Welcome to the University of Cape Town News
Wamkelekile, Welkom
Wamkelekile, Welkom
COVID-19’s sex bias: men more at risk of requiring critical care
A global scale collaboration between scientists from the University of Cape Town (UCT) and University College London (UCL) investigating the role of sex in patients infected with COVID-19 has found that women have better early anti-viral response than men. The paper was published in Nature Communications today.
09 Dec 2020
Pioneering UCT law graduate breaks boundaries
Tabeth Masengu became the University of Cape Town’s (UCT) first recipient of a jointly awarded PhD in Law with Ghent University in Belgium when she defended her thesis via Zoom due to COVID-19. Her examiners were unanimous in awarding her the doctorate without corrections.
09 Dec 2020
Research shows decline in human well-being linked to ongoing environmental degradation
Collaborative research involving the University of Cape Town (UCT) and University of Minnesota warns of risks to human well-being and prosperity stemming from ongoing environmental degradation. The research found global declines in most of nature’s contributions to people over the past 50 years.
08 Dec 2020
Using administrative data to inform policy – JPAL Africa and City of Cape Town collaborate
A collaboration between the City of Cape Town (CoCT) and academic researchers, including researchers from the Abdul Latif Jameel Poverty Action Lab Africa (J-PAL Africa) based at the University of Cape Town (UCT) has supported systematised data access and strengthened data systems with the objective to better use the data collected by CoCT for decision-making on key policy priorities.
07 Dec 2020
Trailblazer surgeon in organ transplantation wins Alan Pifer award
In 2008 Professor Elmi Muller, then a young transplant surgeon based at Groote Schuur H ospital, completed the world’s first kidney transplant between an HIV-positive patient and a donor. Now, 12 years later, Muller is recognised as a global authority on kidney and liver transplantation and a trailblazer in the field of organ transplantation in HIV-positive patients.
07 Dec 2020
A remarkable sensory organ in the beaks of ancient fossil birds
Newly published research by an all-women team from the University of Cape Town (UCT) shows how one of the most ancient groups of birds (from the time of the dinosaurs) was able to detect minute mechanical vibrations in the soil using their beaks referred to as remote-touch.
03 Dec 2020
SA and Nigeria’s first woman professor in construction management
When Abimbola Windapo graduated from the University of Ife (now Obafemi Awolowo University) in 1987, she did so as the first woman to study building. And now, with an ad hominem promotion to full professorship from the University of Cape Town (UCT), she is also the first woman professor in the field of construction management in South Africa and her native Nigeria.
03 Dec 2020
Afrikan Futures Catalyst team wins United Nations global design award
The Afrikan Futures Catalyst team has been selected as one of the five winners of the United Nations (UN) global design competition for their project: “Driving change for peace in institutions of higher education in Afrika”.
02 Dec 2020
UCT to roll out a virtual red carpet to honour staff
Professor Mamokgethi Phakeng, Vice-Chancellor of the University of Cape Town (UCT), will host the 2020 virtual UCT Annual Awards, on Wednesday, 2 December 2020. The evening will see the university community gathered together to celebrate the exceptional contributions of professional, administrative support and service (PASS) and academic staff.
02 Dec 2020
Provide ARV treatment to three million untreated South Africans living with HIV
As the world commemorates World Aids Day today, a call has been made on health workers to locate the three million unaccounted for and untreated South Africans living with HIV and initiating antiretroviral treatment (ART). This is critical for their well-being and will reveal the true benefit of ART, said Professor Linda-Gail Bekker, director of the Desmond Tutu HIV Centre at the University of Cape Town’s (UCT) Institute of Infectious Disease and Molecular Medicine.
01 Dec 2020
Research on Baboons by UCT affiliated researchers in the Cape Peninsula
The University of Cape Town’s (UCT) has received several queries recently regarding its involvement in baboon research and its contributions to practice and policy of the peninsula baboon program. This matter is under review and was discussed at the Senate Animal Ethics Committee on 11 November 2020.
26 Nov 2020
Pregnancy, obesity and HIV explored in new UCT study
A new birth cohort study to examine obesity in pregnant women living with HIV, as well as their children, has secured the University of Cape Town’s (UCT) Division of Epidemiology and Biostatistics a R120 million grant from the United States (US) National Institutes of Health. UCT joins an international consortium which includes Columbia University and Northwestern University in the US.
25 Nov 2020
Sexually active female adolescents prefer long-acting injectable PrEP for HIV prevention, new study
The UChoose study conducted by the Desmond Tutu HIV Centr e at the University of Cape Town (UCT) has found that sexually active female adolescents prefer long-acting injectables than vaginal ring and pill as pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) for HIV prevention.
24 Nov 2020
UCT joins forces with Rape Crisis to strengthen support to sexual offences survivors
The University of Cape Town’s (UCT) Office for Inclusivity & Change (OIC) has joined forces with Rape Crisis , an organisation that has worked in the area of rape and sexual violence since 1976, to strengthen the support services to survivors of sexual offences .
23 Nov 2020