The Cape Town HVTN Immunology Laboratory (CHIL) opened in October 2013 and performs assessments of immune responses to candidate HIV and tuberculosis vaccines being tested in South Africa and neighboring countries. Currently, the majority of work being conducted at the lab is in support of the HIV Vaccine Trials Network (HVTN) whose goal is to develop a safe, effective vaccine for prevention of HIV infections globally. The HVTN’s headquarters are based in Seattle, WA, USA at Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center.

The laboratory also trains African scientists to carry out cutting-edge clinical laboratory research and collaborates with local investigators to discover novel immune responses to vaccination.