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Celebrating 100 Years of Health Sciences
Research Groupings
associated with this theme
Adolescent Health
Research Unit
Adolescents face a wide range of health problems,
owing to a combination of biological, social, and
psychological factors. There is thus a niche for a
research facility that focuses specifically on the
health needs of adolescents. The Adolescent Health
Research Unit at UCT builds on existing research and
collaborations to co-ordinate, promote and facilitate
research into all aspects of adolescent health. The
specific aims of the unit are to facilitate cutting-edge
inter-disciplinary research that addresses key national
public adolescent health priorities; to promote
networking among adolescent health researchers,
practitioners, and policy makers; to increase the
profile of the Faculty of Health Sciences in the
arena of world-class adolescent health research; to
provide policy consultation at local, provincial,
national, and international levels; and to increase and
improve educational offerings in adolescent health at
undergraduate and postgraduate levels.
Director: Professor P de Vries
E-mail: petrus.devries@uct.ac.za
Web: http://www.health.uct.ac.za/research/groupings/
adolescent/
MRC/UCT Cape Heart Centre
This combined research entity is the largest heart
research group in South Africa and forms part of the
Cape Heart Group, which links research between UCT
and the other universities in the region. The Hatter
Institute, which is part of the MRC/UCT Cape Heart
Centre, is involved in the study of the molecular and
cellular biology of ischaemic heart disease, as well as
the molecular and cellular pathophysiology of cardiac
hypertrophy and heart failure. The goal of the research
programme is to contribute to the fundamental
understanding of the mechanisms in the development
of ischaemic heart disease, cardiac hypertrophy, and
heart failure. The Cardiovascular Research Institute,
to which is allied the Medtronics Institute, is studying
biocompatible materials for vascular and valvular
prostheses. Lipidology is concerned with research into
lipid and lipoprotein disorders in patients in the region
and novel treatment strategies for these disorders. Its
research also includes new diagnostic assays for local
problems in health care and lipid peroxidation.
Director: Professor P Zilla
E-mail: peter.zilla@uct.ac.za
Web: http://web.uct.ac.za/depts/chc/
Cardiovascular Research
Unit
The core research pursuit of the Cardiovascular
Research Unit centres around the concept of
regenerative medicine, with the goal of engineered
regeneration of diseased structures through
co-ordinated and site-directed signalling to
facilitate gradual in-situ remodelling of surgically
replaced hybrid biosynthetic devices. These offer
patients an immediate dramatic improvement in
quality of life through return to functionality of
these diseased structures.
Director: Professor P Zilla
E-mail: peter.zilla@uct.ac.za
Web: http://www.uct.ac.za/depts/cts
Centre for Infectious
Disease Epidemiology and
Research
The Centre for Infectious Disease Epidemiology
and Research (CIDER) aims to be an African Centre
of Excellence in infectious disease epidemiology and
related research. The centre has a strong base that
spans a number of disciplines and conducts public health
research, integrating laboratory, clinical, epidemiological,
social science, and health systems research into infectious
diseases that have high priority in Southern Africa (in
particular, HIV and tuberculosis) in order to improve the
prevention andmanagement of these diseases. The centre
maintains strong links with health services at all levels
in order to identify research priorities, and assists policy
makers, programme managers, and services managers
with the implementation of the results of research. The
centre aims to be a centre of excellence in the surveillance
and monitoring of infectious diseases and infectious
disease programmes and services, and in the conduct
of robust observational research, based on routine data
sources. CIDER provides extensive postgraduate level
teaching and supervision in epidemiology.
Director: Associate Professor A Boulle
E-mail: andrew.boulle@uct.ac.za
Web: http://www.cider.uct.ac.za
MRC/NHLS/UCT Molecular
Mycobacteriology Research Unit
The Molecular Mycobacteriology Research Unit (MMRU)
was established in 2000 as an extramural research