Biomedical Sciences Exchange PhD studentships
Lead Research Organisation:
University of Oxford
Department Name: Medical Sciences Divisional Office
Abstract
South Africa is at the sharp end of a complex health dynamic - the collision of communicable disease with an ever-growing burden of non-communicable disease. The country has one of the world's largest human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) epidemics and highest incidence rates of tuberculosis. South Africa also mirrors much of the developing world in facing a rapid growth in chronic, non-communicable diseases, such as type 2 diabetes, cardiovascular disease, chronic lung disease and neuropsychiatric disorders. The capacity to conduct relevant health research in Africa must be increased if these problems are to be addressed, and development and expansion of international collaborative networks are vital to achieving this.
This programme will strengthen and extend ongoing collaborations between the University of Oxford (UOXF) and the University of Cape Town (UCT) within the area of biomedical science. Thirteen research partnerships in health-related fields will be strategically united. The fields will include infectious diseases, vaccine development, primary care, child and adolescent health, mental health, neurosciences, musculoskeletal disorders, diabetes and cancer. These focus areas include leading causes of global disease burden and disability. These partnership groups will exchange 10 PhD students from each of UOXF and UCT to the other institution for 3-6 months to learn new research techniques and strengthen the collaborative links between the research groups.
The programme will also bring all collaborating students and their supervisors together for a networking meeting to transfer knowledge and plan future collaborative activity to sustainably research critical aspects of the health of South African and global populations. It will also specifically engage with Historically Disadvantaged Institutions in South Africa with a view to developing capacity more widely within the country.
We anticipate that this programme will strengthen links between the UK and South Africa, foster a cadre of networked early-career scientists who embrace diversity and the challenge to improve the status quo, contribute to the imperative to transform South Africa's higher education sector, and deliver exceptional quality biomedical science outputs that will ultimately advance medical knowledge and improve the health and development capability of South Africa and the UK.
This programme will strengthen and extend ongoing collaborations between the University of Oxford (UOXF) and the University of Cape Town (UCT) within the area of biomedical science. Thirteen research partnerships in health-related fields will be strategically united. The fields will include infectious diseases, vaccine development, primary care, child and adolescent health, mental health, neurosciences, musculoskeletal disorders, diabetes and cancer. These focus areas include leading causes of global disease burden and disability. These partnership groups will exchange 10 PhD students from each of UOXF and UCT to the other institution for 3-6 months to learn new research techniques and strengthen the collaborative links between the research groups.
The programme will also bring all collaborating students and their supervisors together for a networking meeting to transfer knowledge and plan future collaborative activity to sustainably research critical aspects of the health of South African and global populations. It will also specifically engage with Historically Disadvantaged Institutions in South Africa with a view to developing capacity more widely within the country.
We anticipate that this programme will strengthen links between the UK and South Africa, foster a cadre of networked early-career scientists who embrace diversity and the challenge to improve the status quo, contribute to the imperative to transform South Africa's higher education sector, and deliver exceptional quality biomedical science outputs that will ultimately advance medical knowledge and improve the health and development capability of South Africa and the UK.
Planned Impact
For each of the fields of biomedical research covered in this application, the exchanges will facilitate the transfer and expansion of knowledge in that field. This will be of benefit to all academic and industrial researchers within the relevant fields and may ultimately contribute to the development of new interventions, therapies, vaccines, and treatments for many important causes of the combined global burden of disease. The advancement of medical therapies will improve health for everyone, particularly, given many of the conditions being studied by the co-applicant groups, those living in poverty. This collaboration is in a field of particular political, socioeconomic and ethical significance for South Africa - health. The disease burden in South Africa is massive, as highlighted by Mayosi & Benatar (NEJM 2014): "the health and well-being of most South Africans remain plagued by a relentless burden of infectious and noncommunicable diseases, persisting social disparities, and inadequate human resources to provide care for a growing population".
People |
ORCID iD |
| Helen McShane (Principal Investigator) |
Publications
Van Der Merwe C
(2018)
Advancing neuropsychiatric genetics training and collaboration in Africa.
in The Lancet. Global health
Ongeri L
(2022)
Measuring psychological distress using the K10 in Kenya.
in Journal of affective disorders
Michael Zulu
(2019)
The Elusive Role of Placental Macrophages: The Hofbauer Cell
Martin A
(2021)
Low-coverage sequencing cost-effectively detects known and novel variation in underrepresented populations
in The American Journal of Human Genetics
MacGinty RP
(2020)
Associations of antenatal maternal psychological distress with infant birth and development outcomes: Results from a South African birth cohort.
in Comprehensive psychiatry
Kwobah EK
(2022)
Traumatic experiences assessed with the life events checklist for Kenyan adults.
in Journal of affective disorders
Kariuki SM
(2018)
Prevalence, risk factors and behavioural and emotional comorbidity of acute seizures in young Kenyan children: a population-based study.
in BMC medicine
| Description | Student Exchanges The primary focus of the programme is to broaden and deepen the research experience of PhD students from the University of Oxford (OXF) and the University of Cape Town (UCT) by allowing a funded exchange whereby they can experience research in a collaborating group in a very different research setting. In the five rounds of project applications, fourteen students from the University of Cape Town have gone to the University of Oxford, working in the fields of Experimental Psychology, Cancer Research, Genetics and Genomics, Population Health, Neuroscience, Epidemiology and Biostatistics, and Vaccinology. In those same rounds, eight students have gone from the University of Oxford to the University of Cape Town, working in the fields of Primary Care Health Sciences, Neuro-Genomics, Data Analytics, and Psychiatry. The data obtained from these exchange studentships will be included in their PhD theses, for future publications and for subsequent funding applications. This will facilitate sustainable collaborations between the student and host group; and strengthen the existing collaborations between the home and host groups. Partnering Activities The scheme also offered three partnering activity opportunities, namely, (1) 2-day networking meeting in Cape Town, (2) a grant holder visit to a historically disadvantaged institution and (3) an opportunity for UCT PIs to travel to Oxford University to visit their partner PI. (1) The Cape Town networking meeting took place on the 25-26th September 2018. UCT and OXF PI's and students came together to share their experiences, project outcomes and future relationships, which developed because of their exchange opportunity. We also invited researchers from historically disadvantaged institutions (HDI's) in SA to attend this meeting in order to potentially initiate collaboration. Dr Maphoshane Nchabeleng and Prof Mathildah Mokgatle from Sefako Makgatho Health Sciences University (SMU) in Pretoria presented Doctoral Programme activities in their respective departments. A funder representative from the National Research Foundation of South Africa (NRF-SA) joined the meeting and discussed the aims and objectives of future funding mechanisms within the NRF that the audience found very useful. This meeting event was very successful, and students presented high quality projects. (2) The grant holders visited SMU on 27 September 2018 in an effort to foster future collaborations and interaction with an HDI institution through the Newton scheme with UCT and Oxford Universities. It is clear that SMU academics and postgraduate students are eager to expand their research network by linking with UCT and Oxford. Support for co-supervision and mentoring of SMU PhD students was identified as a key need that could be met by external collaborators. (3) The UCT PI visits to Oxford have encouraged continued building of UCT-OXF PI links for sustaining existing collaborations. They also sought to strengthen the existing relationships and further enhance the research related links through development of a concept proposal for a 2nd cycle of the PhD exchange programme, expanded to include SMU in North-South and South-South components. |
