The Cancer Research Initiative (CRI) was established in 2013 and is housed in the Faculty of Health Sciences at UCT. The aim of the initiative is to facilitate integrated, interdisciplinary cancer research in the Faculty and beyond. Through collaborative research, the CRI pursues innovative, effective and relevant approaches to the prevention, diagnosis, and treatment of cancer, placing the Faculty at the forefront of research endeavours to address the alarming cancer burden in Africa.

The CRI connects world-class researchers conducting basic, clinical and population-oriented cancer research in the Faculty and supports partnerships with national and international research institutions, NGO’s and funders. A central focus of the Initiative is the development of research capacity among clinicians, other health professionals and scientists with a view to developing and maintaining a critical mass of expert cancer researchers on the continent. 

The Collaborating Centre for Optimising Antimalarial Therapy (CCOAT) serves to bring together the expertise of clinical and laboratory researchers, working together to improve malaria treatment. Our strong track record of successful malaria research initiatives has led to our being selected to lead the Pharmacology module of Worldwide Antimalarial Resistance Network and as one of three South African Medical Research Council Collaborating Centres for Malaria Research.

The Community Eye Health Institute (CEHI) was established in 2008 with the broad aim to build capacity in public eye health services in sub-Saharan Africa. Through education and training, programme development and research, CEHI aims to promote the application of the principles and techniques of advocacy, strategic leadership and programme management to improve the performance of district, provincial and national prevention of blindness programmes.

CEHI is supported and assisted by individuals and organisations who share the ideal of adequately resourced eye care programmes, necessary for the furtherance of the goals of blindness prevention initiatives.

CEHI's main stakeholders include national and provincial health departments, non-governmental organisations involved in eye care, businesses seeking expression of their corporate social responsibility mandates through eye care outcomes, and individual or programme beneficiaries of the institute's suite of training programmes.

The Department of Science and Innovation's South African Research Chairs Initiative (SARChI) is managed by the National Research Foundation (NRF). The chairs are held by individuals. Their purpose is to strengthen the ability of our universities to produce high-quality research and nurture students.

The Vaccines for Africa Initiative (VACFA) is a non-profit academic unit founded in 2009 by Professor Gregory Hussey, who is the Director. We are in the Department of Public Health and Family Medicine, within Faculty of Health Sciences at the University of Cape Town. 

VACFA has a strong and well-established network of stakeholders who work together on a shared goal of increasing awareness of and promoting uptake of vaccines on the African continent. The VACFA website provides a resource to access accurate, up-to-date, and fully researched information on vaccines and immunisation practices relevant to Africa. The information on the website is aimed for diverse audience that includes health professionals, policymakers, programme managers, caregivers, and the general public. As an academic unit, VACFA also participates in the training of postgraduate students who are registered for public health studies.