Wits leads Quantum Computing National Working Group

2 December 2019 - Wits University

“Investment in quantum technologies in South Africa is crucial if we want to leverage the next level of discovery research,” says Professor Zeblon Vilakazi.

Vilakazi, Deputy Vice-Chancellor for Research and Postgraduate Affairs at Wits University, will be chairing the Department of Science and Innovation’s (DSI) National Working Committee to develop a Framework for Quantum Computing and Quantum Technology (NWG: QC&QT) driven research and innovation in South Africa.

Vilakazi, who was instrumental in Wits becoming the first African partner on the IBM Q Network earlier this year, together with the Director: Research Development at Wits, Dr Robin Drennan, form part of the NWG: QC&QT that also comprise of representatives from various higher education and research institutions in South Africa, as well as from IBM Research – Africa. 

Says Vilakazi: “Countries such as the US, China, from the European Union, Singapore, Japan and many others have invested billions in the development of quantum computing and associated technologies. Quantum computing technologies are the next accelerated technologies that will spawn new research, new technologies, and new industry almost at the same scale as the rapid technological advances of the past 20 years.

“It is most appropriate that the DSI are putting together a team of leading scientists and researchers to advise on South Africa's responsiveness to this fast-developing technology.” 

According to the DSI, at the core of the Fourth Industrial Revolution (41R) is the emergence of cyber-physical systems, which are based upon the ability to collect massive amounts of data, manipulate and analyse it efficiently, and transfer it fast and securely. Quantum technologies have the potential to realise this vision. 

The initial focus of the NWG: QC&QT will be as follows: 

• To determine what the current state of QC and QT in SA is. The NWG will address the current landscape of QC and QT, identify challenges and opportunities, leverage and collaborate with existing initiatives, and engage the quantum community at large; 
• To conduct a SWOT Analysis of QC and QT in SA, in terms of (a) human capital and research capacity development, (b) technology capacity and capability development, (c) availability and need for research and innovation infrastructure, (d) partnerships and networks, (e) collaborative platforms and {f) institutional landscape; and 
• Based on the outcomes of the SWOT Analysis and scoping of the institutional landscape, the NWG: QC&QT will (i) scope where the path to the future lies as it pertains to QC and QT; (ii) identify priority areas for SA to focus on in the next ten years in order to align with the DSl's Decadal Plan (currently under development), (iii) set indicative targets for HCD; research, technology and innovation (RTI) investment; RTI infrastructure requirements, (iv) identify potential African and international partners to accelerate and strengthen the Qc and QT RTI capacities and capabilities in SA; and (v) clearly articulate synergies and alignment with the DSl's Converging Technology Platform initiative with special reference to the creation of relevant instrument/s and the establishment of an appropriate platform/s for this endeavour. 

Vilakazi says the actual Secretariat support for the NWG: QC&QT will be provided by Wits University that already has expertise in this field. “One of the world-leading experts in quantum technologies and lasers, Distinguished Professor Andrew Forbes from the Structured Light group in the Wits School of Physics is one of the key members of the team. Quantum computing researchers from the Universities of KwaZulu-Natal, Stellenbosch and Pretoria, and other universities are also involved.” 

“One of the key challenges in our current economic climate will be around the resources and how to liberate the necessary resources and focus on how this key, strategic investment ought to be made by prioritising certain areas and consolidating where possible,” says Vilakazi. 

“It is a sense of pride for Wits that is right at the centre of this fast-evolving project which we hope, by the end of March next year, will yield something that will shape the way government and other universities think around the quantum technologies.” 

In December 2019 Wits University presented its first Quantum Computing Summer School (#WitsQ), followed by IBM Q’s Quiskit Camp in South Africa.

Read more about our new technologies research at www.wits.ac.za/future/ 

Soweto study informs global network on technique to discover why children die

10 December 2019 - Wits University

A Wits-led pilot study in Soweto has shown that minimally invasive tissue sampling (MITS) can accurately determine cause of stillbirth in South African women.