| Exploitation Route | The data arising from the exchange studentships has already been included in PhD theses, publications and conference presentations and there will be further outputs arising in due course. Findings will be published in open access, peer reviewed journals in a timely fashion. |
| Sectors | Healthcare,Other |
| Description | The main aims of this 3-year partnership scheme are a) to facilitate the building of sustainable, long-lasting links between SA and the UK to support training of PhD students and b) to contribute to the development of an international cohort of early career researchers with skills, links & contacts to operate in the global research environment. The students that have taken part in this exchange programme thus far have spent time in the host laboratories and accessed new research facilities to further their PhD projects and to establish research related links in the host department. Consequently students had the opportunity to receive expert training and in some cases able to attended seminar, workshops and conferences to support their current research projects and personal development. A successful exchange has also resulted in planned manuscripts for submission to peer reviewed journals. The students have maintained good relationships with their host research group and have fostered relationships that will potentially lead to future long term collaborations. Equal and meaningful opportunities were put in place from the start of this grant, without discrimination, especially on the grounds of one's sex, race, or age. Selection criteria for student applications included: quality of application, impact of project and future pathway for both student and partnership. Preference was given to students with excellent projects and those who do not have current funding for such an exchange. Out of the 22 student exchanges that took place 11 were male and 11 were female. Our team supported the students at all times and there were no reported incidences of discrimination. |
| First Year Of Impact | 2016 |
| Sector | Healthcare |
| Impact Types | Cultural,Societal,Economic,Policy & public services |
| Description | Ashley Jacobs, Harry Crossley Fellowship |
| Amount | R138,274 (ZAR) |
| Organisation | Harry Crossley Foundation |
| Sector | Charity/Non Profit |
| Country | South Africa |
| Start | 05/2019 |
| End | 05/2020 |
| Description | Impact of RTS,S/AS01 vaccine and insecticide- treated bed nets on neurobehavioural impairment and school participation in children from rural Kenya |
| Amount | € 149,623 (EUR) |
| Funding ID | TMA2017CDF-1903 |
| Organisation | Sixth Framework Programme (FP6) |
| Department | European and Developing Countries Clinical Trials Partnership |
| Sector | Public |
| Country | Netherlands |
| Start | 03/2019 |
| End | 03/2022 |
| Description | Jacobus Kotze - Africa-Oxford Travel Grant |
| Amount | £5,000 (GBP) |
| Organisation | Africa Oxford Initiative |
| Sector | Academic/University |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Start | 09/2019 |
| End | 06/2020 |
| Description | Michael Zulu - SKYE FOUNDATION |
| Amount | £11,000 (GBP) |
| Organisation | Skye Foundation Trust |
| Sector | Charity/Non Profit |
| Start | 02/2019 |
| End | 12/2019 |
| Description | Oliver Van Hecke - Africa-Oxford Initiative. |
| Amount | £4,300 (GBP) |
| Organisation | Africa Oxford Initiative |
| Sector | Academic/University |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Start | 10/2019 |
| End | 07/2020 |
| Description | Oliver Van Hecke - The International Society for Infectious Diseases (ISID) and Pfizer Global Medical Grants |
| Amount | £72,007 (GBP) |
| Organisation | International Society for Infectious Diseases (ISID) |
| Sector | Charity/Non Profit |
| Country | United States |
| Start | 03/2021 |
| End | 08/2022 |
| Description | South African Medical Research Council (SAMRC) self-initiated research grant |
| Amount | R600,000 (ZAR) |
| Organisation | South African Medical Research Centre |
| Sector | Public |
| Country | South Africa |
| Start | 01/2021 |
| End | 01/2023 |
| Description | Symon Kariuki (UCT student) Early career MQ Fellowship |
| Amount | £225,000 (GBP) |
| Organisation | MQ Mental Health Research |
| Sector | Charity/Non Profit |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Start | 11/2017 |
| End | 11/2020 |
| Description | The International Center for Genetic Engineering and Biotechnology Collaborative Research Programme Research Grant |
| Amount | € 36,000 (EUR) |
| Organisation | International Centre for Genetic Engineering and Biotechnology |
| Sector | Academic/University |
| Country | South Africa |
| Start | 01/2021 |
| End | 01/2023 |
| Description | Student exchange - Caylee Cook (Cape Town) - Gaia Scerif collaboration (Oxford) |
| Organisation | University of Oxford |
| Department | St Catherine's College |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Sector | Academic/University |
| PI Contribution | My research team and I helped to organise/facilitate this partnership by organising the management committee (who scored and awarded the student exchange applications), managing the grant, expenses and helping with the logistics of the exchange (including travel, stipends, bench fees, support). The management committee awarded a travel grant to this student based on; quality of application, impact of project and future pathway for both student and partnership. Preference was given to students with excellent projects and those who do not have current funding for such an exchange |
| Collaborator Contribution | Taught processing and analysis techniques necessary for progressing her PhD project. Her project involves 2 different areas of expertise, public health and physical activity, and cognitive neuropsychology. Her time with Professor Scerif in Oxford was used to gain further knowledge into developmental cognitive neuroscience, especially with regard to data analysis. Attended regular meetings which were crucial to increasing her knowledge of developmental cognitive neuroscience, which is something she doesn't currently have access to in her present department. This included lab meetings, Language and Cognitive Development Seminars and Neuroscience seminars. Collaborated with students and research assistants on a research paper that they submitted to a conference (CogSci 2017) and they will work on this paper so that it can be published. Took part in networking & presentation opportunities at the Developmental Science half-day events. |
| Impact | I completed my PhD in July 2019 and continued to work with both supervisors on a pilot project testing the feasibility of portable EEG in South Africa. My second exchange allowed us to process this data and allowed me the opportunity to learn from EEG experts and have access to equipment that was not available in my department in South Africa. Then, at the end of 2019, my PhD supervisors, Prof Scerif (Oxford) and Ass Prof Draper (South Africa) were awarded a grant from the British Academy to conduct a 2 year study - Understanding barriers and potential of early childhood education in low-income South Africa. This project is a direct follow on from my PhD work (and therefore the work that was done during the exchange) and I was brought on as the post doc and project coordinator for this project. We do not yet have publications from this study as we are still in the process of collecting data. However, an additional paper from my PhD work has been accepted for publication and is currently awaiting printing - Associations Between South African Preschoolers' Routine Physical activity, Self-regulation and Psychosocial Well-being Mental Health and Physical Activity to be published in the Journal of Mental Health and Physical Activity. Through the course of this year (2020), my supervisors and the rest of the team have been putting in additional grant applications to continue this work and the collaboration between us and Oxford, a collaboration that was no doubt strengthened by both the Newton/RCUK exchanges. I have continued presenting the work that came from the Newton project as a guest lecturer for the graduate psychology and neuroscience students at the University of Witwatersrand and presented a webinar for the Wits Cortex Club. I am also still part of the ABCD & friends journal club (Gaia's lab's journal club), and remain in contact with some of the researchers I met during my time there. Here are the manuscripts associated with our Newton project: Cook CJ, Howard SJ, Scerif G, Twine R, Kahn K, Norris SA, Draper CE. Associations between South African preschoolers' routine physical activity, self-regulation and psychosocial well-being. Mental Health and Physical Activity. 