Annual Health Sciences Students’ Symposium for 2021
Our Fogarty Program held its annual Health Sciences Students’ Symposium on 22 October 2021 as a 3-hour virtual event on Zoom. In 2020 the Symposium was not held due to the COVID-19 disruptions to the undergraduate academic calendar. The objectives of the Symposium are to make undergraduate students studying at UCT aware of the HIV and TB research being conducted at UCT, and our Fogarty Program. The purpose is also to provide insights regarding pathways into research after they have qualified. The need to train more clinician scientists in South Africa has been highlighted as a national priority and is one of the five objectives of our Program.
This year’s Symposium was attended by 15 Health Science students as well as many of our Fellows. Presentations included a talk by Dr Dick Chaisson (Johns Hopkins University) on “Making a Mark in Clinical Research” reflecting on his own research career in HIV and TB, and lessons that could be drawn for those entering clinical research. Four of our Fellows presented on the research they have been conducting (Simon Mendelsohn, Linda Boloko, Phuti Choshi, and Zinhle Cindi). Savannah Verhage, a 6th year MBChB student, shared her experiences of a research elective with SATVI in Worcester and the systematic review she has been conducting. Dr Yolande Harley, Director of Research in the Faculty of Health Sciences, discussed funding opportunities for early-stage researchers.
There was positive feedback from those students who attended and it is hoped that many of them will continue to engage with our Program for research electives and potentially apply for Fellowship funding in the future.
Dr Yolande Harley speaking at the Symposium:
