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Prof Lenine Liebenberg
CERI Team

Prof Lenine
Liebenberg

Chief Researcher: Immunology
liebenbergl@sun.ac.za LinkedIn
// Affiliations
Primary
CERI - Stellenbosch University
Also at
Division of Medical Virology, Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences, Stellenbosch University as Associate Professor
Also at
Discipline of Medical Microbiology, University of KwaZulu-Natal as Hon Associate Professor
Also at
Centre for the AIDS Programme of Research in South as Research Associate
// Education
PhD in Medical Virology
UCT, 2011
MSc in Medical Virology
UCT, 2007
BSc Hons in Immunology
UCT, 2004
BSc in Molecular and Cell Biology (Microbiology and Genetics)
UCT, 2003
Prof Lenine Liebenberg is an Associate Professor in Medical Virology at Stellenbosch University and Chief Researcher in Immunology at CERI. She leads the Immunology Research Programme, focused on mucosal immunity and host–pathogen interactions at the tissue level, integrating immunology, microbiome science, and multi-omics approaches to understand the biological mechanisms that underpin infection susceptibility, persistence, and clearance.
Her programme is fundamentally mechanistic and translational—aimed at uncovering the immunological and microbial determinants of disease to inform the development of next-generation prevention and therapeutic strategies. A central focus of her work is the role of the vaginal microbiome and mucosal immune environment in shaping women’s risk of infection and response to interventions, including vaccines and live biotherapeutic products.
Prof Liebenberg is also deeply committed to capacity development and African-led scientific leadership, mentoring early-career researchers and building interdisciplinary networks that bridge basic science, clinical research, and innovation.
// Research Output

Publications

2026
VIBRANT: A phase 1 randomized trial of multi-strain vaginal L. crispatus live biotherapeutic products in people with bacterial vaginosis

Potloane D, Symul L, Ngcapu S, Lewis L, France M, Vermeren L, Elsherbini J, Chetty C, Mafunda N, Polliah A, Mtshali A, Kama A, Magini N, Mitchev N, Mzobe G, Khan A, Demidkina B, Goldenberg M, Xu J, Rutt L, Shirtliff B, Cook S, Murthy M, Hussain F, Passmore J, Jaspan H, Kullin B, Happel A, Liebenberg L, Relman D, Holmes S, Kwon D, Ravel J, Mitchell C

Cell Host & Microbe
2026
Faecal Coliforms and Escherichia coli Contamination in Drinking Water Sources in Cholera Hotspot Areas of Lusaka District, Zambia: A Cross-Sectional Study

Ng’ombe H, Luchen C, Phiri B, Ngosa D, Kapikila R, Sakanya S, Sakala C, Mbewe N, Liswaniso F, Chilengi R, Wilkinson E, Liebenberg L, Khan W, Thomson N, Sack D, Bosomprah S, Chisenga C

Microorganisms
14:420
2025
Differences in HIV risk factors between South African adolescents and adult women and their association with sexually transmitted infections

Mkhize P, Mehou-Loko C, Maphumulo N, Radzey N, Abrahams A, Sibeko S, Harryparsad R, Manhanzva M, Meyer B, Radebe P, Liebenberg L, Ngcapu S, Ahmed N, Busakwe F, Mqaba N, Archary D, Sivro A, Samsunder N, Potloane D, Horsnell W, Jordan C, Abdool Karim Q, Bekker L, Passmore J, Jaspan H, Humphries H, Masson L

Sexually Transmitted Infections
101:174-182
2025
Effect of the vaginal live biotherapeutic LACTIN-V (Lactobacillus crispatus CTV-05) on vaginal microbiota and genital tract inflammation among women at high risk of HIV acquisition in South Africa: a phase 2, randomised, placebo-controlled trial

Hemmerling A, Mitchell C, Demby S, Ghebremichael M, Elsherbini J, Xu J, Xulu N, Shih J, Dong K, Govender V, Pillay V, Ismail N, Casillas G, Moodley J, Bergerat A, Brunner T, Liebenberg L, Ngcapu S, Mbano I, Lagenaur L, Parks T, Ndung’u T, Kwon D, Cohen C

The Lancet Microbe
6:101037
2025
Circulating Short-Chain Fatty Acids: Association with Vaginal Microbiota, Genital Inflammation, and HIV Acquisition

Shivakoti R, Letsoalo M, Lewis L, Mckinnon L, Passmore J, Karim S, Liebenberg L

AIDS Research and Human Retroviruses
41:559-566
2025
Advancing the course of HIV genomics research in Africa

Agamah F, Arbuthnot P, Tindana P, Munung N, Kasule M, Ghansah A, Mosepele M, Gaolathe T, Kekitiinwa A, Nduati E, Jumare J, Gómez-Olivé F, Liebenberg L, Dandara C, Osawe S, Julius R, Muzambi T, Natus T, Omumbo J, Mayne E, Abimiku A, Richardson S, Matshaba M, Skelton M

BMJ Global Health
10:e019094
2025
Randomized trial of multi-strain Lactobacillus crispatus vaginal live biotherapeutic products after antibiotic therapy for bacterial vaginosis: study protocol for VIBRANT (vaginal lIve biotherapeutic RANdomized trial)

Chetty C, Mafunda N, Happel A, Khan A, Cooley Demidkina B, Yende-Zuma N, Saidi Y, Mahabeer Polliah A, Lewis L, Osman F, Radebe P, Passmore J, Kwon D, Ravel J, Ngcapu S, Liebenberg L, Symul L, Holmes S, Mitchell C, Potloane D

Contemporary Clinical Trials Communications
48:101554
2025
Genomic analysis and antimicrobial resistance of Vibrio cholerae isolated during Zambia’s 2023 cholera epidemic

Ng'ombe H, Luchen C, Bote L, Kasonde M, Musonda K, Mwape K, Kuntawala D, Silwamba S, Chibuye M, Chibesa K, Mbewe N, Bosomprah S, Khan W, Liebenberg L, de Oliveira T, Wilkinson E, Dorman M, Coghlan A, Simuyandi M, Chilengi R, Chisenga C, Thomson N

Microbial Genomics
11
2021
Temporal Changes in Vaginal Microbiota and Genital Tract Cytokines Among South African Women Treated for Bacterial Vaginosis

Mtshali A, San JE, Osman F, Garrett N, Balle C, Giandhari J, Onywera H, Mngomezulu K, Mzobe G, de Oliveira T, Rompalo A, Mindel A, Abdool Karim SS, Ravel J, Passmore JS, Abdool Karim Q, Jaspan HB, Liebenberg LJP, Ngcapu S

Front Immunol.
12:730986. doi: 10.3389/fimmu.2021.730986.
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