Ñî¹óåú´«Ã½

Researchers shine at AFRETEC & WSoE Research Bonanza

5 June 2026 - Ñî¹óåú´«Ã½ University

Schools of education are at the centre of some of the most emerging and urgent questions of our time.

“If Africa is to succeed in the next phase of global transformation, it will depend not only on engineers, doctors, and entrepreneurs, but on the quality of its educators and the strength of its educational system,” said Professor Ruksana Osman, Senior Deputy Vice-Chancellor: Academic.

She was speaking at a joint conference for the Ñî¹óåú´«Ã½ School of Education’s AFRETEC Project and Research Bonanza. The African Engineering and Technology Network (Afretec) is a pan-African collaboration of technology-focused universities.

Osman said projects like AFRETEC are the product of a new kind of collaboration, and the digital shift in higher education has created unprecedented opportunities for collaboration and new forms of knowledge production.

“This is a momentous period for educational research in South Africa and in Africa. There is growing recognition among governments, foundations, international partners and philanthropists that educational research is not a luxury; it is an essential intellectual infrastructure for social and economic transformation. Increasingly, educational research is influencing formal policy processes, shaping public debates, and informing institutional reform. This is an important milestone for research in education and research on education, and these are some, and these are some opportunities we should take up,” Osman said.

Researchers in the WSoE also presented their research projects. According to Professor Juliet Perumal, Head of School, the projects celebrate three years of WSoA-AFRETEC collaboration.

“We are showcasing the innovation that has taken place with this collaborative continental initiative, which is focused on inclusive digital transformation within the African education systems. It is both fitting and intentional as it reflects our belief that educational transformation in Africa requires partnerships between research, innovation, technology, and socially responsive educational practice. It also reflects the School's ongoing commitment to research-led teaching and learning, transformative scholarship, and the development of contextually relevant education solutions that respond to the realities and aspirations on the African continent,” she added.

The research presentations were divided into 4 sessions:

• Artificial Intelligence, Digital Transformation and Educational Technology
• Critical Pedagogies, Teacher Development and Educational Futures
• Multilingualism, Decolonisation and Inclusive Education
• ICT Integration, Digital Pedagogies and Technology-Enhanced Learning

Winners announced

The winning presentations were:

1. Professor Peter Aloka- Publication Input
2. Professor Peter Aloka- Highest Annual Publication
3. Dr Fatima Makda- Second Annual Highest Publication
4. Dr Chibueze Tobias Orji- Highest Level of Research Productivity
5. Dr Zaheera Jina-Asvat – Short Collection Book

New home for Ñî¹óåú´«Ã½ Library Digitisation Centre

3 June 2026 - Ñî¹óåú´«Ã½ University

The state-of-the-art Ñî¹óåú´«Ã½ Library Digitisation Centre (WLDC) officially opened in the Wartenweiler Library on the Braamfontein Campus East.

From its new home, it now offers easy access for staff and students and serves the University's digitisation needs.

The state-of-the-art Ñî¹óåú´«Ã½ Library Digitisation Centre (WLDC) officially opened in the Wartenweiler Library on the Braamfontein Campus East.

“The Centre is about preserving our shared histories by digitising our records, safeguarding oral traditions, and supporting local institutions by keeping our heritage alive for future generations. But it is not only about preservation. It is also about creating an engaging interactive experience that connects people with South African history,” said Dr Daisy Selematsela, University Librarian.

“Students are at the heart of this Digitisation Centre through digital literacy programmes and content creation opportunities. We intend to empower students to engage with and promote their heritage in ways that resonate with them. This is not a centre about equipment but one where they actively participate in the preservation process and acquire vital digital skills that will serve them in the future.”

In her speech, Professor Lynn Morris, Deputy Vice-Chancellor: Research & Innovation, said the Centre, which first started in 2012, has digitised over a million files and trained more than 300 professionals.

“Its mission aligns with Ñî¹óåú´«Ã½' broader goals of open science, digital scholarship, and safeguarding Africa's cultural heritage. It’s really about how we choose to preserve knowledge, protect our heritage, and ensure that future generations can access the stories, the scholarship, and the cultural memory that define who we are,” she said.

Morris also said that heritage can never be taken for granted, and with threats like fire, flood, deterioration, conflict, or simply the passage of time, archives and collections remain fragile.

“The manuscripts of great scholars, records of social movements, rare books, photographs, maps, newspapers, artworks, and institutional records tell the story of who we are. Here at Ñî¹óåú´«Ã½, we also have images of rock art, which makes us very unique. Once lost, though, these can never truly be replaced, and that's why digitisation has become one of the most important responsibilities of modern-day libraries and archives.”

The Centre has the capacity to digitise a wide range of materials, including manuscripts, books, photographs, maps, artworks, and three-dimensional objects. The Centre's impact also extends beyond preservation, creating new possibilities for scholarship and research, including digital humanities, machine learning, and artificial intelligence.

The vision for the Centre is to become South Africa's leading hub for digital preservation, recognised nationally and internationally for excellence in heritage preservation, skills development, innovation, and collaboration. Beyond Ñî¹óåú´«Ã½, the Centre aims to serve a broader GLAM (galleries, libraries, archives, and museums) sector, providing expertise, training, and leadership to institutions across the country and the continent.

Professor Shabir Madhi receives prestigious global infections diseases award

29 May 2026 - Ñî¹óåú´«Ã½ Faculty of Health Sciences

Madhi, Dean of the Faculty of Health Sciences, to receive the Maxwell Finland Award for Scientific Achievement.

Madhi has been named the recipient of the 2026 National Foundation for Infectious Diseases (NFID) Maxwell Finland Award for Scientific Achievement — one of the world’s leading honours in infectious diseases and vaccinology.

The award recognises Madhi’s decades-long contribution to vaccine research, public health, and disease prevention, particularly in African settings where infectious diseases continue to disproportionately affect vulnerable communities. His research has played a pivotal role in shaping global vaccination policies and improving child survival rates worldwide.

As Professor of Vaccinology and Director of the South African Medical Research Council Vaccines and Infectious Diseases Analytics Research Unit (VIDA) at Ñî¹óåú´«Ã½, Madhi has led groundbreaking studies on pneumococcal, rotavirus, influenza, RSV, and COVID-19 vaccines. His work generated critical evidence supporting the introduction of life-saving vaccines in low-and middle-income countries, helping prevent hundreds of thousands of child deaths globally.

Madhi has also been instrumental in strengthening Africa’s leadership in vaccinology and infectious disease research through initiatives such as the African Leadership in Vaccinology Expertise (ALIVE), co-founded at Ñî¹óåú´«Ã½ University. His international leadership includes serving on advisory bodies for the World Health Organization and chairing South Africa’s National Advisory Group on Immunization.

The NFID described the award as recognition of Madhi’s “lasting contributions and influential career in vaccine research and global disease prevention,” highlighting the global impact of his scientific work and advocacy for equitable vaccine access.

The 2026 NFID awards will be presented in Washington, DC, later this year. Other award recipients include Richard J. Hatchett, who will receive the Jimmy and Rosalynn Carter Humanitarian Award, and Kathleen M. Neuzil, recipient of the John P. Utz Leadership Award

Madhi’s latest recognition further reinforces Ñî¹óåú´«Ã½ University’s standing as a globally influential institution in infectious diseases research, vaccinology, and public health innovation.

Read full press release here:  

Dusting off the shelves: Inside the Ñî¹óåú´«Ã½ Historical Papers Research Archive

5 June 2026 - Johannesburg In Your Pocket

The Ñî¹óåú´«Ã½ Historical Papers Research Archive is a remarkable resource for anyone looking to take a deep dive into the history of Johannesburg and South Africa.

Whether you have a project you're working on, a topic that has sparked your interest or you simply want to get lost in another world, you'll find something to help you here. The archive is home to over 3,400 collections including the Anglican Church, the Barlow World Rand Mines archive, trade unions, political trials and much more.

Visit the Archive website: /historicalpapers/ 

We visited* with manager and archivist, Gabriele Mohale, and what stuck with us most was the dedication and care of the team. Surrounded by these recorded histories, you become intimately aware that you are amid something far greater than yourself.

Inside the William Cullen Library

We arrive at the William Cullen Library, located on the University of the Witwatersrand's East Campus, on one of those vivid and crisp Joburg mornings that only happen after the rains. The city's debris and dust are briefly washed away as it momentarily forgets its contradictions and complications, and the sky is a simple, crystalline blue. Neat rows of orange honeysuckle flank the fountain gurgling merrily outside, and snippets of conversation about tests and lectures reach us from the meandering students.