2021;20:100383. Howard SJ, Cook CJ, Everts L, Melhuish E, Scerif G, Norris SA, Twine R, Kahn K, Draper CE. Challenging SES: A cross-cultural comparison of early executive function. Developmental Science. 2019;23(1):e12854. Cook CJ, Howard SJ, Scerif G, Twine R, Kahn K, Norris SA, Draper CE. Associations of physical activity and gross motor skills with executive function in preschool children from low-income South African settings. Developmental Science. 2019;22(5):e12820. Cook CJ, Howard SJ, Scerif G, Twine R, Kahn K, Norris SA, Draper CE. Associations of executive function with pre-academic skills in preschoolers from low-income settings in South Africa. In review: Early Childhood Research Quarterly. Cook CJ, Scerif G, Howard SJ, Twine R, Kahn K, Norris SA, Draper CE. Assessing attention in South African preschool children across differing low-income settings. In review: Child Development. **These are not specifically from the exchange per se, but the exchange certainly made a significant positive contribution to our work on our Newton project. Towards the end of our Newton project, we were able to host public seminars to present the findings and learnings from our study at the University of Cape Town, and the University of the Witwatersrand (Johannesburg). We have continued our collaboration through another British Academy award in their Early Childhood Education Programme, and we were able to leverage off our Newton project and continue our collaboration with Dr Steven Howard from the University of Wollongong in Australia. We also brought on a new collaborator - Dr Rebecca Merkley from Carleton University in Canada. Dr Caylee Cook has been working as a postdoctoral research fellow on this project, so that is a definite sign of career development arising from our Newton project. |
| Start Year | 2017 |
| Description | Student exchange - Helene-Mari van der Westhuizen (Oxford) - Professor Rodney Ehrlich collaboration (Cape Town) |
| Organisation | University of Cape Town |
| Department | Centre for Environmental and Occupational Health Research |
| Country | South Africa |
| Sector | Academic/University |
| PI Contribution | My research team and I helped to organise/facilitate this partnership by organising the management committee (who scored and awarded the student exchange applications), managing the grant, expenses and helping with the logistics of the exchange (including travel, stipends, bench fees, support). The management committee awarded a travel grant to this student based on; quality of application, impact of project and future pathway for both student and partnership. Preference was given to students with excellent projects and those who do not have current funding for such an exchange |
| Collaborator Contribution | Hosting the student in their department, helping with research activities |
| Impact | I published a paper with Prof Rodney Ehrlich which was based on discussions we had during my exchange visit: https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2405579419300609 The fieldwork that I did as part of this exchange in the Eastern Cape about masks and infection control also helped inform new publications around the use of masks for covid-19. It led to two publications (where Prof Ehrlich was not a co-author): http://bmj.com/content/370/bmj.m3021 https://www.pnas.org/content/118/4/e2014564118 I delivered two oral presentations at the virtual International Lung Union Conference in October 2020 where Prof Ehrlich was a collaborator: 1.Why is TB called the 'Disease of Paper'? Exploring perceptions about the spread of Tuberculosis in rural South Africa. 2. "I hope we can do infection control in a more human way": Balancing safety and stigma in rural South African health facilities I presented on WHO EPIWIN Webinar about COVID-19 and face masks - guidance, behavioural insights and social science (2020) where I discussed my fieldwork in the rural Eastern Cape and perceptions around mask wearing. I am currently a DPhil researcher in the Department of Primary Care Health Sciences at Oxford University. As part of this exchange Prof Rodney Ehrlich organised a meeting at the University of Cape Town with other researchers working in occupational health, infection control and Tuberculosis which was very valuable to link me with other researchers in the field. (I am attaching a photo of this meeting) Prof Rodney Ehrlich was successful in a grant application to visit Oxford University as a visiting academic fellow through an Oppenheimer grant. This was scheduled for October 2020, but rescheduled due to the COVID-19 pandemic. I also received an AfOx Travel Grant that covered the remaining costs of my fieldwork. This exchange facilitated a new collaboration between Prof Chris Butler and Dr Sarah-Tonkin Crine at the Department of Nuffield Department of Primary Care at Oxford University and Prof Rodney Ehrlich based at the Department of Public Health at the University of Cape Town. They will continue to act as supervisors to my DPhil and will look for future collaborations. As part of this project a local research assistant (Ncumisa Somdyala ) based at the Zithulele Training and Research Unit in the rural Eastern Cape of South Africa received training on qualitative research methods. This has enabled the unit to pursue new qualitative research collaborations and Ncumisa has received contracts for further qualitative work. |
| Start Year | 2019 |
| Description | Student exchange - Jacobus Kotze (Oxford) - collaboration with Primary Health Care (Cape Town) |
| Organisation | University of Cape Town |
| Department | Primary Health Care Directorate |
| Country | South Africa |
| Sector | Academic/University |
| PI Contribution | My research team and I helped to organise/facilitate this partnership by organising the management committee (who scored and awarded the student exchange applications), managing the grant, expenses and helping with the logistics of the exchange (including travel, stipends, bench fees, support). The management committee awarded a travel grant to this student based on; quality of application, impact of project and future pathway for both student and partnership. Preference was given to students with excellent projects and those who do not have current funding for such an exchange |
| Collaborator Contribution | Dr Kotze's South African research under the supervision of Prof Reid is a promising way of building on the existing relationships between the University of Oxford and the University of Cape Town. Specifically the project will strengthen links between Prof Greenhalgh's research group (Interdisciplinary Research In Health Sciences, IRIHS) within the Oxford Department of Primary Care Health Sciences and the UCT Primary Health Care Directorate, to mutual benefit. |
| Impact | Conference presentations: • 7 September 2019 - "Hybrid Clinician-Managers: Making Rural Heatlhcare Work" - oral presentation at the 2019 Rural Health Conference in Port Shepstone, South Africa • 15-17 Febuary 2020 (Upcoming) - 'Real clinical work' at the 'coalface' versus 'admin': A qualitive study of hybrid clinician-managers in South Africa. Oral presentation at the Public Health Association of South Africa Conference 2021 (Online) Seminar Presentations: • 8 July 2020 - "What is the Work? Clinician-Managers in South Africa: A Preliminary Report back. With the work and additional supervision resulting from the exchange, I passed my Transfer of Status to DPhil student at the University of Oxford in January 2020, and will likely complete Confirmation of Status later in 2021. After this exchange, Professor Steve Reid from the University of Cape Town joined my DPhil supervision team and is a close collaborator on the scholarly work (articles, DPhil manuscript and academic presentations) resulting from my research. Furthermore, this has also created the opportunity for further collaborations between the Primary Healthcare Directorate at UCT as well as the Primary Care Department in Oxford. This presently takes the form of the academic outputs that will result from this DPhil project. |
| Start Year | 2019 |
| Description | Student exchange - James Masters (UOXF) with Orthopaedic Research Unit (University of Cape Town) |
| Organisation | University of Cape Town |
| Country | South Africa |
| Sector | Academic/University |
