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Wits Advanced Drug Delivery Platform

The WADDP is a world-leading research entity established in 2007.

It vibrates with a team of exceptionally passionate, responsive and talented Pharmaceutical Scientists producing 21st century patient-centric pharmaceutical product innovations for the most challenging unmet therapeutic needs globally.

WADDP is a formally recognised research entity at Wits University in the Faculty of Health Sciences and consistently produces high-quality research for over two decades.

It provides the largest postgraduate and postdoctoral training and research platform of its kind in Africa for candidates with a passion to undertake cutting-edge research in the pharmaceutical sciences.

WADDP is a recognised African Network for Drugs and Diagnostics Innovation (ANDI) Centre of Excellence in Nanomedicine and Neuromaterials, conducting research, development and innovation on drugs, diagnostics, vaccines, medical devices and ethnopharmaceuticals while building research capacity on the African continent.

Postgraduate Study Opportunities

Over 131 postgraduates from all spheres of life have been welcomed and are now Alumni of the WADDP. We are passionate about mentoring and training the next generation of Pharmaceutical Scientists to serve our local innovative pharmaceutical industry workforce and also related value chains internationally.

Our postgraduates are highly sought-after, with many receiving prestigious awards during their study, including induction into the Global Young Academy (GYA), the Novartis Next Generation Scientist Program, the South African Young Academy of Science (SAYAS) and the Mail & Guardian’s Top 200 Young South Africans. 

We are also very proud to have had postgraduates who received the Wits Faculty of Health Sciences Most Prestigious PhD Degree Award on 6 occasions (2008, 2010, 2018, 2020, 2021, 2023), recognising their innovative research breaking the frontiers of science in the 21st century.

Researchers (mentors) at the WADDP have a large footprint globally and are expert members of science councils / professional bodies / funding organisations / global collaborating labs [AAS, ASSAF, TWAS, FIP, AAPS, CRS, ACS, SAYAS, SAAPI, PSSA, CLF, NRF, SAMRC, SAHPRA, TIA, RCS, BRICS, AMATA, SAPC] who translate this exposure to nurture postgraduates for a growth mindset on their journey for a career path in the pharmaceuticals sciences.

The WADDP unit constitutes researchers who have completed their postgraduate degrees in the unit and having leadership roles, creating a high-performance lab environment for postgraduates to build experience and be supported by world class pharmaceutical scientists.

Researchers at the WADDP have published more than 452 peer-reviewed articles in prestigious scientific journals and hold the largest patent portfolio in the field (total of 52) on the African continent.

If you are keen to pursue your postgraduate research degree at the WADDP, kindly email Prof. Yahya Choonara at yahya.choonara@wits.ac.za

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