Dr Mkunde Chachage is a lecturer and researcher at the University of Dar es Salaam-Mbeya College of Health and Allied Sciences which she represents in the UDASA Executive Committee.

Dr Chachage has a PhD in Immunology from Ludwig Maximilians University, Germany, and a BSc (Hons) in Medicine (Immunology) and BSc Molecular Biology from the University of Cape Town (UCT), South Africa. Also, she did a Postdoctoral Fellow at the Burnet Institute, Australia. Her research interest is on human immune responses to infectious diseases with a focus on HIV pathogenesis, preventive and therapeutic studies.

Dr Chachage has been involved in research activities that dissect pathogenic mechanism during HIV co-infection with other pathogens including helminthes and Human Papilloma Viruses. Currently, she is leading efforts to investigate: (1) mechanisms for the increased risk of HIV acquisition in individuals infected with filarial worms, (2) differences in the induction of vaccine-induced immune responses between different populations, (3) premature immune ageing in children living with HIV and (4) immune- markers that aid in timely/accurate diagnosis and treatment monitoring of tuberculosis.

Dr Chachage teaches a course in Microbiology and Immunology.