The observational pilot study at Chris Hani Baragwanath Academic Hospital informed the rollout of MITS in low- and middle-income (LMIC) countries globally via CHAMPS – the Child Health and Mortality Prevention Surveillance Network.

The absence of data that reliably characterise specific causes of death in children under-five has severely hampered progress in preventing childhood mortality.

The Soweto Stillbirths Study

Despite approximately 2.6 million stillbirths occurring globally each year – 95% in LMICs – data and knowledge on the biological causes of these deaths in LMICs is limited.  

Currently, causes of death in children under-5 in LMICs are determined by vital registration data and verbal autopsies. However, these methods do not attribute death from infection-related illnesses (such as pneumonia, sepsis, and diarrhoea) to a specific pathogen.

Professor Shabir Madhi, who is the Director of the Medical Research Council Respiratory and Meningeal Pathogens Research Unit (RMPRU) at Wits, led a pilot study to evaluate the effectiveness of MITS in determining the cause of stillbirths in South African women.

The Soweto stillbirths study investigated the utility of the minimally invasive tissue sampling technique – along with examination of the placenta and clinical history – in attributing stillbirth in a South African LMIC setting. The technique was also used to understand specific causes of death in very young children.

“Minimally invasive tissue sampling can pinpoint pathological causes of infant death, the findings of which can then inform policy, and more effective interventions to mitigate child mortality,” says Madhi.

MITS identifies leading causes of Soweto stillbirths

Sampling of brain, lung, and liver tissue using biopsy needles, blood and cerebrospinal fluid collection, as well as an examination of the placenta revealed a cause of stillbirth for 117 of the 129 cases (90.7%).

The leading underlying causes of stillbirth were maternal hypertensive disorders [high blood pressure]; placental separation and haemorrhage; and chorioamnionitis [inflammation of the fetal membranes due to a bacterial infection].

The leading immediate causes of foetal death were antepartum hypoxia [abnormally low levels of oxygen in the blood not long before birth] and foetal infection due to E.coli, enterococcus, and Group B Streptococcus bacterial infection.

“In addition to indicating the potential of our approach in ascertaining granular causes of stillbirth in LMIC settings, the findings provide insight into the pathogenies of stillbirths in settings such as ours. This included the potentially under-appreciated dominant role of foetal infection as the cause of stillbirth in 37.2% of cases,” says Madhi, who, along with Dr Jayani Pathirana and Dr Vicky Baillie in the Wits RMPRU co-authored a related paper unravelling specific causes of neonatal mortality using MITS.

Hospital-acquired multidrug-resistant bacterial infections cause neonatal deaths

This prospective, observation pilot study enrolled neonatal deaths at Chris Hani Baragwanath Academic Hospital. According to the paper, MITS included needle core-biopsy sampling for histopathology [the study of changes in tissues caused by disease] of brain, lung, and liver tissue. Microbiological culture and/or molecular tests were performed on lung, liver, blood, cerebrospinal fluid, and stool samples. The ’underlying’ and ‘immediate’ causes of death were determined for each by an international panel of 12-15 medical specialists.

Infections were the immediate or underlying cause of death in 57.5% of all 153 neonatal deaths in this study. Overall, 74.4% of 90 infection-related deaths were hospital-acquired, mainly due to multidrug-resistant bacteria. Group B streptococcus (GBS) was the most common pathogen among deaths with ‘infections’ as the underlying cause.

“An overwhelming find from our study was the dominant but under-emphasised role of hospital-acquired infections to in-facility neonatal deaths, especially in late neonatal death [deaths between 7 and 27 days]. The observation on the contributions of hospital-acquired infection as a cause of neonatal deaths in this study have underpinned a re-evaluation and introduction of strategies aimed at improving infection control practices at the hospital, the success of which will be evaluated through the ongoing CHAMPS programme here in Soweto,” says Madhi.