First opened in 1934, the building draws from the design of the Petit Trianon at the Palace of Versailles in France, sitting solidly behind its slabbed columns. As we step inside, the campus sounds fade and the air grows still and cool. Light slides over the polished parquet floors, and the heavy, larger-than-necessary doors close with a stifled thunk behind us.

Even before you get to the archives, the tall windows and ornate interior of dark wood impart the same hushed awe as stepping into a religious monument. Only here, knowledge and history are the subjects of worship, accumulating as ink on bound paper, faded photographs and scribbled ledgers.

Meeting archivist Gabriele Mohale

We are meeting manager and archivist Gabriele Mohale. As she leads us to the office of the Historical Papers Research Archive, there is a decisiveness to her movements – an assuredness that belies the weighty responsibility she is entrusted with.

"We have a lot to get through," she says over her shoulder, taking a door to the left of the entrance hall that skirts the main library.

The Historical Papers Research Archive is one of the most comprehensive and important archives in Southern Africa. While it is housed at Ñî¹óåú´«Ã½, Mohale stresses that it is publicly accessible. Its scope is immense, covering health, religion, early colonial history, apartheid and anti-apartheid movements alongside political and economic records. It is an incredible resource and surprisingly easy to access.

Stepping into Mohale's office, we can see she isn't wrong, there is a lot to get through. Dockets , postcards from a bygone Johannesburg,  on ,  and poster from a talk by Sol Plaatje,  from the Cape to plot the Arc of the Meridian, photographs of old mines and original contact sheets from .

Even knowing this is just a small fraction of what the archive holds, a creeping panic sets in that there is, in fact, too much to get through.

Descending into the stacks

However, Mohale is the perfect guide and makes delving into these layered histories feel far more accessible.

It is an inherently mysterious place. Surrounded by all the lives and perspectives held within the records, you become intimately aware of the fact that history is multiple. It is partially dependent on the available sources and partially dependent on the perspective of the reader. The past becomes as full of possibility as the future, and just as unknowable in its entirety.

As if sensing these thoughts, Mohale asks with a wry smile if we want to see the "showstopper door".

We follow her down a narrow, winding staircase, the fluorescent lights ghostly between the shelves. First, there is a heavy-set wooden gate that Mohale unlocks from a jangling chain of keys, and then we are in front of it: a sturdy, fireproof door, its keyhole covered so that the room remains airtight. It swings open and we are greeted by a gulf of darkness.

After plugging in the lights (for safety reasons there is no live electricity in the room), we see rows of shelves packed with grey folders. It feels cinematic, as if we are detectives working a long-lost case.

Once we are done wandering past the names of historic figures and companies, we head back upstairs to look at a . It is strange seeing topographical layers that you know you should recognise, but without the urban boundaries you expect to be there, it all looks unfamiliar. It is this unfamiliarity that one needs to grow accustomed to, and finding new ways of seeing within it.

Why archives still matter

On the wall of the office hangs a quote from Michele Pickover, a former archivist at the Historical Papers: "Archives, whether as spaces or records, are continually transforming and shifting in meaning. They are fundamentally political in nature and as such are mediated sites of power, ideology and memory... Archives and memory not only shape current identities but represent a dimension of their own, beyond past and present and are also 'a means of excavating silence'."

In Johannesburg, where violence and its subsequent silences still leave our history a patchwork representation of the truth, the importance of archives cannot be overstated. It is not just preservation for preservation's sake, but a constantly evolving interaction between the documents of the past and the present. Perhaps there is something in the archives you want to look at, and in doing so you might notice something that was overlooked, changing how it is seen thereafter.

The only way to know for sure is to schedule a visit. Whether it's for a creative project, academic research, a documentary or simply your own curiosity, you are unlikely to be let down.

10 fascinating discoveries from the Ñî¹óåú´«Ã½ Historical Papers Research Archive

1. 

Ernest Cole was a pioneering black freelance photographer who documented day-to-day life under apartheid and its brutal economic and political realities. His seminal photobook, House of Bondage (1967), brought these realities to a global audience, and the contact sheets offer an unfiltered view at the process and photographs behind it. They reveal how Cole navigated the spatial constraints of the city, showing his sequence of frames as he depicted the economic realities and systemic surveillance of black life in Johannesburg. A foundational resource for the study of South African culture, life under Apartheid and the practice of one of our foremost documentary photographers.

2. South African History Archive 

Formed in the 1980s by anti-apartheid activists, South African History Archive (SAHA) was created specifically to capture the "people's history". At the time, it was closely aligned to the United Democratic Front, and brings together posters, pamphlets and records from trade unions and student movements. Mainstream state archives historically erased black voices and resistance movements, and SAHA ensured that the narrative of liberation was documented by the participants themselves rather than filtered through the state.

3. 

The Treason Trial, and the following Rivionia Trial, are South Africa's, and possibly the world's, most high-profile political trials, charging 156 anti-apartheid activists. The collection highlights the sprawling legal architecture of the state at the time, and the dockets and personal papers highlight the extraordinary lengths the apartheid government took to manage and control dissent. Personal papers from Nelson Mandela also reveal drafts of his famous three-hour speech where he says, "It is an ideal for which I am prepared to die."

4. 

Afrapix was a collective of anti-apartheid photographers (including Paul Weinberg and Omar Badsha) founded in 1982 to expose apartheid to both local and international audiences. The archive demonstrates the camera's role as a vital instrument of political mobilisation and historical witness. After a raid in 1986, the organisation begun sending materials to different locations throughout the world, and the archive at Ñî¹óåú´«Ã½ University is one of the most complete representations of all the work they did.

5. 

Established by brothers Joseph and David Barnett in the late 1880s, this collection contains over 2,000 glass plate negatives and provides a visual record of early Johannesburg, the Anglo-Boer War and the botched Jameson Raid. As one of the most comprehensive visual archives of Johannesburg's genesis, it highlights the transition from the rough, unregulated expansion of the city to when more formal architectural and social order was strictly imposed, and are invaluable for looking at the city's early visual and spatial history.

6. Medu Art Ensemble

The Medu Art Ensemble was formed in the 1970s in Botswana by exiled South African cultural workers and freedom fighters. Here, the arts, through posters, theatre and literature, became an active tool against apartheid state power and to mobilise popular resistance. It offers a fascinating look at how the aesthetics of resistance were shaped before Medu Art Ensemble was destroyed in a deadly cross-border raid in 1985.

7. 

A corporate archive documenting the Rand Mines group (the dominant mining conglomerate on the Witwatersrand). With mines and their interests being central to the formation of Johannesburg, the Barlow World Rand Mines archives probably gives the most comprehensive look at the evolution of control and domination in the city, and its links to mining. The archives detail the architecture of the migrant labour system, compound management and corporate consolidation, and show how business interests pioneered the systems of mass labour control and spatial confinement that shaped South Africa's history thereafter. 

8. 

Clive Chipkin was Johannesburg’s preeminent architectural historian, best known for his masterwork Johannesburg Style. His papers contain decades of architectural drawings, research notes and photographs analysing the city's built environment. It is incredible to see the depth and scope that underpinned his research on how global architectural trends were adapted for Johannesburg. His work is vital for anyone analysing the structural evolution and spatial segregation of the city's built landscape.

9. Maps – , 

Maps feature regularly in the visual imagery of Johannesburg and reworkings, reimaginings and personalisations are often found at art exhibitions in the city. Here, a reference map of the Witwatersrand goldfields from 1896, as well as Holmden's Register of Township Maps of Johannesburg and District, show the early chartings of farms, mines and the nascent urban grid of Johannesburg. They serve as blueprints of the city, but also illustrate how the extraction of minerals came to shape and determine the landscape of the city. The sheer pace and scale of Johannesburg's transformation becomes evident from them, and perhaps this is one reason that maps in various forms are still so enduring today, that the change and shifts of the city make you intimately aware of both their artificiality, but also how they provide a grounding point in a city that seeks to upend your expectations at all turns.

10. 

Postcards are interesting to look at within archives not just for what they show, but what they omit. These ealy commercial postcards show a sanitised and idyllic Joburg, one that belies the chaos and exploitation underpinning the city's foundations. Instead, architectural progress and a sanguine bourgeois way of life are highlighted. They show, as Mohale says, how the city wanted to be perceived as much as what it was. One of our favourites is the lake at Ellis Park; we wonder if ghosts occassionally still drag their boats to go paddle at the swimming pool.

