To develop future research leaders, the University of Cape Town (UCT) Postgraduate Funding Centre has provided support for five two-year postdoctoral fellowships and five three-year PhD studentships over the course of the CIDRI-Africa grant lifecycle. Applicants develop their research proposals with the supervisory support of either a Centre Principal or Contributing Investigator.
In addition, UCT's Faculty of Health Sciences funds one postdoctoral fellowship for each year of the CIDRI-Africa grant (i.e. five). Each year, one successful postdoctoral applicant in the field of infectious diseases is allocated to the Centre. The postdoctoral fellow is supervised by a Centre Principal or Contributing Investigator, depending on their research interests.
Postdoctoral fellows
Jill Combrinck (Faculty of Health Sciences award)
Supervisor: Timothy Egan
Probing the detoxification of haem in the malaria parasite, Plasmodium falciparum.
Caron Jacobs (Faculty of Health Sciences award)
Supervisor: Digby Warner
High-resolution visualization of the mycobacterial mutasome structure and assembly.
Emmanuel Margolin
Supervisor: Anna-Lise Williamson
Addressing limitations in the plant secretory pathway for the production of next-generation glycoprotein-based vaccines against Marburg and HIV.
Kudakwashe Mhandire (Faculty of Health Sciences award for year 1)
Supervisor: Collet Dandara
Decoding host genetic determinants of susceptibility to pulmonary TB and treatment outcomes in African populations.
Roxanne Mohunlal
Supervisor: Timothy Egan
An investigation into the trafficking of lipids in the malaria parasite and their influence on haemozoin formation.
Alltalents Murahwa
Supervisor: Anna-Lise Williamson
Prevalence and distribution of vaccine and non-vaccine human papillomavirus genotypes in a cohort born HIV positive, HPV vaccinated adolescents 5-10 years post implementing the Gardasil quadrivalent vaccine in Zimbabwe.
Hygon Mutavhatsindi
Supervisor: Catherine Riou
Investigation of the immunological signatures of the TB spectrum from infection to disease.
Pia Steigler
Supervisor: Tom Scriba
Characterisation of antibody responses to different disease outcomes of M. tuberculosis infection.
PhD students
Avuyonke Balfour
Supervisor: Muki Shey
The role of mucosal-associated invariant T (MAIT) cells in long-term resistance to Mycobacterium tuberculosis (M.tb) infection in healthcare workers with sustained occupational exposure to TB.
Dimitri Griffault
Supervisor: Digby Warner
Elucidating the role of the putative DnaQ and DnaQ-UvrC proofreading proteins in mycobacterial genome maintenance.
Rudranil Hazra
Supervisor: Suraj Parihar
Investigating the macrophage-specific role of PKCĪ“ for potential therapeutic target against M. tuberculosis.
Patience Nyakato
Supervisor: Mary-Ann Davies
Correction of estimates of mortality among children and adolescents living with HIV (0-19 years) receiving antiretroviral therapy: modelling of loss to follow up and re-engagement in care.
Caitlin Taylor
Supervisor: Digby Warner
Utilizing fluorogenic click chemistry to investigate the role of cell wall permeation in mycobacterial metabolic heterogeneity and drug discovery.
