Seven UCT Researchers Awarded ‘Career Starting’ SAMRC Grants

Seven UCT researchers have been awarded a South African Medical Research Council (SAMRC) Self-Initiated Research (SIR) grant to forward their research interests. And for the six early-career researchers awarded these grants offer support onto the first rung of the research funding ladder.

“Securing research funding is one of the most challenging elements of a career in research,” said Dr Zulfa Abrahams, Research and Development Manager in the Faculty of Health Sciences (FHS) Research Office.

Often, to get external research funding, a researcher needs to show evidence of having managed a grant before, but that can only happen if they have been awarded a grant.

“This is why the SAMRC SIR grants are so valuable,” added Dr Abrahams. “They have a higher success rate than international grants, and target early-career researchers, with a focus on specific demographic groups, notably black South African women”.

The grants are awarded in Category One, for early-career researchers and Category Two, for mid-level and established researchers.

Nationally the SAMRC received 303 eligible applications for this award and from those they awarded 52 applicants across the country.

The Research Development team in the FHS Research Office worked closely with the applicants to submit high-quality applications.

The Category One awardees are:

Dr Hlengiwe Madlala: Minimising cardiovascular disease risk in pregnant women living with HIV

Dr Madlala, of the Division of Epidemiology and Biostatistics, is working towards better screening to minimise heart risk in pregnant women.

Nearly 30% of pregnant women attending antenatal care clinics in South Africa are living with HIV (WLHIV). Despite improved life expectancy, heart disease remains the leading cause of death in WLHIV. This heart disease is preceded by preventable conditions, such as obesity, high blood pressure and diabetes, known as cardiometabolic diseases (CMDs).

Madlala’s SIR award will be used to identify novel biomarkers that could potentially be used to develop an effective screening tool for CMD risk to support mothers before the conditions escalate to heart disease.

Dr Khuthala Mnika: Understanding the genetics of kidney disease in Africa

Dr Mnika, a researcher in the Division of Human Genetics, is investigating the genetics of kidney disease in African populations.

Chronic kidney disease (CKD) is a major health problem in sub-Saharan Africa with an estimated 50 million people affected. There is however very little research data on kidney disease in Africa. This makes it challenging to develop urgently needed preventive strategies.

Mnika was awarded the SIR grant to forward the understanding of genetic factors of kidney disease in African populations. This work has the further potential to improve both diagnostic and therapeutic strategies for kidney disease.

Dr Nicole Phillips: Developing an effective mental health screening tool for vulnerable youth in SA

Dr Phillips is a neuroscience researcher in the Department of Psychiatry and Mental Health at the Neuroscience Institute. Her work focuses on strategies and interventions to support the mental health of youth.

Youth in South Africa are particularly vulnerable to mental health challenges, and have an increased risk of poor health and other outcomes, including low adherence to their medication, and poor school performance. To effectively screen for mental health and psychosocial risk, tools need to be brief, use minimal resources and be locally validated.

Dr Philips was awarded for her proposed work to develop a technology-delivered screening tool assessing youth at risk for mental health problems.   

Dr Sabelo Hadebe: Towards better diagnosis and treatment of atopic dermatitis

Dr Hadebe, a researcher in the Division of Immunology, works towards better diagnosis and treatment of atopic dermatitis (AD), a chronic and difficult-to-treat skin condition.

AD leads to symptoms like scaling, redness, thickened skin, and intense itching. It is linked to the immune system with certain immune responses causing the inflammation and skin problems.

Hadebe has been awarded for his proposed work on IL-4i, a substance produced by the body that can break down specific amino acids (building blocks of proteins), and its potential for diagnosing and treating AD.

Dr Edina Amponsah-Dacosta: Vaccine uptake in pregnant women in SA

Dr Amponsah-Dacosta, of the Vaccines for Africa Initiative (VACFA), focuses her research on better understanding vaccine confidence or hesitancy among pregnant women in South Africa.

Pregnant women and their children are particularly vulnerable to infectious diseases which are associated with significant morbidity and mortality. While vaccines are available for many of these, like tetanus, influenza, and COVID-19, there is limited understanding of maternal knowledge, attitudes, and beliefs about vaccination during pregnancy and after birth in South Africa.

Amponsah-Dacosta was awarded for her proposed research aimed at better understanding the determinants of vaccine uptake among pregnant women to guide the establishment of a responsive maternal vaccination programme.

Dr Linda Boloko: Clotting disorders in patients with HIV-associated TB

Dr Boloko, a researcher at UCT’s IDM and Department of Medicine, is focused on understanding the high mortality rate of patients living with both HIV and TB.

Patients hospitalised with HIV-TB have concerningly high death rates that are still poorly understood. While there is some evidence to suggest inflammatory host response contributes to mortality, associated clotting processes have not been well studied.

Boloko was awarded a SIR grant to continue his investigation into blood clotting responses in HIV-TB patients to better understand how these mechanisms work and find potential treatment strategies to reduce the high death rates.

Category Two Awardee is:

Dr Colleen O’Ryan: Genetics and molecular biology of autism in SA populations

Dr O’Ryan leads the Molecular Neuroscience Research Group in Molecular and Cell Biology and is also a member of the Neurosciences Institute. She researches the genetics and biology of autism spectrum disorder (ASD) in South African children.

ASD is a condition that affects the social interaction and behaviour of people. It's estimated that by 2050, 10-20 million children in Africa will have ASD, that there are only a handful of ASD genetic studies on African populations.

The work for which O’Ryan was awarded this grant focuses particularly on the mitochondria (parts of the cells that produce energy) of children with ASD as it is believed these may play a significant role in the disorder.