Need to know

Booking: Visits to the reading room are by appointment. Email archives.library@wits.ac.za to arrange a time and discuss what collections you are looking for.
Cost: Access to the archive is free, though fees may apply if you require extensive high-resolution digitised copies for publication or if copyright is involved.
Accessing campus: Because the library is on university grounds, you will need to present a valid ID or driver’s licence at the security gates to sign in as a visitor.
Digital archives: You can browse a massive chunk of their digitised collections at 

This was originally published in .

Ñî¹óåú´«Ã½ kidney disease expert brings African perspective to landmark Lancet papers

4 June 2026 - Ñî¹óåú´«Ã½ University

In Africa, chronic kidney disease may be missed due to limited screening and also as warning sign patterns can differ from those seen in high-income countries.

New screening and treatment policies, however, are possible.

This insight is one of the key perspectives brought by Dr , a nephrologist and Director of the Donald Gordon Medical Institute at Ñî¹óåú´«Ã½ University in Johannesburg, South Africa.

Fabian is the only contributor from Africa to a landmark on chronic kidney disease (CKD). (See ).

The three research papers also highlight differences in treatment and diagnosis between men and women, as well as the need for integrated approaches to CKD prevention and treatment across a range of healthcare settings.

CKD is a long-term condition in which the kidneys gradually lose their ability to filter waste and excess fluid from the blood. It currently affects an estimated 844 million adults worldwide and is projected to become the fifth leading cause of death by 2040.

Yet kidney disease is often silent.

In its mild and moderate stages, people may experience no obvious symptoms. Symptoms may appear only once the disease is advanced, close to the point when dialysis or a kidney transplant may be required. Without successful treatment, CKD can be fatal.

In many parts of the Global North, diabetes is a dominant driver of chronic kidney disease. In African settings, hypertension may be a more important warning sign, including among much younger people whose kidney damage may go undetected until the disease is advanced.

Currently, many primary healthcare nurses are not trained to think about kidney disease early. 

However, Fabian explains that simple urine and blood tests can be integrated into primary healthcare clinics, where nurses and community health workers already screen for conditions such as HIV, hypertension and diabetes.

Moreover, many of the medicines which slow the progression of CKD are now available at a much lower cost.

In May 2025, the 78^th World Health Assembly adopted the first-ever resolution on kidney health, recognising kidney disease as a growing global public health issue and calling oncountries to strengthen early detection, management, prevention, and equitable access to essential medicines and services.

Fabian says, “The resolution gives African health systems a way forward. CKD should not be seen as a late-stage specialist problem. We already have a template for community-based screening. With training, clear referral pathways and access to affordable treatment, primary healthcare workers can help identify kidney disease earlier.”

The Lancet series, authored by a global team of kidney experts and led by Dr Jennifer Lees from the University of Glasgow, calls for urgent action to improve the early diagnosis and treatment of CKD.

The Lancet papers call for greater use of simple, affordable tests — including urine testing for protein and blood testing for creatinine to estimate kidney function — to detect kidney disease earlier, before it becomes life-threatening.

Meanwhile, the experts highlight that currently around 30–50% of CKD cases are not diagnosed by a doctor in high-income countries, with the percentage of undiagnosed cases in middle- and lower-income countries thought to be much higher.

In some groups, the percentage of undiagnosed cases is particularly high: people of African descent and women may be up to twice as likely to remain undiagnosed as white men.

The Lancet papers also offer detailed insights into recent advances in CKD, including improved understanding of the disease and its consequences for global health, as well as new treatment strategies that can delay or reduce progression.

The new papers are released as up to 10,000 kidney experts arrive in Glasgow for the European Renal Association Congress from 3–6 June. Chaired by Congress President Dr Kate Stevens, honorary clinical senior lecturer at the University of Glasgow, and Congress Secretary Professor Patrick Mark, Professor of Nephrology at the University of Glasgow, the conference brings together kidney experts from around Europe to discuss a range of conditions, including CKD.

Dr Jennifer Lees, Senior Clinical Research Fellow at the University of Glasgow and Honorary Consultant Nephrologist at NHS Greater Glasgow & Clyde, says, “Chronic kidney disease remains one of the most concerning conditions currently impacting global health. The overriding message from our series of research papers is that there remains a pressing need for attention and resources to be focused on this condition.”

Read the Lancet Series

Paper 1: 

Paper 2: 

Paper 3: 

About Dr June Fabian

Dr June Fabian is a nephrologist and clinical epidemiologist at the Ñî¹óåú´«Ã½, South Africa. She is the Director of the  Donald Gordon Research Institute. Her focuses on chronic kidney disease in African populations, including CKD prevalence, risk factors, screening, diagnosis and the need for African evidence to inform policy and practice. 

MERA Lab supports record-breaking EV journey

6 June 2026 - Ñî¹óåú´«Ã½ University

The Mobility and Electrification Research for Africa Lab played a key role in supporting the record-breaking Cybertruck Expedition across Africa.

On 14 March 2026, the MERA team, led by Professor Lesedi Masisi and Dr Muhammed Aswat, hosted an international expedition group known as CyberLocos. The team is travelling across multiple continents in a Tesla Cybertruck, aiming to set a world record for visiting the most countries in an electric vehicle.

Their journey is more than just a record attempt. It is also a real-world test of how practical electric vehicles are over long distances—especially in regions where charging infrastructure is still developing. 

MERA, based in Ñî¹óåú´«Ã½’ School of Electrical and Information Engineering, focuses on solving Africa’s mobility and electrification challenges through practical research. The lab works on electric transport solutions, charging technologies, and energy access, with a strong focus on affordability, durability, and real-world use.

During the visit, the MERA team provided hands-on technical support by fixing a critical charging issue. The Cybertruck was unable to connect properly to local electrical systems, and the team helped resolve the problem so the vehicle could charge reliably and continue its journey.

This situation reflects a wider challenge across the continent. Charging standards, plug types, and access to reliable electricity are not always consistent, which can make EV travel more difficult.

Long-distance travel in an electric vehicle depends heavily on access to charging. Unlike petrol or diesel cars, an EV cannot continue once the battery is empty. This makes reliable infrastructure and careful planning essential—especially in parts of Africa where charging networks are still limited.

The CyberLocos visit offered a practical example of the challenges MERA is working to address. The lab’s research includes electric mobility systems, renewable-powered charging, and improving electricity access in rural and peri-urban areas.

As Africa moves towards cleaner and more sustainable transport, collaborations like this are important. They help test solutions in real conditions, highlight gaps, and support the development of technologies that work for the continent.

Ñî¹óåú´«Ã½ie awarded an Optics and Photonics Africa Scholarship

15 June 2026 - Ñî¹óåú´«Ã½ University

Joshua Jandrell has been awarded a 2026 Optics and Photonics Africa Scholarship by SPIE, the international society for optics and photonics.

The award recognises potential contributions to optics, photonics, or a related field.

Jandrell is a masters researcher in the Optical Communication Lab at Ñî¹óåú´«Ã½ University supervised by Professor Mitchell A. Cox. Transitioning from degrees in Game Design and Information Engineering to Photonics, he focuses on the characterisation and modelling of multimode optical fibres. His work on developing machine-learning-based digital twins was recently highlighted as an Optics Letters Editor's Pick. Collaborating with the Ñî¹óåú´«Ã½ , Jandrell investigates harnessing optical perturbations for reservoir computing and modulation. As Vice President of the Ñî¹óåú´«Ã½ Optics Student Chapter, he is dedicated to making science and technology exciting and accessible to students and the public.

"My research is focused on measuring and modelling how deformations in optical fibre affect different states of light. The aim is to understand these deformations so that they can be used to control light and possibly even perform computations," says Jandrell.

"It is an honour and a privilege to receive this scholarship. Aside from helping to fund my studies and research endeavours, it gives me a sense of validation and purpose: acting as a strong motivator to put my best foot forward."

SPIE is awarding $351,000 in scholarships to 85 outstanding SPIE Student Members this month. Successful applicants were evaluated, selected, and approved by the SPIE Scholarship Committee, chaired by SPIE Member David Vega.

Since 1978, SPIE has distributed nearly $8 million in individual scholarships. This ambitious effort reflects the Society's commitment to education as well as to the future generations of optical scientists and engineers around the world.

To view other 2026 scholarship press releases as they become available, please visit the 2026 Scholarship Recipients page or learn more about SPIE scholarships on .