| PI Contribution | My research team and I helped to organise/facilitate this partnership by organising the management committee (who scored and awarded the student exchange applications), managing the grant, expenses and helping with the logistics of the exchange (including travel, stipends, bench fees, support). The management committee awarded a travel grant to this student based on; quality of application, impact of project and future pathway for both student and partnership. Preference was given to students with excellent projects and those who do not have current funding for such an exchange |
| Collaborator Contribution | UCT hosted James where he did research activities |
| Impact | We hosted James Masters and I supervised him. We had a very successful exchange with the following outputs: - publication (DOI: 10.7196/SAMJ.2021.v111i7.15236) Presentation of results at the following meetings: o Cape Town International Trauma Course 2019 o UCT Del Kahn Surgical Research Day 2019 o UK OTS (Orthopaedic Trauma Society) congress 2020 o South African Orthopaedic Society congress 2020 o ATSC 2021 Career development: o James had the opportunity to visit UCT to set up his research project, but also to observe some clinical work. This has contributed to setting up a future visit as a fellow. o I had the opportunity to visit Oxford, their orthopaedic research unit and attend the national trails day. This was very valuable for my career and opened the opportunity to participate in multicentre studies as an international site. Notable collaborations resulting from the exchange : o This exchange resulted in a successful collaboration between UCT Orthopaedics and Oxford Trauma. This strengthened our relationships and opened up more collaborations. |
| Start Year | 2021 |
| Description | Student exchange - Michael Zulu (Cape Town) - NDORMS collaboration (Oxford) |
| Organisation | University of Oxford |
| Department | Nuffield Department of Orthopaedics, Rheumatology and Musculoskeletal Diseases (NDORMS) |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Sector | Academic/University |
| PI Contribution | My research team and I helped to organise/facilitate this partnership by organising the management committee (who scored and awarded the student exchange applications), managing the grant, expenses and helping with the logistics of the exchange (including travel, stipends, bench fees, support). The management committee awarded a travel grant to this student based on; quality of application, impact of project and future pathway for both student and partnership. Preference was given to students with excellent projects and those who do not have current funding for such an exchange |
| Collaborator Contribution | Publication on macrophage marker identity Completion of PhD thesis 2019 Gained expertise on Matlab Developed collaborative networks that could enhance academic career prospects. |
| Impact | I am continuing with my Postdoctoral training in the USA. I did 1 year and 10 months of postdoc at the University of California, Irvine, Institute of Immunology (January 2020 - October 2021). Late last year, I joined the Division of Microbiology and Immunology at Yerkes National Primate Research Center in Emory University, Atlanta, Georgia, USA as a postdoctoral fellow (November 2021 - Present). I wrote a Book Chapter with my UK mentors Prof. Siamon Gordon (Sir William DinnSchool of Pathology) & Dr. Fernando Martinez Estrada (University of Surrey). It is currently in print. The Book title is "Macrophages in the Human Body: A Tissue level approach. 1st edition". Edited by Niels Olson Saraiva Camara &n Tarcio Teodoro Braga. Our Chapter title is "Macrophages at the Maternal-Fetal Interface where I am the first author. I am still in contact with my academic mentors in the UK who continue to mentor and support my academic career. |
| Start Year | 2018 |
| Description | Student exchange - Stephen Jermy (Cape Town) - Aaron Hess collaboration (Division of Cardiovascular Medicine, Oxford) |
| Organisation | University of Oxford |
| Department | Division of Cardiovascular Medicine |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Sector | Academic/University |
| PI Contribution | My research team and I helped to organise/facilitate this partnership by organising the management committee (who scored and awarded the student exchange applications), managing the grant, expenses and helping with the logistics of the exchange (including travel, stipends, bench fees, support). The management committee awarded a travel grant to this student based on; quality of application, impact of project and future pathway for both student and partnership. Preference was given to students with excellent projects and those who do not have current funding for such an exchange |
| Collaborator Contribution | Majority of his time was spent implementing motion correction sequence into cardiac DTI sequence. Testing the new DTI sequence on OCMR 3T Prisma which has strong gradients which are known to be important for DTI sequences. Abstract submission for SCMR/ISMRM conference in France, June 2018. Solid groundwork to take DTI sequence back to UCT and get it working with their scanner. Planned manuscript on implementing and testing motion correction sequence with DTI sequence. |
| Impact | Paper entitled "Towards clinically robust cardiac diffusion MRI using prospective respiratory motion correction" and it was submitted to Magnetic Resonance in Medicine and I included the grant as NRF/RCUK Newton Grant in the funding info. It is awaiting review. He will also be working on two more papers this year. He presented an abstract based on the work at ISMRM 2019 in Montreal where he did a power pitch and e-poster presentation. He also presented the work in 2019 at a local conference hosted by SAAPMB. Our collaboration with Dr Tunnicliffe and Dr Hess is still ongoing and we will hopefully continue with new projects in the future. |
| Start Year | 2018 |
| Description | Student exchange - Tawanda Chivese (Cape Town) - Andrew Farmer collaboration (Oxford) |
| Organisation | University of Oxford |
| Department | Exeter College |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Sector | Academic/University |
| PI Contribution | My research team and I helped to organise/facilitate this partnership by organising the management committee (who scored and awarded the student exchange applications), managing the grant, expenses and helping with the logistics of the exchange (including travel, stipends, bench fees, support). The management committee awarded a travel grant to this student based on; quality of application, impact of project and future pathway for both student and partnership. Preference was given to students with excellent projects and those who do not have current funding for such an exchange |
| Collaborator Contribution | This particular exchange built on and expanded the existing collaboration. Strengthened the foundation for continuing exchanges and building a shared understanding of optimal strategies for managing non-communicable diseases across settings. The expected outcomes will be further joint publications, building capacity and extension of our collaboration to a new generation of African researchers |
| Impact | We are working on one paper which should be ready for submission in the next 4 weeks. The protocol for this paper, a diagnostic accuracy meta-analysis is registered on https://www.crd.york.ac.uk/prospero (CRD42017073078) i. I am an honorary research with the SAMRC/Wits Developmental Pathways for Health Research Unit, Department of Paediatrics, Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences, University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, South Africa ii. An extraordinary lecturer with the department of epidemiology and biostatistics at the Stellenbosch University iii. I am a lecturer epidemiology and biostatistics at the Qatar University I have continued working with the Nuffield department of primary care sciences since the exchange. |
| Start Year | 2017 |
| Description | Student exchange, Ashley Jacobs (Helen McShane/Rob Wilkinson) |
| Organisation | University of Cape Town |
| Country | South Africa |
| Sector | Academic/University |
| PI Contribution | Ashley spent time in my lab in Oxford (multiple trips since 2016) he is due to submit his thesis this year, and has a clinical post due to start in February 2020. The award has helped him secure additional funding for his PhD (see additional funding section). He is contributing a figure to a manuscript with collaborators from the University of Stellenbosch, and has also begun a new collaboration with researchers at Rutgers University. During his research trips to Oxford, Ashley worked with post-docs in my lab to develop novel assays for measuring functionality of antibodies. He obtained data that will be included in his thesis and future publications. He attended research meetings and seminars to acquire knowledge in clinical vaccinology. He attended the UK Acid Fast Club meetings in London as well as Leicester. Ashley also undertook career development courses at the Jenner Institute. |
