2025 Wits School of Clinical Medicine Biennial Research Day
- FHS Communications
The 2025 Wits School of Clinical Medicine (SOCM) Biennial Research Day, under the theme “Precision Medicine in an Unequal World: Bridging Innovation and Access”, took place on Thursday, 18th September 2025, at the Wits School of Public Health.
As always, the event was a showcase for the innovative research conducted in the School and an excellent opportunity for Masters and PhD students and early career researchers to gain experience in presenting and discussing their research in a conference setting. The response to the Research Day was excellent, with 347 pre-registered delegates and strong support from industry partners.
The Dean, Professor Shabir Madhi, opened proceedings and emphasised the pivotal role the School plays within the Faculty’s research endeavours and initiatives that foster research productivity.
The keynote addresses of the day were delivered by:
- Lynn Morris, the Deputy Vice-Chancellor of Research and Innovation,
- Glenda Gray, Director of the Infectious Diseases and Oncology Research Institute, Prof. Kevin Behrens, Director of the Steve Biko Centre for Bioethics, and
- Ziyaad Dangor, clinical research director at the Wits Vaccines and Infectious Diseases Analytics Research Unit (VIDA).
The day also featured parallel lunchtime sessions on varied topics that target young and early researchers as well as established academics. These ranged from preparing for a career in industry to understanding the promotions process at Wits, to focused mentoring, to empowering clinical medicine through genomics, diagnostics, and precision innovation, and to yoga and mindfulness, which were enthusiastically received.
There were 29 oral presentations and 86 poster presentations on the Research Day. The winners are shown below.
|
Oral presentation prize winners |
|||
|
Category |
Award |
Name |
Abstract title |
|
MBBCh/GEMP/Other Bachelor’s degree/Honours |
First prize |
Mr. Shawn Lutchman |
Retrospective analysis of microbial colonisation of intravascular catheters at an academic hospital in Johannesburg, 2019-2022 |
|
|
Second prize |
Not awarded |
|
|
Masters/MMED/Other Master’s degree |
First prize |
Dr. Aliya Mukadam |
Predicting whole-exome sequencing results in children with developmental disorders and congenital heart defects |
|
|
Second prize |
Dr. Megan Fyffe |
Post-traumatic stress disorder in an antenatal population South Africa: prevalence and associated factors |
|
PhD |
First prize |
Ms. Karabo Sekopi Mosiane |
Antitumor activity of polymer-conjugated betulinic acid in human pancreatic cancer cells |
|
|
Second prize |
Miss Kate Da Silva |
3D-printed, tissue-engineered scaffolds for potential liver regeneration following injury |
|
Non-degree research |
First prize |
Dr. Marguerite Hall |
Uncovering adult HIV mortality causes using minimally invasive tissue sampling: a precision medicine research tool |
|
|
Second prize |
Miss Minenhle Mayisela |
Genetic insights into dilated cardiomyopathy in African patients using exome sequencing |
|
Poster presentation prize winners |
|||
|
Category |
Award |
Name |
Abstract title |
|
MBBCh/GEMP/Other Bachelor’s degree/Honours |
First prize |
Miss Tzipora Krawitz |
Outcomes of TNT in locally advanced rectal cancers at WDGMC |
|
|
Second prize |
Mr. Justin Moodley |
Association of VEGF-A polymorphisms with albuminuria in black South Africans living with type 2 diabetes |
|
Masters/MMED/Other Master’s degree |
First prize |
Ms. Raabiah Noorbhai
Dr. Preyanka Pillay
Dr. Ruan Rheeders |
Barriers to paediatric pain assessment and management in sub-Saharan Africa: a scoping review
Pre-transplant body mass index and survival after liver transplantation in Johannesburg, South Africa
Variability between anaesthetists and artificial intelligence in identification of anatomical structures for ultrasound-guided regional anaesthesia |
|
|
Second prize |
Ms. Tracy Reindorp |
The prevalence of tattoos in unidentified decedents in the Human Decedent Identification Unit |
|
PhD |
First prize |
Dr. Alex Van Blydenstein |
Histologic findings in adults hospitalized with hypoxaemic pneumonia during the COVID-19 pandemic in South Africa |
|
|
Second prize |
Miss Sinegugu Dubazana |
Multi-omic analyses of the tumour microenvironment of South African pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma patients |
|
Non-degree research |
First prize |
Ms. Kailin Giltrow |
Comparing maceration methods for the preparation of infant skeletal remains for forensic anthropological analysis |
|
|
Second prize |
Dr. Michelle Cremer |
Acute myocardial infarction in a patient with anomalous left main coronary artery origin with a hypoplastic left anterior descending artery: a diagnostic and therapeutic challenge |
The seven winning oral abstracts and the titles and authors of the winning poster were published in the November 2025 edition of the Wits Journal of Clinical Medicine.
The Research Day Organising Committee comprised the individuals below:
|
Dr. Akinwale Ayeni |
Prof. Zané Lombard (co-Chair) |
|
Dr. June Fabian |
Dr. Belinda Marais |
|
Mrs. Aurelia Jansen |
Prof. David Moore |
|
Dr. Craig Keyes |
Ms. Melissa Olifant |
|
Miss Shayleze Kisten |
Dr. Juliette Phelp |
|
Dr. Emmanuel Korsah |
Dr. Robin Saggers |
|
Prof. Abdullah Laher |
Prof. Charl Verwey |
|
Dr. Gontse Leballo |
Prof. Alisha Wade (co-Chair) |