About SPIE

, the international society for optics and photonics, brings engineers, scientists, students, and business professionals together to advance light-based science and technology. The Society, founded in 1955, connects and engages with our global constituency through industry-leading conferences and exhibitions; publications of conference proceedings, books, and journals in the SPIE Digital Library; and career-building opportunities. Over the past five years, we have invested more than $26 million in the international optics community through our advocacy and support, including scholarships, educational resources, travel grants, endowed gifts, and public-policy development.

Industry needs to move from quantum awareness to action

9 June 2026 - Ñî¹óåú´«Ã½ University

SA Quti aims empower industry to bring their quantum future forward to maximise its opportunities.

Ñî¹óåú´«Ã½ University congratulates the finalists of the NSTF Awards

10 June 2026 - Ñî¹óåú´«Ã½ University

16 Ñî¹óåú´«Ã½ researchers amongst the finalists in the ‘Science Oscars’.

Ñî¹óåú´«Ã½ University proudly congratulates its researchers, scientists and innovators who have been named finalists in the prestigious 2025/2026 National Science and Technology Forum (NSTF)-South32 Awards, widely regarded as South Africa’s premier science, engineering, technology (SET) and innovation awards.

The announcement highlights the exceptional breadth and depth of research excellence at Ñî¹óåú´«Ã½, with finalists recognised across categories ranging from lifetime achievement and emerging research leadership to science diplomacy, engineering capacity development, research software and innovation.

Professor Lynn Morris, Deputy Vice-Chancellor: Research and Innovation at Ñî¹óåú´«Ã½ University, says:

“We are immensely proud of our researchers and innovators who continue to push the boundaries of knowledge and create meaningful impact in society. The strong representation of Ñî¹óåú´«Ã½ finalists across multiple categories reflects the University’s commitment to research excellence, innovation and addressing some of the most pressing challenges facing South Africa and the world.

These achievements underscore why Ñî¹óåú´«Ã½ was recently ranked the leading university in Africa for innovation performance and recognised as the top university in Africa in the latest CWUR rankings. We congratulate all the finalists and wish them every success in the awards process.”

The following Ñî¹óåú´«Ã½ies are amongst the finalists in the Lifetime Award category :

• Professor for her pioneering work on gender-based violence and health
• Professor and Professor for their contributions to healthy ageing research across South and sub-Saharan Africa
• Professor Bavesh Kana for advancing infectious disease science and diagnostics
• Professor Dorrit Posel for her influential economic research; and Professor Mary Scholes for her work in environmental sustainability and climate science.

In the TW Kambule-NSTF Researcher Award category, Ñî¹óåú´«Ã½ finalists include:

• Professor Lisa du Toit, whose research focuses on advanced nanoparticulate drug delivery systems
• Professor Musa Manzi for innovative seismic technologies that improve resource exploration and infrastructure development
• Dr Simone Richardson for her work on antibody-mediated protection and vaccine development.

The University is also strongly represented in the TW Kambule-NSTF Emerging Researcher Award category. Finalists include:

• Dr Gabriella Hyman for translating surgical research into AI-enabled healthcare solutions
• Professor Farzahna Mohamed for developing low-cost metabolic risk tools linked to COVID-19 outcomes
• Dr Isaac Nape for advancing quantum communication, sensing and computing technologies.

Further recognition comes through Professor Michael Bodunrin’s nomination in the Engineering Research Capacity Development Award category for his leadership in building metallurgical and materials engineering research capacity in South Africa.

Professor Farzahna Mohamed has also been named a finalist in the NSTF-SAMRC Clinician-Scientist Award.

Professor is recognised in the Science Diplomacy for Africa Award category for her global leadership in cervical cancer prevention and vaccine research.

Other Ñî¹óåú´«Ã½-affiliated finalists include Professor Gordon Cooper, in the newly introduced Research Software category, for developing widely used geophysical data-processing software.

A collaboration between the South African National Biodiversity Institute (SANBI) and the Ñî¹óåú´«Ã½ Global Change Institute are in line for the award in the Data for Research category.

Innovation is also celebrated through AIrSynQ Systems, led by Professor Bruce Mellado, which has been shortlisted in the Innovation Award: Small, Medium and Micro Enterprise (SMME) category for transforming air quality monitoring research into an AI-powered environmental risk service.

In addition to their Lifetime Award nominations, Professors Kathleen Kahn and Stephen Tollman have been recognised in the Special Annual Theme Award: Healthy Ageing category for their longstanding contribution to understanding healthy ageing across the life course in Africa.

The NSTF-South32 Awards celebrate individuals, teams and organisations that have made outstanding contributions to science, engineering, technology and innovation in South Africa.

The winners will be announced at the NSTF Awards Gala Event later this year.

More information about the awards and finalists is available on the NSTF website: .

Ñî¹óåú´«Ã½ scientist part of global initiative on precision health

11 June 2026 - Ñî¹óåú´«Ã½ University

Prof. Michèle Ramsay at the Sydney Brenner Institute for Molecular Bioscience is one of four co-chairs of the Lancet Commission on Precision Health.

The Commission will examine how precision approaches can improve healthcare effectiveness, cost-efficiency, equity, and scalability worldwide.

One of the Commission's aims is to develop a framework to guide the integration of precision approaches into health systems across diverse global settings.

Recognising differences to inform action

The experts explain that precision health moves beyond a one-size-fits-all paradigm. Rather than treating variation in treatment response solely as statistical noise, it aims to identify clinically meaningful differences between people and translate this information into actionable, personalised decision support.

“Precision health is not about creating bespoke medicine for a few people, but about using the knowledge we already have on individuals and populations, including genetic, biological, environmental, behavioural and social factors, to make healthcare decisions more impactful, equitable and effective,” says Ramsay

The Commission formally commenced its work in January 2026 and will meet regularly over the coming years.

A series of international meetings will culminate in a final report to be published in The Lancet, followed by a global launch event.

The Commission brings together international experts in clinical medicine, genomics, health economics, biostatistics, ethics, priority setting, and implementation science.

Commissioners also include leaders of major national precision health initiatives and experts in community engagement and equity.

“We anticipate that the Commission’s recommendations will help enhance contemporary healthcare systems, while also reimaging how healthcare works to ensure more sustainable, fairer, and effective healthcare in the future”, says Professor Paul Franks at Lund University in Sweden, who chairs the Commission.

Addressing ageing and illness in Africa

He explains that with progressively ageing populations worldwide, people are living longer with chronic disease, placing an enormous burden on healthcare systems.

Contemporary healthcare relies on prescribing treatments based on what is known about their average effects.

While many medicines are broadly effective, they do not work equally well for everyone, which means both wasting resources and that many patients do not benefit meaningfully.

“We also know that most genomic datasets used to predict disease risk and treat health conditions come from people of European origin,” says Ramsay. “As a result, the genetic ‘patterns’ guiding modern medicine are essentially Eurocentric and may poorly predict diseases in African populations,” says Ramsay.

Enabling equity and access

Indeed, precision health will only be equitable if the evidence, tools and implementation frameworks behind it reflect the diversity of the populations they are meant to serve. Therefore, the Commission will address the urgent need for innovation in healthcare systems.

The Commission will also challenge the prevailing perception that precision healthcare is inherently expensive and only relevant to high-income settings.

“There is a misconception that precision medicine is very expensive and only suitable for high-income healthcare settings. That is true if you have a very narrow definition and view it through the lens of what is currently practised in Western healthcare systems,” adds Franks.

The Commission will explore how stratified approaches could improve cost-effectiveness, including in low- and middle-income countries, by targeting interventions to those most likely to benefit.

Five working groups have been established to address:

• The current landscape of precision health in practice
• Clinical implementation paths for precision health
• Research infrastructure, data analysis approaches, and study design
• Governance, Regulation, and Accountability
• Health economics, impact assessment, and priority setting to determine the costs of action and inaction

The Commission is chaired by Professor Paul Franks (Lund University, Sweden) and co-chaired by Professor Lee-Ling Lim (Universiti Malaya, Malaysia), Professor Michèle Ramsay (University of the Witwatersrand, South Africa), and Associate Professor Sanjay Chotirmall (Nanyang Technological University, Singapore).

Further information on the Commission is available .  

The role of wearables in tackling the world's epidemic of inactivity

15 June 2026 - Ñî¹óåú´«Ã½ University

From smartwatches to advanced medical sensors, wearable tech is transforming how researchers understand human movement. But not all wearables are created equal.

In the global context, where not all wearables are created equal and not all data is accurate, can they really help solve the growing global burden of chronic disease?

This was posed by Professor Dale Esliger at the School of Sport, Exercise and Health Sciences at the University of Loughborough, who delivered a lecture at Ñî¹óåú´«Ã½ University titled Nudging, Judging, or Fudging: Can wearable technologies help us with our Sport and Exercise Medicine endeavours?

Esliger posited that as rates of obesity, diabetes and other lifestyle-related diseases continue to rise globally, the challenge is no longer to simply encourage people to exercise, but rather to find better ways to measure, understand and support movement in daily life. Wearable technologies could feasibly be a tool to help meet that challenge.

But modern technologies can have widespread positive and negative influences on human behaviour. “We rely on measurements that may not accurately reflect reality,” said Esliger.

This approach is what Esliger refers to as "fudging". One should instead by, "judging" – using validated technologies to objectively quantify movement, sedentary behaviour and exercise.

The answer lies in understanding the limitations of specific applications and how this might affect your research.

"You would not buy a new 3-Tesla MRI [radiological diagnostic imaging device] without wanting to know the validity of that device," he said. "Yet we grab wearables off the shelf and put them on people, expecting the [device] company to have done all the work."

When it comes to obesity and other chronic diseases, wearable technologies equipped with accelerometers (an electromechanical sensor that measures physical acceleration) can offer researchers and clinicians detailed insights into how people move throughout the day, helping them evolve beyond subjective estimates to evidence-based measurement.

However, wearables are just one part of an interdisciplinary solution to complex problems.

"If we look for a silver bullet, we've already failed because there isn't one," he says. Instead, what’s needed is a broader understanding of movement and health. While the Exercise is Medicine movement successfully encouraged clinicians to discuss exercise with patients, Esliger prefers the term "movement as medicine".

"We use movement as medicine a lot because it includes walking the dog and taking the stairs and parking further away as much as it does getting on a treadmill," he explains. "You don't have to wear Lycra to be doing physical activity and getting health benefits."

This approach recognises a full movement continuum that includes sleep, sedentary behaviour, light activity, moderate physical activity, and vigorous exercise. The amount of movement needed depends on the symptoms.

"If you say movement is medicine, I'm going to tell you what dose of movement you need," he says. "For breast cancer, for mental health, for obesity — whatever the condition — we should be trying to figure out what the dose is."

Esliger describes this approach as bringing the precision of medicine into exercise science, allowing researchers and clinicians to better understand how different types and amounts of movement affect health.

By combining movement data with measures such as blood glucose levels, wearables could create what Esliger calls "teachable moments,” which are opportunities to encourage healthier decisions at the point when they matter most.

Wearables, he argues, are most powerful when they move beyond simply counting steps. Their real value lies in helping researchers avoid "fudging" the data, enabling clinicians to accurately "judge" movement patterns, and ultimately "nudging" people towards healthier lives.

Controlled Release Society College of Fellows elects Ñî¹óåú´«Ã½ Professor of Pharmaceutical Sciences

22 June 2026 - Ñî¹óåú´«Ã½ University

Prof. Yahya Choonara recognised for outstanding contributions to science, tech of controlled release and drug delivery.

Professor of Pharmaceutical Sciences at Ñî¹óåú´«Ã½ University and the Director of the Ñî¹óåú´«Ã½ Advanced Drug Delivery Platform (WADDP), Yahya Choonara, is now amongst the fewer than 1% of Controlled Release Society (CRS) members who are elevated to Fellowship each year.

Fellowship is the society’s highest honour.

“This is an honour I receive with deep gratitude to the mentors, colleagues, students and collaborators who have shaped this journey,” says Choonara. “What makes this recognition especially meaningful is that it energises me to do even more in driving Africa’s 21^st Century therapeutics revolution led from South Africa.”

Choonara’s election underscores the growing role of African institutions and researchers in shaping next-generation drug-delivery technologies that improve patient access, adherence, and outcomes.

The CRS Fellowship adds to Choonara’s previous honours, which include election at the International Pharmaceutical Association, the African Academy of Sciences, and the National Science and Technology Forum – all appointments which strengthen South Africa’s profile in the pharmaceutical sciences.

He is also a Tier 1 South African National Research Foundation (NRF) SARChI Chair in Nanomedicine and Advanced Drug Delivery, author of more than 453 peer-reviewed publications, and he holds 51 patents in the field.

Choonara’s work bridges fundamental pharmaceutical science with translational healthcare solutions. This can be applied in infectious diseases, neurotherapeutics, cancer, wound healing and other illnesses requiring targeted drug and bioactive delivery.

“Controlled release science sits at the intersection of pharmaceutics, biology, and patient need. I share this honour with other CRS Fellows, my students, collaborators, supporters and the WADDP team whose creativity and persistence continue to drive real-world impact,” he says.

He has also mentored dozens of early-career researchers and postgraduates and built research infrastructure and international collaborations that advance patient-centred therapies.

“Professor Choonara’s election to the College of Fellows of the Controlled Release Society is a proud moment for Ñî¹óåú´«Ã½ and a valuable recognition of the quality and global relevance of drug delivery research being led from South Africa,” says Professor Lynn Morris, Deputy Vice-Chancellor: Research and Innovation at Ñî¹óåú´«Ã½ University.

The CRS has members in 50+ countries, promoting research, education, and translation of delivery systems that improve human and animal health.

Interrogating the safest and most effective antibiotics for bloodstream infection

23 June 2026 - Ñî¹óåú´«Ã½ University

South African researchers at Ñî¹óåú´«Ã½ contribute to landmark global antibiotics trial for life-threatening golden staph.

The at Ñî¹óåú´«Ã½ University was the only low- and middle-income country site in the study, recruiting patients from Helen Joseph Hospital in Johannesburg.

The findings, published in June in both The New England Journal of Medicine () and , are expected to influence treatment decisions in South Africa as well as internationally.  

The NEJM and The Lancet are the two most prestigious general medical journals in the world, publishing research that influence healthcare globally.

The SNAP Trial showed that flucloxacillin should no longer be the default treatment for these infections, with cefazolin and benzylpenicillin emerging as safer, equally effective alternatives depending on the type of infection.

About the SNAP Trial

The landmark international clinical trial has identified the optimal antibiotics for golden staph bloodstream infections, a breakthrough that is set to reshape treatment for the life-threatening condition.

The SNAP Trial found that the standard antibiotic, flucloxacillin, should no longer be the drug of choice to treat the infection, revealing that cefazolin and benzylpenicillin offer safer and equally effective alternatives to patients.

The Staphylococcus aureus Network Adaptive Platform Trial (SNAP Trial), led by researchers at the Peter Doherty Institute for Infection and Immunity (Doherty Institute) and the University of Newcastle, is the largest international clinical trial ever conducted for golden staph (Staphylococcus aureus) infections.

The multi-centre trial rapidly evaluates different antibiotics and treatment strategies to reduce mortality and improve patient outcomes.

Disproportionate disease burden in LMICs

The SNAP Trial involved more than 150 hospitals across more than 14 countries, including South Africa (the only low- and middle-income country site participating in this research).

Dr , Senior Researcher at CHRU, said the inclusion of a South African site was crucial for ensuring the findings apply to patients across different healthcare settings globally.

"Our participation in SNAP demonstrates that high-quality clinical trial research can be conducted in resource-constrained settings,” says Boyles. "Between August 2023 and May 2025, we successfully enrolled 28 participants with 100% follow-up completion, proving that LMIC sites can contribute valuable data to global research efforts."

Golden staph infections cause over one million deaths per year. The most serious form of golden staph infections is when it enters the bloodstream, with a mortality rate of 15 to 25 per cent.

The burden is disproportionately higher in low- and middle-income countries like South Africa.

Boyles emphasised the importance of including diverse populations in clinical research: "The high disease burden we see in our setting, combined with our cost-effective operations, reinforces why LMIC participation is both strategically important and ethically imperative. These findings will directly benefit South African patients and healthcare systems."

Challenging assumptions, guiding treatment strategies

While there are effective antibiotics to treat bloodstream infections, uncertainty has remained over which treatments lead to the best patient outcomes.

Findings from the SNAP Trial challenge the long-held assumption that flucloxacillin should remain the default treatment and provide important new evidence to guide treatment strategy.

The NEJM study – Comparing cefazolin and flucloxacillin

In the study in the NEJM, researchers compared antibiotics used to treat methicillin-susceptible Staphylococcus aureus (MSSA) infections. They found that cefazolin is at least as effective as flucloxacillin, but associated with fewer side effects and a lower risk of kidney injury.

The Royal Melbourne Hospital’s Professor Steven Tong, an Infectious Diseases Physician at the Doherty Institute in Australia and global co-lead investigator of the SNAP Trial, said the results provide clear evidence that cefazolin should be considered the first-line option to treat MSSA bloodstream infections.

“In the treatment of MSSA bloodstream infections, there is an 89 per cent probability that cefazolin is associated with lower mortality,” said Tong. “Patients treated with cefazolin fare better, with fewer deaths within 90 days (15 per cent compared to 17 per cent for those who received flucloxacillin). Cefazolin was also associated with fewer cases of acute kidney injury, at 14 per cent, compared to 20 per cent with flucloxacillin.”

The Lancet study – Comparing benzylpenicillin and flucloxacillin

In the paper published in The Lancet, the study evaluated whether benzylpenicillin could be used to treat penicillin-susceptible Staphylococcus aureus (PSSA) infections where laboratory testing confirmed the susceptibility to penicillin.

Professor Todd Lee, a Scientist at the Research Institute of the McGill University Health Centre and Infectious Diseases and Internal Medicine Physician at the McGill University Health Centre in Canada and co-lead investigator of both studies, said benzylpenicillin was as effective as flucloxacillin and likely safer.

“Patients treated with benzylpenicillin experienced less kidney damage, with mortality also lower at 14 per cent compared with 22 per cent in the flucloxacillin group,” says Lee.

A shift away from flucloxacillin

Researchers said these results mark a turning point in the treatment of MSSA and PSSA bloodstream infections, signalling a shift in clinical practice.

Penicillin was once widely used to treat Staphylococcus aureus, but antibiotic resistance of golden staph led clinicians to adopt flucloxacillin as the standard treatment for MSSA and PSSA infections.

The findings support moving away from flucloxacillin as the default treatment for MSSA and PSSA infections, given safer and equally effective alternatives are available.

Professor Joshua Davis, an Infectious Diseases Physician at the University of Newcastle and the Hunter Medical Research Institute in Australia, and global co-lead investigator of the SNAP Trial, said some strains are once again susceptible to penicillin, renewing interest in carefully reintroducing older antibiotics.

“These findings show clinicians can confidently use penicillin susceptibility results to guide treatment where laboratory testing is available,” says Davis.

Lyn Whiteway, a sepsis survivor and consumer representative on both trials, welcomed the findings.

“The SNAP Trial shows what is possible when patients are truly at the centre of research. These findings will save lives and spare people from unnecessary harm,” says Whiteway.

Translating the findings

Researchers say the next challenge will be translating the findings into routine clinical practice.

While cefazolin availability may need to increase in some countries, researchers say implementation will ultimately depend on hospitals, laboratories and guideline groups incorporating the findings into clinical care.

“This is the largest trial ever conducted on staphylococcal bloodstream infections. It brought together countries from all over the world to answer important questions and improve care for millions of people,” adds Lee.  

“Trials generate the evidence, but the next step is making sure that evidence changes practice.”

Funding: This study was supported by the National Health and Medical Research Council (NHMRC) and Medical Research Future Fund (MRFF) in Australia; the Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR) and the Accelerating Clinical Trials Consortium Canada (ACTAEC); the University Medical Center (UMC) Utrecht and ZonMW in the Netherlands; the Health Research Council of New Zealand (HRC) and the Starship Foundation in New Zealand; the National Healthcare Group Fund and National Medical Research Council (NMRC) in Singapore; the National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR) in the UK; and the Paterson Family Foundation supported activities in South Africa.

Protein analysis of Homo naledi fossils finds zero male markers

25 June 2026 - Ñî¹óåú´«Ã½ University

New analysis of the fossils reveals hints to the first known example of a sex-specific burial site from a non-human species.

An international team of researchers successfully extracted and analysed the first-ever protein fragments from fossil teeth of Homo naledi, an extinct human relative found in the Cradle of Humankind World Heritage Site, South Africa. 

In a study published today in Cell, scientists from the University of Copenhagen, the University of the Witwatersrand, the National Geographic Society’s Rising Star project and 13 collaborating global institutions found no signs of any biological males within the group of Homo naledi remains tested, offering intriguing insights into potential cultural behaviours that may have existed before Homo sapiens.

The analysis examined 23 teeth representing at least 20 Homo naledi individuals. To determine the biological sex of each individual, researchers looked for Amelogenin-Y – a protein that is uniquely coded onto the male Y chromosome – within the tooth enamel. Thorough examination of ancient proteins from the enamel of 23 Homo naledi teeth revealed a complete absence of the marker, indicating a strong likelihood that each individual discovered in the Rising Star Cave system was biologically female. Among hominins, like all other mammals, females typically exhibit two X chromosomes and males carry an X and a Y chromosome. Because only males have a Y chromosome, finding amelogenin-Y tells researchers with certainty that the tooth belonged to a male.

“Unlike those found in other remains like bone fragments, proteins in tooth enamel are preserved because dental enamel – the hardest tissue in the human body – shields proteins from environmental contamination even for millions of years. This makes them ideal carriers of genetic information from deep time,” said South African-born scientist and lead study author . Madupe is a molecular scientist who was a postdoctoral researcher at the University of Copenhagen at the time of the study and currently a researcher at Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology in Germany. “Our study helps resolve the long-standing mystery of why Homo naledi lacked significant variation; it’s probably because they could have all belonged to one sex.”

As the largest extinct hominin population to ever be examined using ancient protein analysis, the findings raise new questions about the biology, evolution, culture, and potential mortuary practices of Homo naledi. 

When the Ñî¹óåú´«Ã½ University team first discovered and excavated the Homo naledi remains in 2013, they noticed something puzzling — the adult fossils found in the Dinaledi Chamber were all very similar. The adult fossils had very little variation in size, shape, and other physical traits. Typically, some variation is expected among hominins, especially among males and females, otherwise known as sexual dimorphism. 

To investigate this anomaly, researchers applied a minimally destructive acid etching technique to carefully extract fragments of ancient proteins — called peptides — from the remains. The peptide samples were then analyzed with a mass spectrometer to identify all of the proteins present in the remains, including amelogenin — a process called paleoproteomic analysis.

“It appears that the most likely explanation for the observed absence of an Amelogenin-Y marker in these individuals is that we are seeing a sex-bias in mortuary practice — a practice until now only observed in contemporary human cultures,” said National Geographic Explorer in Residence and corresponding author of the study , who is still and Honorary Professor at Ñî¹óåú´«Ã½ University. “The chance of having sampled twenty individuals and they are all from one sex, is quite literally one in a million.”

First  by Berger and colleagues from the Dinaledi Chamber of the Rising Star cave system, Homo naledi is an extinct hominin species with a combination of human-like and pre-human-like features that lived between 335,000 and 241,000 years ago. Fueled by a curiosity that reaches deep into millennia-old cave systems,  an all-female team of “underground astronauts” in 2013 excavated more than 1,500 fossils and 150 hominin teeth — the largest ever discovered on the continent of Africa — which at the time represented at least 15 individuals. Later, this number grew as more fossils were found by the Rising Star team in this and other areas of the cave. Ñî¹óåú´«Ã½ University is the custodian of the Homo naledi fossils.

The results of this study build upon previous insights from the Rising Star team about Homo naledi’s purported behavior. In 2023, the Rising Star team discovered evidence of possible  and in 2025, the team published additional evidence to support their findings of  and the creation of .

“There are many past human societies with sex-specific burial practices, but we’ve found very little hard evidence of this from the earliest burial sites of modern humans or Neanderthals,” said , a co-author of the paper and member of the Rising Star team. “These remains of Homo naledi are older than any known Neanderthal or modern human burial site, and it’s remarkable to see that they may all be female.” 

Still, the research team acknowledges in this work that there could be another reason for the absence of male markers in the tested Homo naledi remains: the Amelogenin-Y gene may have mutated or have been deleted over time. 

“While the deletion of the entire AMELY gene has already been observed in extant male humans and even in the DNA of a Neanderthal male, it’s very unlikely that this would be the case among even half of the 20 individuals we studied or for an entire population,” explained , professor of paleoproteomics at the Globe Institute, University of Copenhagen, where the analytical work took place, and senior and corresponding author of the study. “Either scenario, namely the absence of H. naledi males in the Rising Star cave system or a systematic deletion of their AMELY gene, is fascinating and would have deep implications for a better understanding of the biology and evolution of this species.”

This finding is particularly significant because Homo naledi is anatomically distinct from modern humans, possessing a brain size only slightly larger than that of a chimpanzee, the authors said. Despite this smaller cranial capacity, a growing body of research suggests the species appears to have engaged in practices once considered uniquely human.

