Congratulations to Professor Liesl Zuhlke who recently won the prestigious SA Medical Research Council/ UK Department of International Development(MRC/DFID) African Research Leader Award. The award, valued at £750 000 (R14.565 million) over 5 years, will assist Prof Zühlke in continuing her research of children with heart disease in Africa, in partnership with Prof Bernard Kheavney (UK) as well as local partners Prof Mark Engel, Dr Gasnat Shaboodien, Prof Raj Ramasar, Prof Mpiko Ntsekhe, Dr Blanche Cupido and Prof Ntobeko Ntusi. This is a wonderful award and further affirmation of the extra-ordinary work that Liesl and her colleagues have been doing.
See the link below to see the full announcement of the award.
Welcome back to Prof Jo Wilmshurst and Natasha North to the Department after a very successful trip to the UK participate in the THET annual conference. Natasha’s presentation of an abstract jointly authored with Minette Coetzee and titled: “Building the children’s nursing workforce for Africa, in Africa: sustaining and growing capacity through education, research and system strengthening” received the prize for best abstract presentation.
This is especially rewarding in the context of a conference where the majority of programmes represented were UK-led collaborations with LMICs. It is very gratifying to see the proudly South to South models of Child Nursing Practice Development Initiative and APFP recognised in this forum.
Congratulations to Professor Mignon McCulloch who has been appointed as Head of Clinical Unit for Paediatric Nephrology and Solid Organ Transplantation. She will formally take up the duties at the beginning of September.
Shaakira Chaya has been awarded the 2018 Harry Crossley Clinical Research Fellowship from FHS, UCT to do a PhD on the Drakenstein Child Health Study. Well done to Shaakira and all her supporting team.