| Collaborator Contribution | See above |
| Impact | 1. Secured additional funding (see funding section). 2. Contributing a figure to a manuscript 3. Career development (see next destination). He is due to submit his thesis next year |
| Start Year | 2016 |
| Description | Student exchange, Caitlin Taylor (Professor Digby Warner/Professor Siamon Gordon) |
| Organisation | University of Cape Town |
| Country | South Africa |
| Sector | Academic/University |
| PI Contribution | My research team and I helped to organise/facilitate this partnership by organising the management committee (who scored and awarded the student exchange applications), managing the grant, expenses and helping with the logistics of the exchange (including travel, stipends, bench fees, support). The management committee awarded a travel grant to this student based on; quality of application, impact of project and future pathway for both student and partnership. Preference was given to students with excellent projects and those who do not have current funding for such an exchange |
| Collaborator Contribution | 1. Acquired new skills and access to techniques and equipment. During her exchange she was afforded the opportunity to learn immunological cell culture techniques for various cell lines (THP-1 cell line, human whole blood, mouse bone marrow-derived macrophages and Max Planck Institute (MPI) cells). Learnt the technique of flow cytometry and the skills necessary for analysis of flow cytometric data. She was able to observe the cell surface structure of cell wall deficient Msm by utilizing Cryo-Electron Microscopy at the Sir William Dunn School of Pathology, Oxford. 2. Extended collaborations: She worked with PhD students in Prof Gordon's team and the wider research community, this was all vital for her research and PhD work. Prof. Siamon Gordon has an extensive network of academic connections and she was introduced to several people at Oxford, including Antony Galione (Pharmacology) to discuss calcium signalling of host immune cells in response to mycobacterial spheroplasts, Claire Hill (Sir William Dunn School of Pathology) and David Vaux (Sir William Dunn School of Pathology) to discuss accurate quantification of small vesicles (similar in size to spheroplasts). She met with Professor Jeffery Errington (Director of the Centre for Bacterial Cell Biology, University of Newcastle), a pioneer in the field of bacterial spheroplasts. Prof. Gordon also arranged for her to spend a week at the lab of Dr Gyorgy Fejer at the University of Plymouth. Whilst in Plymouth, she learnt the techniques necessary to culture and infect MPI cells with Msm. Dr Fejer was very helpful and has offered to share his MPI cell line with her research group at the University of Cape Town (UCT). |
| Impact | Extended collaborations (discussed above) Career progression |
| Start Year | 2019 |
| Description | Student exchange, Delesa Damena (Dr. Chimusa Rugamika/Prof. Dominic Kwiatkowski) |
| Organisation | University of Cape Town |
| Country | South Africa |
| Sector | Academic/University |
| PI Contribution | My research team and I helped to organise/facilitate this partnership by organising the management committee (who scored and awarded the student exchange applications), managing the grant, expenses and helping with the logistics of the exchange (including travel, stipends, bench fees, support). The management committee awarded a travel grant to this student based on; quality of application, impact of project and future pathway for both student and partnership. Preference was given to students with excellent projects and those who do not have current funding for such an exchange. |
| Collaborator Contribution | During her exchange Delesa developed workable knowledge and skills on big human GWAS and post-GWAS data analysis. She prioritized tools to be applied in PhD work. She was given relevant training. |
| Impact | Accepted publication (see publication section) Talks or seminars resulting from the exchange Ø Poster presentation: Genomic Epidemiology of Malaria Work shop, United Kingdom WellcomeTrust Wellcome Trust Sanger Institute, June 2018 Ø Newton/RCUK work shop, September 2018 Ø Oral presentation: Science in Africa (DELTAS AFRICA) Scientific Conference, Dakar, Senegal July 2019 Ø Multi-omics Conference, Ethiopia, Addis Ababa, August 2021 |
| Start Year | 2016 |
| Description | Student exchange, Dylan Barth (Professor Mark Engel/Dr Kremlin Wickramasinghe & Prof Nick Townsend) |
| Organisation | University of Cape Town |
| Country | South Africa |
| Sector | Academic/University |
| PI Contribution | My research team and I helped to organise/facilitate this partnership by organising the management committee (who scored and awarded the student exchange applications), managing the grant, expenses and helping with the logistics of the exchange (including travel, stipends, bench fees, support). The management committee awarded a travel grant to this student based on; quality of application, impact of project and future pathway for both student and partnership. Preference was given to students with excellent projects and those who do not have current funding for such an exchange |
| Collaborator Contribution | This project formed part of the mandate by the World Health Organization (WHO) Global Coordination Mechanism (GCM) on the prevention and control of noncommunicable diseases to disseminate knowledge and share information based on scientific evidence with regard to the implementation of the global action plan for the prevention and control of non-communicable diseases, 2013 - 2020. At the time, Dylan's department at UCT were hosting research for the Pan African Societies of Cardiology, assisting WHO-Afro in Rheumatic Heart Disease research, and it was envisaged that he would take responsibility for the extension of the programme in Southern Africa, under the leadership and guidance of colleagues at Oxford. As part of the exchange Dylan attended a WHO Oxford workshop on Strengthening National NCD Implementation Research Capacity. 12-13 July 2017, Oxford, UK. |
| Impact | 1. WHO Report: Dylan wrote a report for the WHO on the Oxford workshop (mentioned above) and documented the achievements and outputs of the meeting 2. Career progression (see next destination section). In the final month of his exchange in Oxford, he saw a postdoc position being advertised in Western Australia with world leading researchers in Rheumatic Heart Disease and Strep A infections. He applied for the position and with the help of this supervisors in Oxford and Cape Town, he was offered the position. He submitted his thesis for examination in February 2018. Since then he moved to Perth and is currently undertaking a postdoc at the Telethon Kids Institute, based at the Perth Children's Hospital. He attributes much of his career progression to his Oxford Exchange. |
| Start Year | 2017 |
| Description | Student exchange, Emily Tangie (Helen McShane/Muazzam Jacobs & Roanne Keeton) |
| Organisation | University of Cape Town |
| Country | South Africa |
| Sector | Academic/University |
| PI Contribution | Emily visited my lab in 2018. My research team and I helped to organise/facilitate this partnership by organising the management committee (who scored and awarded the student exchange applications), managing the grant, expenses and helping with the logistics of the exchange (including travel, stipends, bench fees, support). The management committee awarded a travel grant to this student based on; quality of application, impact of project and future pathway for both student and partnership. Preference was given to students with excellent projects and those who do not have current funding for such an exchange. During her time in my lab Emily completed a section of her PhD thesis, participated in the medical sciences divisional talks targeted to biomedical researchers and Oxford open doors program. She worked with post docs in my lab to develop skills and obtain data that will be included in his thesis and future publications. |
| Collaborator Contribution | see above |
| Impact | I am currently working as a temporary research assistant in the Division of Molecular Biology and Human Genetics in the Faculty of Health Sciences, Stellenbosch University. Specifically, I started working with the TB Diagnostic Biomarker Research group at the Stellenbosch University-Immunology Research Group in September 2021. I am focusing on a project that aims to identify novel salivary protein biomarkers using a proteomic approach and I am also involved in a project on spinal TB. My abstract was selected for an oral presentation of the project during the Molecular Biology and Human Genetics Retreat which took place on 3-4 February 2022 in our Division. The title of the presentation was as follows: "The impact of prior exposure to malaria on the immunogenicity and protective efficacy of BCG vaccine against M. tuberculosis in mice" I have completed my PhD recently and will be graduating in March this year. I was initially offered a postdoc position but because my PhD delayed, I was offered the temporary research assistant position with hopefully will be changed to a postdoc position later. |
