Dr Graham Chakafana leaves the Institute

Dr Graham Chakafana has been appointed as a Postdoctoral Fellow at Stanford University from 2022-2025. He joined the Cape Heart Institute (CHI) a day before the first national COVID-19 lockdown (in March 2020) as a Postdoctoral Research Fellow. He now leaves the CHI to join the Cardiovascular Institute at Stanford University School of Medicine in the USA. At Stanford, Graham will be working on cardiovascular proteomics as a Postdoctoral Research Scientist in Prof Michael Kapiloff’s lab.

“I will miss the warmth and friendly atmosphere at CHI which made me acquire a lot of expertise on my scientific journey,” he said. While at CHI, his publication on COVID-19 was listed on the WHO website as a recommended read.  During his time at the CHI, Graham received training in several aspects such as cell culture, proteomics, and biostatistics, which he hopes to use when he joins Stanford.  He also acknowledges his UCT mentors, Prof Karen Sliwa and Prof Ntobeko Ntusi whom he has learnt a lot in the field of cardiovascular medicine. “I miss the great friendships formed in Cape Town and the many fun activities the city had to offer,” concluded Dr Chakafana.

Also leaving the institute is Dr Vitaris Kodogo joined the CHI in April 2017 to pursue his PhD study. He was supervised by Professor Karen Sliwa, Professor Sandrine Lecour and Dr Feriel Azibani. He aimed to understand cardiac remodelling in pregnancy and the mechanism involved during reverse remodelling.

During his time at the CHI, he developed a broad base of knowledge in the cardiovascular research area. He learnt several technical skills required for researching clinical studies, invivo and invitro models of cardiovascular diseases. After completing his PhD in 2020, Vitaris moved to the University of the Free State;  Department of Cardiothoracic Surgery for a Postdoctoral fellowship. The Postdoc will provide an opportunity to develop broader skills that meet the needs of a diverse scientific workforce and to develop an independent science identity.

He believes that it is the responsibility of the scientific community to undertake research that will ultimately be translatable to a real-world setting and to be of benefit to the community. The institute congratulates both Dr Chakafana and Dr Kodogo and wishes them everything of the best in their future endeavours.