic, cellular, epigenetic and genetic variables to enable early detection of individuals at risk of developing TB as well as to unravel mechanisms of protective immunity in TB through comparison between blood and site of disease markers.
She was the 2014-2015 Sydney Brenner Fellow, awarded by the Academy of Science of South Africa. In 2014 she elected to the Global Young Academy, where she is the Southern Africa lead on a project to investigate the Global State of Young Scientists.
ASSAf Sydney Brenner Fellow