A molecular immunologist, Dr. Makgoba's research has made seminal contributions to identifying and understanding the cell surface molecules and genes important in the human immune system's response. A global leader in HIV vaccine research, he has served in the leadership of the South African AIDS Vaccine Initiative, as the founding chair of the UNAIDS/WHO African Aids Vaccine Programme and as a founding member of the Global HIV Vaccine Enterprise. In addition to being a recipient of the “Caring Physicians in the World” award by the World Medical Association, Dr. Makgoba has received numerous awards and honors, including fellowships at both the Imperial College Faculty of Medicine and the Royal College of Physicians of London. Dr. Makgoba is a founding member of the Academy of Science of South Africa and a foreign associate of the Institute of Medicine.

Dr. Makgoba joined the former university of Natal as its first black vice-chancellor and principal in September 2002, after serving as the first black president of the Medical Research Council of South Africa for four years. Under Dr. Makgoba's leadership, UKZN is host to the largest HIV and AIDS research programs on the African continent: the National Institutes for Health-funded Centre for the AIDS Program of Research in South Africa (CAPRISA) and the Welcome Trust-funded Africa Centre for Health and Population Studies.