| Key focus | Infectious diseases and public health interventions |
|---|---|
| Objectives | A focused research consortium with both laboratory facilities and public health expertise in STIs in a unique niche in sub-Saharan Africa. The project aims to setup HPV detection and genotyping laboratory. Train technician to perform HPV detection and typing. Start laboratory quality management and to be able to maintain the standards. The project also plans to setup cytology laboratory and train cytologists in the Anatomical Pathology one of the collaborating Departments of the project. In Phase I the project also capacitated the Microbiology Department STI laboratory and therefor plans to further strengthen the STI laboratory in Phase II. |
Testimonial
"What I liked the most of the project is the fact that i performed experiments that I would have never thought of doing without the collaborations, the travelling and being part of the group in Belgium."
(Lisbeth Lebelo, Phd student)
description
This project has two specific aims: to improve research capacity into infectious diseases, and to decrease morbidity and mortality from these diseases. Of particular interest in this project is the work of Medunsa’s Diarrhoeal Pathogens Research Unit, first established in the 1980s, on the development of a vaccine for the deadly rotovirus, which accounts for around 40 percent of gastro-related diseases in the developing world. Other diseases of particular concern are tuberculosis, sexually transmitted infections, and more generally the whole array of vaccine-preventable diseases. Malaria is becoming a key focus of this project, and Japanese scientists have recently expressed interest in research on how climate change might change the impact of that disease.
public Health Interventions:
The approach adopted by this project is the pursuit of collaborative and multidisciplinary research and training in several academic schools and institutes operating on the Medunsa campus of the university. The aim of the project is to develop relevant and feasible solutions to public health problems in the southern African context, and to develop existing public health staff and public health research capacity. Particular attention will be paid to the negative social and health impacts of HIV infection among children, alcohol and drug abuse, child-headed families, and obesity prevention and management. The project is currently involved with thirteen PhD research projects and twenty masters projects.