| Start Year | 2018 |
| Description | Student exchange, Ezekiel Musa (Prof Mushi Matjila and Prof Levitt/Prof Manu Vatish) |
| Organisation | University of Cape Town |
| Country | South Africa |
| Sector | Academic/University |
| PI Contribution | My research team and I helped to organise/facilitate this partnership by organising the management committee (who scored and awarded the student exchange applications), managing the grant, expenses and helping with the logistics of the exchange (including travel, stipends, bench fees, support). The management committee awarded a travel grant to this student based on; quality of application, impact of project and future pathway for both student and partnership. Preference was given to students with excellent projects and those who do not have current funding for such an exchange |
| Collaborator Contribution | Ezekiel was given the opportunity to attend weekly laboratory meetings. He learnt and performed new techniques (Western blot, Immunoprecipitation, Immunohistochemistry, Protein concentration quantification using Qubit and BCA protein assay methods). He learnt and performed quantitative real-time PCR which is relevant to his PhD and future research. He observed the technique of placental perfusion, a cutting-edge technique used in extracting syncytiotrophoblast extracellular vesicles. |
| Impact | 1. The research data he gathered while learning laboratory techniques at University of Oxford was presented at the Department of Obstetrics and Gynaecology, University of Cape Town, Research Day, 05 December 2019. 2. He was awarded additional funding by the Centre for Trophoblast Research (CTR) University of Cambridge to attend a Placenta Biology Course which held at the CTR, University of Cambridge, UK from 30 June 2019 to 05 July 2019. Achievement gained at the course: Prof Graham Burton (Director of the Centre for Trophoblast Research University of Cambridge) offered to bring the Placenta Biology Course to Africa for the first time in order to build capacity in placenta research where Ezekiel's PhD research is embedded. Ezekiel linked Prof Burton with his co-supervisor Prof Mushi Matjila to finalise the process and hopefully the first version of the Placenta Biology Course will be held next year at the University of Cape Town between March and April 2020. |
| Start Year | 2019 |
| Description | Student exchange, Jacquiline Mugo (Prof Nicola Mulder/Prof Mark McCarthy) |
| Organisation | University of Cape Town |
| Country | South Africa |
| Sector | Academic/University |
| PI Contribution | My research team and I helped to organise/facilitate this partnership by organising the management committee (who scored and awarded the student exchange applications), managing the grant, expenses and helping with the logistics of the exchange (including travel, stipends, bench fees, support). The management committee awarded a travel grant to this student based on; quality of application, impact of project and future pathway for both student and partnership. Preference was given to students with excellent projects and those who do not have current funding for such an exchange |
| Collaborator Contribution | see above |
| Impact | 1. A publication on the work that she started while at Oxford is being prepared. The title is "JasMAP: A Joint Ancestry and SNP Association tool for Multi-way Admixed Populations. 2. Final year of PhD, aiming to submit her thesis early 2020 |
| Start Year | 2016 |
| Description | Student exchange, Jenna Bleloch (Professor Sharon Prince/Professor Colin Goding) |
| Organisation | University of Cape Town |
| Country | South Africa |
| Sector | Academic/University |
| PI Contribution | My research team and I helped to organise/facilitate this partnership by organising the management committee (who scored and awarded the student exchange applications), managing the grant, expenses and helping with the logistics of the exchange (including travel, stipends, bench fees, support). The management committee awarded a travel grant to this student based on; quality of application, impact of project and future pathway for both student and partnership. Preference was given to students with excellent projects and those who do not have current funding for such an exchange |
| Collaborator Contribution | Training opporJenna Bleloch, a PhD student under the supervision of Prof Sharon Prince at the University of Cape Town spent 4 months (January - May 2017) in the Goding Laboratory at the Ludwig Institute for Cancer Research at Oxford University on the Newton/RCUK PhD Exchange Programme. In collaboration with Prof Colin Goding and the Target Discovery Institute, Jenna successfully designed, optimized and performed a high throughput cell-based immunofluorescence drug repurposing screen. This was with the aim of identifying commercially available drugs from a 1600 Pharmakon drug library that specifically downregulated the oncoproteins TBX2 and TBX3 in TBX2/3 driven melanoma cells. TBX2 and TBX3 are overexpressed in several cancers where they contribute to numerous oncogenic processes, and they had previously been identified and validated as novel drug targets. The rationale for our approach was thus to combine drug repurposing with a targeted approach which would shorten the drug development pipeline and consequently identify cheap and effective drugs to treat cancers addicted to TBX2 and/or TBX3. Several promising 'hit' compounds were identified and validated to downregulate TBX2 and TBX3. The work performed by Jenna constituted a key aspect of her PhD and she graduated in 2019 and the results from this research exchange have resulted in several research projects, funding opportunities, and postgraduate and postdoctoral training as described below. |
| Impact | Any publications/papers resulting from the exchange: Publication in preparation: Bleloch JS, Lu S, Khan SF, Ebner D, Goding C and Prince S (2022). A high throughput drug repurposing strategy for targeting the oncogenic TBX2 and TBX3, Frontiers in oncology, to be submitted in April 2022. Any talks or seminars resulting from the exchange: International conferences: 1. Khan SF, Bleloch J, Lu S, Ramburan A, Goding G, Prince S (2021). Repurposing drugs that target the interaction between HPV and TBX3 to treat cervical cancer. 27th Congress of the European Association for Cancer Research (EACR) "Innovative Cancer Science", Virtual Conference, 9th-12h June 2021 (poster presentation). 2. Khan SF, Bleloch J, Lu S, Ramburan A, Goding CR, Prince S (2020) Repurposing drugs that target the interaction between HPV and TBX3 to treat cervical cancer. Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory "Mechanisms & Models of Cancer", 11th - 14th August (poster presentation). 3. Bleloch J, Khan SF, Lu S, Ebner D, Goding C, Mapolie S, Prince S (2019) Identifying novel drugs for the treatment of rhabdomyosarcoma. Division of Medicinal Chemistry of the Brazilian Chemical Society 9th BRAZMEDCHEM Brazilian Symposium on Medicinal Chemistry 1-4th September 2019, Pirenópolis, Goiás - Brazil (Prof Prince invited plenary speaker). 4. Khan SF, Bleloch J, Lu S, Ramburan A, Goding C, Prince S (2018). Repurposing of commercial drugs that target the oncogenic TBX3 for anti-cancer activity in cervical cancer. ICGEB Workshop "Transcription factors in cancer therapy", Cape Town, SA, 8-10 October 2018 (poster presentation). 5. Bleloch J, Lu S, Ebner D, Goding C , Prince S (2018). Repurposing FDA-approved drugs that target transcription factors for their use in cancer therapy. Oral presentation at the international ICGEB Workshop 'Transcription factors in cancer therapy,' 2018, Cape Town, South Africa, 8-10 October 2018 (Dr Jenna Bleloch, invited plenary speaker). Local conferences and meetings: 1. Khan SF, Burmeister CA, Bleloch J, Ramburan A, Goding G, Prince S (2022). Repurposing drugs that target the interaction between HPV and TBX3 to treat cervical cancer. 27th South African Society of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology (SASBMB) Congress, 23-26 January 2022 (Saif Khan oral presentation). 2. Khan S, Prince S (2021). Repurposing drugs that target the interaction between HPV and TBX3 to treat cervical cancer. 2nd Postgraduate Cancer Research Initiative 3-minute thesis competition, 19th October 2021, University of Cape Town, SA (Saif Khan oral presentation). Awarded best oral presentation. 3. Khan S, Prince S (2020). Old wine in a new bottle: can we counter cervical cancer? Postgraduate Cancer Research Initiative 3-minute thesis competition, 6th August 2021, University of Cape Town, SA (Saif Khan oral presentation). 