“Seeking to understand where we come from is truly core to the human experience. These new findings are amazing because they’re challenging us to rethink what we thought we knew about our place in human history,” said Ian Miller, chief science and innovation officer at the National Geographic Society. “What I love about the Rising Star team is their restless curiosity. They keep pushing the boundaries of paleoanthropology, and reminding us that the biggest discoveries are still yet to be made.”

The paper, “Proteomic analysis of dental enamel from 20 Homo naledi individuals shows no male markers,” was published June 24, 2026 in the journal Cell. 

Learn more about Berger’s work, the discovery of Homo naledi and the Rising Star program in the new National Geographic Museum of Exploration, opening in Washington D.C. on Friday, 26 June 2026.

South Africa’s tuberculosis research changes global medical practice

25 June 2026 - Ñî¹óåú´«Ã½ University

SA clinical study that began in a research unit in Gqeberha (PE), Eastern Cape, has transformed global treatment of drug-resistant tuberculosis.

Furthermore, the study’s findings were this week in the New England Journal of Medicine (NEJM), the highest-ranked medical journal in the world.

The publication recognises that this research study has set the global standard for TB care.

The BEAT Tuberculosis clinical study, conducted at the Clinical Health Research Unit (CHRU) Isango Lethemba TB Research Unit in the Eastern Cape and King Dinizulu Hospital Complex in KwaZulu-Natal, enrolled more than 400 participants over two years during the Covid-19 pandemic.

The study was executed by the University of the Witwatersrand in collaboration with the National Department of Health and funded by the United States Agency for International Development (USAID).

“This project has gone full circle,” says Dr , principal investigator of BEAT Tuberculosis and a researcher at the Clinical Health Research Unit (), University of the Witwatersrand. “The results from this trial have changed international guidelines. Being published in the New England Journal of Medicine is proof that South Africa produces world-class research that improves the lives of patients globally.”

Treatment for the whole family

The primary aim of BEAT Tuberculosis was to evaluate the safety and effectiveness of a novel, shortened treatment regimen for DR-TB compared with the established standard of care. The standard treatment at the time required a seven-drug regimen administered over a minimum of nine months. BEAT Tuberculosis tested a streamlined regimen of four to five medications, including the newer agents bedaquiline and delamanid, administered over six months.

The BEAT Tuberculosis trial enrolled children, pregnant women and breastfeeding mothers alongside adults. These former groups are usually excluded from clinical research. The result is a treatment regimen that can be used across the entire family.

“This is a one-size-fits-all treatment regimen,” explains Conradie. “Adherence is much easier when the three-year-old, the teenager, the mother and the father are all receiving treatment of similar duration and composition. That simplicity saves lives.”

The study enrolled 10 pregnant women. All 10 women gave birth to healthy babies, and nine of them were successfully treated. BEAT Tuberculosis has since been cited internationally as a model for inclusive clinical research methodology, and the findings have influenced World Health Organization policy on the treatment of DR-TB globally, including for pregnant women and children.

South Africa’s National Clinical Advisory Committee already reviews and approves the regimen for pregnant women presenting with Drug-Resistant TB, while other provinces are adopting the treatment, particularly when treating children.

During 2024, South Africa had 249,000 people who were infected with active tuberculosis, and 54 000 died from the disease,” says Professor Norbert Ndjeka, Chief Director: TB Control and Management, National Department of Health. “Not only did BEAT TB produce world-class research, but it is also being implemented progressively across South Africa and globally and is internationally recognised. South Africa has accomplished something exceptional.”

TB symptoms

The most common symptoms of TB are a cough lasting more than two weeks, weight loss, drenching night sweats and a fever. If you experience any of these symptoms, visit your nearest clinic. You will be asked to produce sputum (phlegm), which will be tested for TB. If the test is positive, the correct treatment will be started.

About the Clinical Health Research Unit (CHRU)

The Clinical Health Research Unit () is a division of the . It was established in 2001 and has been focused on the optimisation of treatment of diseases in resource limited settings. CHRU has completed several large-scale antiretroviral therapy trials. The first MDR TB trials conducted by CHRU which started in 2008 were the registrational trials for bedaquiline. CHRU then expanded to other centres. In 2015, CHRU took over the management of the MDR TB research site at the King DiniZulu Hospital Complex in Durban, KwaZulu Natal. In 2017/8, CHRU under the leadership of Dr Francesca Conradie established a research site in Nelson Mandela Bay, Eastern Cape where BEAT Tuberculosis was conducted at Isango Lethemba TB Research Unit. 

About the Ñî¹óåú´«Ã½ Health Consortium

The is wholly owned by the University of the Witwatersrand. WHC supports operations through which the University, primarily its Faculty of Health Sciences, conducts research, manages donor-funded activities, pursues entrepreneurial innovation in health, and supports clinical trials. The key task of WHC is to provide the governance, legal framework, human resource management, financial and grant management to over 100 research entities, including the Clinical Health Research Unit, in various academic departments. This role is performed through WHC’s Shared Services Centre (SSC) which employs over 200 skilled staff.

First-of-its-kind liver perfusion tech could expand transplant possibilities

26 June 2026 - Ñî¹óåú´«Ã½ University

Ñî¹óåú´«Ã½ Donald Gordon Medical Centre installs Africa’s first liver perfusion machine.

In South Africa, organ shortages remain a significant barrier to life-saving transplant care, with fewer than two organs being donated for every million people.

The liver perfusion machine keeps donor organs viable outside of the body for extended periods of time, improving the accessibility and outcomes of transplants in South Africa.

Organs that might previously have been deemed too risky to use can now be evaluated more thoroughly, potentially increasing the number of organs that can be safely transplanted. 

“Too many patients in South Africa deteriorate while waiting for a transplant because there are simply not enough donor organs available,” says Dr , Specialist Gastroenterologist at the Ñî¹óåú´«Ã½ Donald Gordon Medical Centre ().

Expanding possibilities in transplant care

Now, the liver perfusion machine changes how much information the transplant team has available, allowing them to monitor blood flow, metabolic activity and signs of injury, before deciding whether to proceed with transplantation.

The hospital alone has more than 30 patients on a waiting list for a liver transplant, and close to 600 waiting for a kidney transplant. 

Traditionally, donor organs are preserved on ice, and the transplant must be performed within 10 hours. This means clinicians have limited time and information to assess organ quality, and are often required to make difficult decisions under high pressure. The new liver perfusion machine is able to keep the organ viable, providing real-time data monitoring the condition and functioning of the organ.

Compared to traditional cold storage, this technology has the potential to increase organ utilisation, reduce complications and improve transplant outcomes for patients who may otherwise not survive the wait. 

Teaching, learning and innovation in action

The WDGMC is the first private academic hospital in South Africa. It is home to the largest transplant unit in South Africa, and the only one in sub-Saharan Africa offering living donor liver transplants for children.

Having performed over 1 000 liver transplants, the programme represents decades of expertise, innovation and collaboration. The WDGMC Transplant Unit is internationally recognised for its contribution to specialised transplant care, research and surgical training. 

“This technology represents an important milestone for transplant care in a country with severe organ shortages, where every organ counts. For patients on the waiting list, this technology provides a greater chance of receiving a suitable organ in time, increasing the pool of viable organs and reducing uncertainty,” says Bobat.

For clinicians, this new technology is expected to reduce rates of post-transplant complications, shorter hospital stays, and improved recovery outcomes.

The introduction of perfusion technology at the WDGMC has the potential not only to transform specialised clinical transplant care, but also transplantation research, teaching and innovation in Africa.  

While the technology represents an important advancement in liver transplantation, clinicians stress that increasing organ donation awareness remains critical for improving access to life-saving transplants in South Africa.

“As a transplant programme, our responsibility extends far beyond the operating theatre,” says Professor , Head of Solid Organ Transplantation at WDGMC. For the transplant teams, this marks not only a clinical advancement but the beginning of a broader effort to continue strengthening transplant medicine in South Africa.

African genetic data could change how essential medicines are prescribed

30 June 2026 - Ñî¹óåú´«Ã½ University

A Ñî¹óåú´«Ã½-led policy brief shows that more than 10% of essential medicines may require pharmacogenomic guidance.

This has implications for regulation, procurement, manufacturing and patient safety across Africa.

Pharmacogenomics is the study of how a person’s genetic makeup affects their body’s response to medications.

The dosage information for drugs used in HIV treatment, malaria, cancer care, pain management, and transplantation is largely based on data taken from European patients, failing to include vital information about how essential drugs work in diverse African populations.

