Experimental Medicine
Welcome to Stellenbosch University

Experimental Medicine

​​Teaching and learning


Postgra​duate studies 

We offer the degree MSc (Experimental Medicine), as well as PhD (Internal Medicine). Please contact Prof Smith at csmith@sun.ac.za (Disease modelling and drug discovery) or Assoc Prof Van de Vyver at vandevyverm@sun.ac.za (Diabetes and regenerative medicine) for more information on available supervisors and projects.

Some examples of current research topics:

  1. Exploring the genetic basis of lupus nephritis: focus on under-researched African populations
  2. Afrocentric biomarker and therapeutic target identification in the context of lupus nephritis
  3. Drug discovery in a zebrafish model of nephritis
  4. Profiling fibrosis and inflammatory dysregulation at tissue level in human rheumatoid myocarditis
  5. Modelling rheumatoid myocarditis in larval and adult zebrafish: a drug discovery approach
  6. Functional microbial dysbiosis and trace amine profile in autism spectrum disorder
  7. Autism spectrum disorder: potential for therapeutic modulation of trace aminergic signalling across the gut-brain axis
  8. Multimodal characterisation of mitochondrial dysfunction in autism spectrum disorder
  9. Anxiety: finding new treatment modalities via disease modelling in zebrafish
  10. Regeneration in health and disease: understanding the dysregulated healing responses in hard-to-heal diabetic wounds.
  11. Assessing the efficacy and mechanism of action of novel regenerative modalities for the treatment of diabetic wounds
  12. Exploring the use of senomorphic and senolytic agents to prevent metabolic disease progression
  13. Understanding the underlying molecular mechanisms involved in the functional d