Events
IDORI Seminar
Using the biology of ageing to maintain human health and preventing bacteria from ageing us.
Ageing populations result in economic and social challenges that are getting worse. One solution is to keep people healthier for longer. However, while the biology of ageing has made considerable progress it has not yet benefitted humans. I will discuss how to change that and my own research on how bacteria
can influence ageing. The nematode worm Caenorhabditis elegans is a very amenable model for ageing. We have found that the E. coli that the worm lives
on can be manipulated with genetics or drugs to slow ageing, suggesting a mechanism by which bacteria accelerate ageing. I will discuss how we might use this finding to improve human health.
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IDORI seminar: Breast Cancer
Measuring What Matters: Defining Quality Standards for Breast Cancer Care in South Africa
Dr. Sarah Nietz is a surgeon and leading specialist in the treatment of breast disease. She led the Charlotte Maxeke Breast Unit before establishing a multidisciplinary unit at Mediclinic Morningside. This seminar will delve into the lived experiences of South African women navigating the healthcare system, mapping their treatment pathways and outcomes. Drawing on new evidence and quality benchmarks, it will pinpoint critical gaps in diagnosis, surgery, and multidisciplinary care, and identify the quality indicators that influence survival, offering key interventions and actionable strategies for transformative cancer care.
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Gene Therapy, from Hollywood to the bench to the clinic
Dr Simon Waddington will present a seminar on 11 November 2025 from 15h00 - 16h30.
Inherited genetic diseases are individually rare but, collectively, affect over 400 million people worldwide; over 75% are children. For many young people with these conditions there is little hope. Most rare genetic diseases are untreatable, causing significant disability, with almost a third dying before their fifth birthday. Licensed genetic treatments are currently available for less than 0.1% of patients with these diseases, leading to significant morbidity and premature mortality. In this lecture, He will explore the public perception of gene therapy and detail one of our clinical-trajectory gene therapy programmes.
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IDORI seminar: Emerging zoonoses
A living laboratory to operationalise One Health surveillance of climate-related emerging zoonoses
Prof Scagliarini will be visiting Wits as part of collaboration projects with the EViTOH division of IDORI. This seminar will elaborate how climate change impacts health & climate sensitive infectious diseases that can act as indicators that must be actively monitored. For its peculiar geo-ecological characteristics & its vulnerability to extreme climatic events, the Romagna region of Italy is particularly prone to climate sensitive vector & waterborne zoonoses. This ecological, productive, social, and scientific context makes it an ideal living laboratory in which to implement a one-health approach to bridge gaps in surveillance and guide effective public health responses to emerging climate related health threats.
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Genomics Meets the Exposome: Rethinking Precision Oncology for Cancer Equity in Africa
| When: |
Thursday, 28 May 2026 - Thursday, 28 May 2026 |
| Where: |
PVT Resource Centre, Ground Floor, PVT Building, 29 Princess of Wales Terrace, Parktow |
| Start time: | 15:00 |
| Enquiries: | idori.research@wits.ac.za |
| RSVP: | Click here to RSVP |
IDORI Seminar Series
Zodwa Dlamini is a Professor of Molecular Oncology at UP with a strong track record in advancing cancer research, prevention, and care nationally and globally. Prof Zodwa Dlamini will present a seminar where she explores the integration of genomics and the exposome as a unified framework for precision oncology. It highlights how multi-omics and exposure science can reshape cancer prevention, risk stratification, and equity in Africa, enabling more context-relevant and actionable approaches to cancer control.
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