4. Khan SF, Bleloch J, Lu S, Ramburan A, Goding C, Prince S (2020). Repurposing drugs that target the interaction between HPV and TBX3 to treat cervical cancer. 10th Biomedical Research & Innovation Platform Symposium, 19th - 20th October 2020, Cape Town, SA - Virtual (Saif Khan oral presentation). 5. Khan SF, Bleloch J, Lu S, Ramburan A, Goding C and Prince S (2019). Repurposing drugs that target the oncogenic TBX3 to treat cervical cancer. SAMRC 9th Biomedical Research & Innovation Platform Symposium, 21st October 2019, Cape Town, SA (Saif Khan poster presentation). 6. Bleloch J, Lu S, Ebner D, Millar V, Seraia E, Goding C and Prince S. 2018. A high throughput screen to identify FDA-approved drugs that target the oncogenic TBX2 and TBX3 for anti-cancer activity. Newton Fund Networking Meeting for the Biomedical Sciences Exchange PhD Studentship Programme between the University of Cape Town and the University of Oxford, Cape Town, South Africa, 25-26 September 2018 (Dr Jenna Bleloch oral presentation). 7. Khan SF, Bleloch J, Lu S, Ebner D, Millar V, Seraia E, Ramburan A, Goding C, Prince S (2018). Repurposing of commercial drugs that target the oncogenic TBX3 for anti-cancer activity in breast and cervical cancer. SASBMB-FASBMB Congress, 8-11 July 2018, North-West University, Potchefstroom, SA (Saif Khan poster presentation). 8. Bleloch J, Lu S, Ebner D, Millar V, Seraia E, Goding C, Prince S (2017). A high throughput screen to identify FDA-approved drugs that target the oncogenic TBX2 and TBX3 for anti-cancer activity. University of Cape Town Health Sciences Faculty Postgraduate Research Day, 27 September 2017 (Dr Jenna Bleloch oral presentation). Awarded best oral presentation. 9. Bleloch J, Lu S, Ebner D, Millar V, Seraia E, Goding C and Prince S. 2017. A high throughput screen to identify FDA-approved drugs that target the oncogenic TBX2 and TBX3 for anti-cancer activity. University of Cape Town Health Sciences Faculty Cell Biology Seminar Series, 1 June 2017 (Dr Jenna Bleloch oral presentation). Career development resulting from the exchange: Jenna Bleloch (PhD 2016-2019) The body of work produced from this exchange formed one of two key results chapters in Jenna Bleloch's PhD thesis. Jenna was awarded her Doctoral Degree with minor corrections and graduated in July 2019. As a result of this exchange opportunity, Jenna was invited to apply for and was offered the position as a Research Associate in the HTS Lab of Daniel Ebner in the Target Discovery Institute, University of Oxford. However, due to funding issues this job fell through. Jenna is now pursuing a career outside of medical science research. Saif Khan PhD student (MSc 2018- 2019 upgraded to PhD 2020-present) Saif Khan assisted with validating and characterising the "hit" drugs niclosamide, piroctone olamine and pyrvinium pamoate which were identified in the screen in cervical cancer where he has shown that TBX3 co-operates with the HPV E6/E7 oncoproteins to contribute to proliferation and migration. He has provided important evidence that niclosamide, piroctone olamine and pyrvinium pamoate exhibit anti-cancer activity and inhibits TBX3 in specifically HPV positive cervical cancer. This work formed part of Saif's MSc and will be described as a key component of his PhD thesis which will be submitted by the end of April 2022 and he should graduate in December 2022. Dr Supratim Biswas (Postdoctoral Fellow 2019-2020) Validated and characterised niclosamide, piroctone olamine and pyrvinium pamoate to exhibit anti-cancer activity and inhibit TBX3 in breast cancer as part of his postdoctoral research. Mr Karabo Serala (PhD student 2021 - present) Currently validating and characterising niclosamide, piroctone olamine and pyrvinium pamoate in TBX2/3-driven pancreatic cancer as part of his PhD. Dr Mohsin Khan (Postdoctoral fellow 2022) Will characterise and validate niclosamide, piroctone olamine and pyrvinium pamoate in TBX2/3-driven pancreatic cancer as part of his postdoctoral research. Ms Carly Burmeister (Honours degree graduated with distinction in 2020) Performed combination studies of niclosamide, piroctone olamine and pyrvinium pamoate with doxorubicin in HPV-positive cervical cancer cells as an Honours project. Additional grant funding resulting from the exchange: The 'hits' identified during the exchange and the subsequent body of work that has been generated in the Prince Laboratory has contributed to securing the following grants: 1. South African Medical Research Council (SAMRC) self-initiated research grant - R600, 000.00 over 3 years (2021 - 2023). 2. The International Center for Genetic Engineering and Biotechnology Collaborative Research Programme Research Grant - €36 000.00 over 3 years (2021 - 2023). Notable collaborations resulting from the exchange This exchange project formed part of the long-standing collaboration between the Goding (Oxford) and Prince (UCT) laboratories and has and will continue to enhance the close ties that already exist between them. It is has also facilitated important collaborations with clinicians and chemists. |
| Start Year | 2017 |
| Description | Student exchange, Jennifer Hirst (Prof Andrew Farmer/Professor Naomi Levitt and Dr Kirsten Bobrow) |
| Organisation | University of Cape Town |
| Country | South Africa |
| Sector | Academic/University |
| PI Contribution | My research team and I helped to organise/facilitate this partnership by organising the management committee (who scored and awarded the student exchange applications), managing the grant, expenses and helping with the logistics of the exchange (including travel, stipends, bench fees, support). The management committee awarded a travel grant to this student based on; quality of application, impact of project and future pathway for both student and partnership. Preference was given to students with excellent projects and those who do not have current funding for such an exchange |
| Collaborator Contribution | Training, data, lab work, support, meetings |
| Impact | The work she carried out in 2016/17 in Cape Town as part of the Newton exchange has been written up. The manuscript is currently under review with BMJ Open. She presented her study results at a seminar on Global Primary Care in Oxford As a result of her exchange she was co-supervising Tawanda Chivese, a PhD student in Naomi Levitt's group, who was awarded the Newton partnership funding in 2017. Career progression. Now completed her PhD and working full time in the Department of Primary Care Health Sciences as the Senior Researcher on a chronic kidney disease trial in primary care. She has applied for an NIHR fellowship to continue her work on point-of-care testing in primary care settings. I have had other career opportunities resulting from acquiring funding and leading my own study programme during this time. DOI: 10.1136/bmjopen-2020-045511 DOI: 10.1111/dme.14754 |
| Start Year | 2016 |
| Description | Student exchange, Laura Heathfield (Professor Raj Ramesar and Professor Lorna Martin/Professor Hugh Watkins) |
| Organisation | University of Cape Town |
| Country | South Africa |
| Sector | Academic/University |
| PI Contribution | My research team and I helped to organise/facilitate this partnership by organising the management committee (who scored and awarded the student exchange applications), managing the grant, expenses and helping with the logistics of the exchange (including travel, stipends, bench fees, support). The management committee awarded a travel grant to this student based on; quality of application, impact of project and future pathway for both student and partnership. Preference was given to students with excellent projects and those who do not have current funding for such an exchange |
| Collaborator Contribution | Analyzed DNA samples at the High-Throughput Genomics unit then analysed vast amounts of data at the Bioinformatics and Statistical Genetics Unit. Attended research seminars/activities hosted by the Centre to network with researchers in Oxford. Visited Manlove Forensics Ltd in Oxfordshire. |
| Impact | Publication included on publication section. Heathfield, L.J., Martin, L.J., and Ramesar, R.S. (2019). Massively parallel sequencing in sudden unexpected death in infants: a case report in South Africa. Forensic Science International: Genetics Supplementary Series. 7(1) 459-461. doi: 10.1016/j.fsigss.2019.10.051. I also have another paper under peer-review at the moment: Heathfield, L.J., Martin, L.J., and Ramesar, R.S. Massively parallel sequencing of 43 arrhythmia genes in a selected SUDI cohort from Cape Town. Journal of Pediatric Genetics. Under review. Any talks or seminars resulting from the exchange Poster presentation at international conference: Heathfield, L.J., Martin, L.J., and Ramesar, R.S. Sudden unexpected death in infancy: next generation sequencing adds value to cases from Cape Town, South Africa. The 28th congress of the International Society of Forensic Genetics, Prague, 9-13 September 2019. I am now a Senior Lecturer at the University of Cape Town |