This is a central finding of the Target Policy Profile Framework to Leverage African Genomic Heterogeneity (TALAGH) project, which released a culminating policy brief, Integrating Genomic Testing into African Drug Policies, that guides decision-makers in using Africa’s diverse genomic data to inform drug policy, regulation, and clinical care.

When standard doses don’t fit African patients

Efavirenz (EFV), an antiretroviral medication, for example, is affected by CYP2B6 variation (a natural, inherited difference in the CYP2B6 gene), which is common in Africa. This increases the risk of over-exposure and neuropsychiatric side effects.

Tamoxifen, used in breast cancer treatment, may be less effective in some patients with CYP2D6-related differences in drug metabolism.

Primaquine, used in malaria treatment, can cause haemolytic anaemia in people with G6PD deficiency (common in people in malaria-endemic areas).

And in kidney transplantation, there are concerns that dosing protocols developed largely from European populations may underdose some African-ancestry patients on transplant medicines, with potentially serious consequences for graft survival.

“TALAGH’s work asserts that pharmacogenomics is a medicines policy issue, with implications for regulation, procurement, manufacturing, clinical care and patient advocacy,” explains principal investigator, Distinguished Professor Collen Masimirembwa, senior scientist at the Sydney Brenner Institute for Molecular Bioscience ().

Masimirembwa says that genomics can be integrated into drug registration, product labelling, clinical guidelines, pharmacovigilance, healthcare training and data infrastructure across Africa. 

“We now have enough evidence that genetic variation can affect how people respond to medicines. It must move from research papers into concrete decisions, and that regulators can authorise and clinicians can use.”

From research evidence to real policy change

It has been done before.

Masimirembwa’s research on HIV drug EFV showed that patients, including many in Zimbabwe, Uganda, South Africa, Tanzania and Botswana, had neuropsychiatric adverse effects on the standard 600mg/day dose.

These adverse drug reactions then led to a change in Botswana’s HIV management policy in favour of dolutegravir, while the WHO also recommended a dose reduction of EFV from 600 mg/day to 400 mg/day.

“If we prioritise pharmacogenomic-guided prescribing, then we identify which patients need a different dose, a different medicine, closer monitoring, or genetic testing before treatment. This could reduce adverse drug reactions, avoid treatment failure, prevent wasteful switching between medicines and support more rational procurement,” he says.

Despite this achievement, adverse drug reaction reporting remains extremely limited, with only 1% of reports in VigiBase (a WHO global database for reporting adverse drug reactions) coming from African countries. This is despite Africans having up to 50% of global adverse drug reactions associated with efavirenz.

In a positive move, The TALAGH project convened regulators from more than 10 African countries, alongside the South African Health Products Regulatory Authority (SAHPRA) and other stakeholders, to share pharmacogenomics data that many regulators had not previously seen. Currently regulators and health systems must often rely on imported guidelines, incomplete safety data and broad assumptions about patient response.

“There is a lot of opportunity for a more formal relationship with the African Medicines Agency, including the possibility of Ñî¹óåú´«Ã½ serving as a technical partner able to help translate African pharmacogenomic evidence into regulatory guidance,” notes Masimirembwa.

Manufacturers need to be part of the conversation, too. Local generic manufacturers, including those in South Africa, could play a critical role in producing formulations that align with African pharmacogenomic evidence and clinical needs.

Building an African pharmacogenomics system

The TALAGH policy brief makes several recommendations. It calls for pharmacogenomics-informed product labelling through expert working groups within medicines regulators; capacity strengthening through healthcare professional training and continuing education; research to close knowledge gaps on African-enriched and African-specific variants; secure data infrastructure for genomic data; and the establishment of a pan-African independent technical working group through the Consortium for Clinical Pharmacogenetics in Africa to guide regulators on priority implementation of actionable clinical guidelines.

“My dream is that our work becomes the beginning of something larger: a continental pharmacogenomics consortium that can carry African data all the way from the laboratory to the patient. Regulators, laboratory scientists, clinicians, pharmacists, Africa CDC-linked testing networks, patient advocates and social, ethical and legal experts would work together to decide which medicines need new guidance, which tests are practical, which formulations are needed, and how patients can be protected from avoidable harm,” says Masimirembwa.

Guardians of research integrity

10 July 2026 - Ñî¹óåú´«Ã½ University

Trust, integrity and respect are non-negotiable in research - Nechama Brodie: Co-Chair of the Non-Medical Research Ethics Committees.

As part of National Science Month, Ñî¹óåú´«Ã½ celebrates the people who help ensure that research not only advances knowledge but also upholds the highest ethical standards. In this Q&A with Ñî¹óåú´«Ã½ Communications, Nechama Brodie, Co-Chair of the University's Non-Medical Research Ethics Committee, explains why ethics is fundamental to credible science and how the committee safeguards the integrity, trust and accountability that underpin quality research.

What sparked your interest to become the Co-Chair of the Committee?

I was initially encouraged by the then Head of the , who thought that it would be a good idea to have someone from a journalism background represented on the Committee. At that time, I admit that my perception of “ethics” was something burdensome, an administrative annoyance that we had to “tolerate” as researchers. But the more meetings I attended, and the more training I completed myself, the more I realised how integral ethics was to developing good quality research projects – and that it was something that should be integrated from the start, not as an afterthought. I was also amazed at the incredible work the committee did. So when they said they needed a new co-chair, I volunteered and spent nearly a year “job shadowing” the other chairs and learning more about what the role would involve. 

How many people are part of the Committee and what can you tell us about the contribution of these members?

There are several different Research Ethics Committees at Ñî¹óåú´«Ã½, including medical, non-medical, animal, and biobank research. I work on the non-medical committee. There are currently around 40 members in our committee, including the four chairs and new committee members who are still training, and three incredible ethics officers who provide the most unbelievable administrative support. It sounds like a large group, but as we have to juggle the reviews and meetings with our normal teaching, supervision and research roles (remember all of us are volunteers!), not every member can attend every meeting, so the workload might change month on month.  

We meet once a month as a Committee, where we can review up to 60 different applications in a session. If you keep in mind that each application is reviewed by two independent reviewers and one of the Chairs, you can imagine that these are very long meetings! They used to be in person, but now they are online which makes it a little easier to manage. The meetings can easily run to six hours or more. Committee members also need to spend time before each meeting completing their allocated reviews – depending on the number of people able to attend each meeting, each reviewer may need to review as many as nine different applications. We are very grateful to several new committee members who have joined this year, because this really helps to make the workload more manageable.

Outside of the monthly meetings, the committee chairs also work with the National Human Research Ethics Council, which is appointed by the Minister of Health, and with Ñî¹óåú´«Ã½’ Research Office. We also attend meetings with other ethics committee chairs, or with university executives as required, and review applications for ethics waivers (studies categorised as no risk, and where there are no human participants) which don’t need to be heard by the committee. Before each monthly meeting, the chairs also review all of the (non-medical) ethics applications that have been completed by the multiple school-level committees across the university.

Can you tell us about some of the important work of the Committee and why this matters to research?

Research ethics is about trust, integrity and respect, and a deliberate approach that pro-actively minimises unnecessary harm to human and animal participants. A large part of ethics is also about transparency, and informed consent from human participants. These principles and values are essential to the university, but should also be a priority for individual researchers. When we look at not only South African histories, but also in other parts of the Global South, we can see so many examples where humans were treated like “subjects”. Ethics recognises and rejects that model, and seeks to redress the injustices of the past through better practice in the present. While ethics regulations were primarily developed to protect vulnerable populations – which could include children, minorities, or even people who are experiencing trauma – they also explicitly acknowledge that power dynamics and hierarchies can also represent potential types of harm. For example, if a teacher wanted to study their own class, would students who preferred not to participate still be treated fairly? Or, what about if a researcher had received funding from a mining company to investigate mine safety – how could we ensure the research would be objective? Having an accredited system of codes and practices, which apply to every single student, and every single academic at the university, means that we are all held to the same standards and the same levels of accountability. As an added note, for me as a researcher, being able to submit my proposals for ethical review means that I have an extra set of extremely experienced “eyes” looking at my work, in case there is something important that I may have missed.

Is there anything that you would like to add that will assist those conducting research?

Applying for ethics approval can feel very onerous, but if you integrate it into your project plan it should help you think more clearly about your research objectives and ethical practices. I like to think of it like a visa application: once you have received ethics approval, you have a ‘passport’ to really explore your own project, knowing that you are doing so in a credible and principled way.