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The University of the Western Cape, South Africa and SPaRCS partners invite all interested to this interactive webinar which seeks to sensitise a broader health systems and public health audience to pharmacoviligance (PV) and clinical trials oversight of medicines and vaccines. We will also be sharing information about the SPaRCS project and commence conversations for networking & collaboration within sub-Saharan African countries.

Keynote speaker: Dr Helen Ndagije (Director: Product Safety, National Drug Authority, Uganda)

*SPaRCS aims to strengthen pharmacovigilance (PV) systems and clinical trials oversight of National Regulatory Authorities (NRAs) in Namibia, South Africa, Eswatini and Zimbabwe.

Date and Time: Wednesday, 12 May 2021, 14:00-15:30 South African Standard Time

Registration: https://uwc.zoom.us/meeting/register/tJMuc--hpj8sHdUCzMsh5fy_LZ6fKFw_DKg7

Further information: tpetersen@uwc.ac.za, Tamlin Petersen, School of Public Health, UWC

Base Pair has been collaborating with Dr. Misaki Wayengera of Makerere (TMA2015CDF1545) University in Uganda to explore aptamers for the development of simpler, more sensitive assays for the diagnosis of Ebolavirus.

Ebolavirus is a filovirus that causes severe hemorrhagic fever with a high rate of mortality. Believed to originate with the fruit bat, the virus can be transferred from infected animals and insects and also through the transfer of blood, mucus, or interaction with infected materials. On August 1, 2018, the Ministry of Health of the Democratic Republic of the Congo in Africa declared a new outbreak of Ebola Virus Disease (EVD) in the North Kivu Province. As of June 9, 2019, there have been 1,968 confirmed cases and 1,296 confirmed deaths. An experimental vaccine is being administered and a clinical trial for a new therapeutic is underway. 

GP1 glycoprotein appears as spikes on the surface of the Ebolavirus virion. The glycoprotein is a heterodimer consisting of a GP1 and GP2 subunit. The glycoprotein forms a trimer consisting of three heterodimers on the virion surface. The GP1 subunit is involved in attachment to host cells and includes a receptor-binding domain. The smaller GP2 subunit includes a fusion peptide, a transmembrane domain and a short cytoplasmic tail. Glycoprotein residues involved in host entry are highly conserved between Zaire, Sudan, Cote d’Ivoire and Reston species of Ebolavirus.

https://www.basepairbio.com/elasa-aptamer-based-elisa/

UKCDR will be co-hosting a webinar on the 10th of June on Equitable Partnerships, in partnership with the Association of Commonwealth Universities (ACU) and the Research Fairness Initiative: Equitable partnerships for global research webinar │ACU. 

To register visit https://www.acu.ac.uk/acu-events/equitable-partnerships-for-global-research-webinar/

The event includes speakers from a range of locations, and UKCDR’s Executive Director, Marta Tufet, will be presenting on the importance of equitable research partnerships, as well as highlighting the recently launched resource hub and equitable partnerships project.

Dear Colleagues,

We are delighted to announce plans to host the 2^nd International Post-tuberculosis Symposium in Stellenbosch in the first quarter of 2023.

We are hoping to increase diversity of the leadership team for this Symposium, and would like to invite interested persons to complete the form below if they would like to be part of the organizing team. Anybody with an interest in post-tuberculosis consequence is welcome (not just researchers / clinicians). The Symposium hopes to address all aspects of life after TB, not only post-TB lung disease.

We are looking for people to be involved in either of the:

1. Steering (Organising) Committee – responsible for the structure and running of the Symposium
2. Academic Committee – responsible for content and outputs of various aspects of the Symposium.

If you would like to be considered for either of these roles, please complete the attached form by 15 July 2022 and return to: mariekevdzalm@sun.ac.za

Please note:

1. These are unfunded roles,
2. People on the team will be expected to be fully involved in the organization and contribute to the success of the Symposium.
3. Estimated Minimum Weekly Time Commitment: initially 1-2 hours per week, increasing to half a day per week in the months preceding the Symposium

Please feel free to share this email within your all post-TB networks, as we are wanting to be as inclusive as possible.

Brian Allwood & Marieke vd Zalm

Associate Professor (Pulmonologist)
Division of Pulmonology | Department of Medicine|Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences |South Africa