Biomedical Research Institute
ABOUT THE BIOMEDICAL RESEARCH INSTITUTE
Stellenbosch University's Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences' is a self-driven hub of global excellence, serving as the launch pad for a number of ground-breaking medical and health sciences initiatives which has improved the lives of millions of people in South Africa and the rest of Africa.
As one of Africa's top medical and health sciences institutions, our research areas were developed against the background of the United Nation`s Global Sustainable Development Goals, the African Union`s Agenda 2063 goals and South Africa's National Development plan. At the heart of our scientific endeavours, is the challenge to be locally relevant and globally competitive. In order to achieve this, Stellenbosch University has continuously focussed on the unique areas in which we've developed expertise over time.
Our research agenda is shaped by strategic focus areas which ensures that our activities address the major health challenges facing the African continent. Our brand new Biomedical Research Institute (BMRI), is a world-class future-focused research complex that in many ways, exceeds the best the world has to offer.
The BMRI houses leading South African researchers and students who are investigating diseases that have the greatest impact on South Africa and the rest of Africa in order to translate their discoveries into improving the diagnosis, prevention and treatment of illnesses such as tuberculosis, cardio-metabolic disease, HIV, diabetes and neurological disorders.
The BMRI is a R1,2 billion investment which allows for the immediate expansion of our current research activities as well as to strengthen our research and teaching capacity in the fields of bio-informatics, genomics, clinical anatomy, cardiovascular physiology, neurobiology, advanced surgical sciences and bio-banking.
This state-of-the-art building is fitted with a fully-automated biorepository (BiOS) – the first in the Southern Hemisphere – which stores 3-5 million samples at –80°C. The BiOS is equipped with several backups in the event of power failure or loadshedding and around the clock monitoring system with alarms and alerts for temperature to ensure sample integrity.
The BMRI also houses three modern BSL3 facilities, one of which is housed in the BMRI South building and is the largest in South Africa. These laboratories, which are accessed-controlled, are equipped with specialised equipment and strict working policies and procedures for working with dangerous pathogens that enable us to conduct our world-class infectious disease research.
Apart from a range of research laboratories, the BMRI is also host to a Bioinformatics hub, Electron microscopy labs, Proteomics and FACS labs, a Medical Morphology Learning Centre, the Sunskill lab, a Clinical research unit and Conference facilities.
