Professor Willem Hanekom is Director of the Africa Health Research Institute (AHRI) in KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa. His TB vaccine contributions have included directing the South African Tuberculosis Vaccine Initiative at the University of Cape Town and the TB vaccine program at the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. He currently holds professor positions at University College London, University of Cape Town and University of Washington. He is the previous chair of the South African Immunology Society and the Federation of African Immunology Societies, and is a member of multiple international advisory committees in tuberculosis, vaccinology and translational immunology.