Illuminating child mortality: Discovering why children die

Rather than provide conclusive data on the causes of stillbirths in the Soweto stillbirths pilot study, the main objective was to evaluate the utility of MITS as a diagnostic tool. The Soweto stillbirths pilot study preceded the multicentre Child Health and Mortality Prevention Surveillance (CHAMPS) programme now underway.

The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation fund CHAMPS, which aims to generate mortality data in a way that is designed to enable stakeholders at local, national, regional, and global levels to prioritise the most effective strategies and invest in the most needed tools.

This objective responds to Sustainable Development Goal 3.2: The elimination of all preventable under-5 mortality and stillbirths by 2030 and reducing global under-5 mortality to a maximum of 25 deaths per 1000 live births (from its current rate of 44 deaths per 1000 live births).

Targeting the specific causes of child death will require more precise and robust data than have previously been available.

A paper on the Soweto study was part of 13-article CHAMPS supplement published in the Clinical Infectious Diseases journal in October 2019, and co-authored by Madhi, Dr Pratima L. Raghunathan, Director for Science, CHAMPS network, Emory Global Health Institute, and Dr Robert F. Breiman, Executive Director, CHAMPS, and Director, Emory Global Health Institute.

The supplement, entitled The Child Health and Mortality Prevention Surveillance (CHAMPS) Network: Foundational methods, comprises articles that feature a variety of methods to describe why children die in the parts of the world where children die too often.

According to the supplement, current understanding of the causes of under-5 childhood deaths in LMICs relies heavily on country-level vital registration data and verbal autopsies. The CHAMPS network aims to systematically describe causes of child death and stillbirth in LMICs using minimally invasive tissue sampling.

The articles in the supplement introduce a range of methods to identify cause of death in children under 5 years. These data are crucial to locally target interventions more effectively and rapidly reduce under-5 mortality.

I pick their brains, I pick their pockets

12 December 2019 - Wits University

Business leader and philanthropist, Dr Wendy Appelbaum spoke to Witsies about how to make an impact.

“I pick their brains, I pick their pockets and I abuse them for their time and skills. This enables me to positively impact the lives of the poorest and the most vulnerable people in our society.”

These are the words of respected business leader and philanthropist, Dr Wendy Appelbaum who spoke at Wits this morning about the importance of using one’s resources and position to the benefit of society.

The 2015 Forbes Businesswoman of the Year was the guest of honour at the Faculty of Health Sciences graduation ceremony where Wits awarded her an honorary doctorate in medicine. This prestigious award recognises Appelbaum’s leadership in advancing economic and industrial development, uplifting health and welfare services, and her role in advancing education, culture and women empowerment. Read the citation describing her contribution to society.

Raised in an influential family by one of South Africa’s leading business figures, Sir Donald Gordon, Appelbaum noted the humble beginnings of her late father. He was born to immigrant parents who could not afford to pay the fees for his career preference in science. He settled for accountancy as this would enable him to earn an income whilst studying. These humble beginnings informed the family’s values and embedded philanthropy in their lives, said Appelbaum.

“Charity was always central to my father’s worldview and he was convinced of the importance of putting back into the society from which he prospered.”

The Donald Gordon Foundation, established in 1970, has contributed to many projects in South Africa and built legacy institutions in higher education – notably the Gordon Institute of Business Science (GIBS) and the Wits Donald Gordon Medical Centre (WDGMC).

Appelbaum has served as a member of the WDGMC board, an important facility which trains specialist and sub-specialists. She was instrumental in the establishment of the Fellowship in Gynaecological Oncology, the creation of an outpatient Women’s Health Clinic, and the Fellowship in Geriatric Medicine. In recent years, Appelbaum’s focus has shifted to social impact investing.

Her parting words to the graduates were to go beyond the call of duty.

“Your medicines, scalpels, devices and machines can cure people, but if you want to transform the world, the power you need is already inside each and every one of you. You have the power to imagine what better means, for your practice, for your profession and for the people you are so lucky to serve. As you go forward and succeed, never forget the contribution that Wits has made to your lives.”