Page 269 - UCT Research Report 2011

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FACULTY OF health scienceS
A/Professor Helen Wainwright
Foetal, perinatal & neonatal pathology, placental pathology,
respiratory pathology including TB, cardiac pathology
including cardiomyopathy and liver disease.
Dr Maureen Duffield
Neuropathology, renal pathology and electron microscopy.
Dr Michael Locketz
Gastrointestinal tract pathology.
Dr Shumani Malaka
Breast, gynaecological and thyroid gland pathology.
Dr Komala Pillay
Paediatric pathology, lymphoma and fine needle aspiration
cytology.
Dr Raveendra Sookhayi
Lymphoma
Dr Hue-Tsi Wu
Gynaecological pathology and tissue microarrays.
Contact details
Email: Dhiren.Govender@uct.ac.za
Website: www.anatpath.uct.ac.za
Division of Chemical
Pathology
(Including the Chemical Pathology Sections of Groote
Schuur Hospital and Red Cross War Memorial Children’s
Hospital)
Head of Division: Professor David Marais
The Division of Chemical Pathology is comprised of
both academic and diagnostic sections. The academic
section is located in the Faculty of Health Sciences
and the diagnostic laboratories are based in NHLS
core laboratory, Groote Schuur Hospital and and Red
Cross Children’s Hospital. These offer a comprehensive
dedicated routine chemical pathology diagnostic service
to both adult and paediatric patients attending the Groote
Schuur and Red Cross Children’s Hospitals. There is
extensive clinical interaction with members of staff
participating actively at the laboratory/ward interface
by attendance at ward rounds and clinical meetings
with the Division of Endocrinology, Porphyria service
and the Lipid Clinic. The Division has a strong specialist
diagnostics and research focus on metabolic disorders
of acquired and familial aetiology. In addition, the
Division has a proud historical tradition of basic science
research that cascades down into registrar training.
Teaching commitments address both undergraduate and
postgraduate needs with a number of MSc, PhD and
MMed students under current supervision. The Division
is also actively involved in contributing to the teaching
programmes of the Division of Medical Biochemistry and
the Department of Molecular Cell Biology in the Faculty
of Science.
Research activities cover the molecular cell biology of
insulin signalling and insulin resistance, the molecular
basis of metabolic disease in HIV/AIDS, identification
of new biomarkers using proteomics, biochemical
mechanisms of ion and drug pumps, the identification
of new drug targets in Tuberculosis and Leishmaniasis,
the molecular genetics of inherited metabolic disorders,
mitochondrial myopathies and erythrocyte antioxidant
biochemistry. Individual researchers have established
international collaborations across the world. The
Division is actively engaged in a number of outreach
programmes across Africa. Strong academic links are
in place with Walter Sisulu University and there are
regular teaching/ examining visits from academic staff
of the Division of Chemical Pathology to Mthatha. A joint
registrar training platform has been established with the
University of Stellenbosch and joint academic activities
take place regularly between the two Divisions. The
Division also regularly hosts supernumerary staff from
neighbouring SADC countries (currently Malawi and
Zambia) for the purpose of postgraduate training. The
Division has established itself as one of the premier
Chemical Pathology academic units in Africa for training
and research. The Division has held a number of
training courses in laboratory methods and laboratory
management and has become the preferred provider
of these in Africa. In addition, the Division has an active
academic programme which is comprised of CPD-
accredited weekly journal clubs, seminars and clinical
‘grand rounds’. The Division has also established a
tradition of hosting international guest lecturers under the
auspices of the Visiting Lecturer’s fund.
The Division’s Research Laboratories and expertise
have attracted junior and senior colleagues from other
specialties and institutions who have been keen to
interact with colleagues in the Division. In particular,
these have included the Department of Medicine (Prof.
Bongani Mayosi, Prof. Peter Meissner); the Department
of Chemical Pathology at the University of Stellenbosch
(Prof Rajiv Erasmus); Anatomical Pathology, University of
Cape Town (Prof Dhiren Govender).