Dr. Schäfer is a Honorary Associate Professor at the Univerisity of Cape Town. She is also the Group Leader, of the Virology – Emerging Viruses at the International Centre for Genetic Engineering and Biotechnology, Cape Town, South Africa. Her research group primarily focus on oncogenic viruses relevant in the Sub-Saharan African context, an area that is additionally burdened by an HIV/AIDS epidemic of massive proportions. The group has built substantial research expertise on the early molecular mechanisms of Kaposi’s Sarcoma Herpes Virus (KSHV) and Human Papillomavirus (HPV) infection, both viruses being associated with AIDS-defining malignancies, namely Kaposi’s sarcoma and cervical cancer, respectively. The group is particularly interested in the molecules and receptors involved during early infection events that can potentially be developed into preventative and therapeutic targets. Our research involves both basic laboratory-based in vitro and in vivo studies (using recombinant KSHV virus or HPV virus-like particles, respectively, together with appropriate cell and/or animal models) as well as clinical studies involving nationally recruited patient cohorts. Most recently, the group has started to extend its research to targeting the entry mechanisms of SARS-CoV2 into human cells.