| Start Year | 2017 |
| Description | Student exchange, Oliver Van Hecke (Chris Butler/Marc Mendelson) |
| Organisation | University of Cape Town |
| Country | South Africa |
| Sector | Academic/University |
| PI Contribution | My research team and I helped to organise/facilitate this partnership by organising the management committee (who scored and awarded the student exchange applications), managing the grant, expenses and helping with the logistics of the exchange (including travel, stipends, bench fees, support). The management committee awarded a travel grant to this student based on; quality of application, impact of project and future pathway for both student and partnership. Preference was given to students with excellent projects and those who do not have current funding for such an exchange |
| Collaborator Contribution | Enhanced collaborative links with University of Cape Town. Refined design for a future Oxford/UCT research program in South Africa. Conference presentation(s). Feedback to local clinics, research team and Health Department. |
| Impact | Any publications/papers resulting from the exchange Epps A, Albury C, Van Hecke O. Exploring Primary Care Clinicians' Views about How Best to Implement a Potential Trial around Point-of-Care Tests for Common Infections in South Africa. Diagnostics (Basel). 2021 Nov 13;11(11):2100. doi: 10.3390/diagnostics11112100. PMID: 34829447; PMCID: PMC8620116. van Hecke O, Butler C, Mendelson M, Tonkin-Crine S. Introducing new point-of-care tests for common infections in publicly funded clinics in South Africa: a qualitative study with primary care clinicians. BMJ Open. 2019 Nov 25;9(11):e029260. doi: 10.1136/bmjopen-2019-029260. PMID: 31772084; PMCID: PMC6887073. Any talks or seminars resulting from the exchange Presentation, Exploring primary care clinicians' views about how best to implement a potential future trial around point-of-care tests for common infections in South Africa, South-West Society for Academic Primary Care, 18 March 2021 Career development NIHR Clinical Lecturer (applying for postdoctoral fellowship) Additional grant funding resulting from the exchange 2020 The International Society for Infectious Diseases (ISID) and Pfizer Global Medical Grants: Antimicrobial Stewardship in Africa and Middle East. Antimicrobial stewardship in publicly-funded primary healthcare clinics in the Cape Metro, South Africa: an implementation study US $97,210 (£72,007) (PI) 2019 Africa-Oxford Initiative. Establishing a novel pharmacist-prescriber network in publicly-funded primary care clinics in the Western Cape to optimise antibiotic prescribing. £4,300 (PI) Notable collaborations resulting from the exchange I have forged new academic partnerships with researchers in South Africa. Through an Africa-Oxford Initiative (2019), I have been working with South African family physicians and pharmacists to enhance AMS initiatives in publicly funded primary care clinics (S Afr Fam Pract. 2020). Since our collaboration, I have been awarded funding to conduct an observational study to map usual clinical care for patients presenting with acute cough in the Cape Town Metropole in 2021-22 (co-PI, International Society for Infectious Diseases). The data generated from this study will fill a fundamental gap in the evidence base that will inform antibiotic stewardship innovations and a proposed feasibility trial of C-reactive point-of- care testing (CRP-POCT) for acute cough. |
| Start Year | 2016 |
| Description | Student exchange, Symon Kariuki (Oxford) - Department of Psychiatry and Mental Health (Cape Town) |
| Organisation | University of Cape Town |
| Country | South Africa |
| Sector | Academic/University |
| PI Contribution | My research team and I helped to organise/facilitate this partnership by organising the management committee (who scored and awarded the student exchange applications), managing the grant, expenses and helping with the logistics of the exchange (including travel, stipends, bench fees, support). The management committee awarded a travel grant to this student based on; quality of application, impact of project and future pathway for both student and partnership. Preference was given to students with excellent projects and those who do not have current funding for such an exchange |
| Collaborator Contribution | Given the opportunity to attend a short course on genetic epidemiology and participated in an international workshop. Formed collaborations with UCT towards genetics studies of psychotic disorders in African populations. Was made aware of other academic resources in UCT resulting in him joining an online EEG course at UCT which he has been undertaking for the last 7 months. Established scientific contacts and collaborations that would later define his postdoc career. |
| Impact | Any publications/papers resulting from the exchange Response: there are a number of papers that have resulted from networks made from this exchange. See these links below: - https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/29433659/ - https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/33770507/ - https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/35151672/ - https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/35167925/ - https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/30782936/ - https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/31571431/ - https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/31715335/ Any talks or seminars resulting from the exchange Response: Yes, I was once invited to speak in Broad institute through the network from this exchange programme. I also participated in an African neuropsychopharmacology workshop, where I made a presentation, which was organized through the network of this exchange programme. Career development Response: I am a postdoctoral scientist at KEMRI-Wellcome Trust, which was my host organization during the exchange when I was in the final years of my PhD. Since the exchange, my career has really grown during my time here and I am now leading the Neuroscience research team since 2020. I am supervising 3 PhD students, one of whom is defending in May of this year and the other two are in the final year. Additional grant funding resulting from the exchange Response: I got an early career funding from MQ through the collaboration that I made from the exchange. I am also planning to apply for more mental health funding motivated by the exchange experience. •Notable collaborations resulting from the exchange Response: Through that exchange I have formed important collaborations in mental health, including with institutions in Kenya who had links with UCT. I am currently supervising a PhD student who I identified through that exchange and continue to co-author papers with my host at UCT to date. |
| Start Year | 2016 |
| Description | multiple new collaborations formed and existing collaborations strengthened |
| Organisation | University of Cape Town |
| Department | Faculty of Health Sciences |
| Country | South Africa |
| Sector | Academic/University |
| PI Contribution | Five rounds of project applications, fourteen students from the University of Cape Town have gone to the University of Oxford, working in the fields of Experimental Psychology, Cancer Research, Genetics and Genomics, Population Health, Neuroscience, Epidemiology and Biostatistics, and Vaccinology. In those same rounds, eight students have gone from the University of Oxford to the University of Cape Town, working in the fields of Primary Care Health Sciences, Neuro-Genomics, Data Analytics, and Psychiatry. The data obtained from these exchange studentships will be included in their PhD theses, for future publications and for subsequent funding applications. This will facilitate sustainable collaborations between the student and host group; and strengthen the existing collaborations between the home and host groups. The partnerships/collaborations listed to date on this award are the partnerships where tangible outputs have been reached. There will be other potential collaborations for the future. |
| Collaborator Contribution | as above |
| Impact | as above |
| Start Year | 2016 |
| Description | 2 day networking meeting in Cape Town, September 2018 |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Postgraduate students |
| Results and Impact | Networking meeting with students, PIs, funders. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2018 |
| Description | SMU visit September 2018 |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Postgraduate students |
| Results and Impact | MH and I visited SMU, Pretoria, a historically disadvantaged site. we both spoke about our work and the Newton exchange programme. there was a lot of interest in being involved in exchanges with both UCT and UOXF |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2018 |