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Milestones in HIV treatment and prevention research

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Stellenbosch University's Department of Political Science & The Embassy of Japan in South Africa invites you to join: 

​​A webinar on

Milestones in HIV treatment and prevention research: Implications for global public health

Date:  Thursday, 17 March 2022

Time: 12h30-14h00 (CAT)​

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Four decades after the first official report on AIDS in 1981, there has been much progress in global efforts towards the prevention and treatment of HIV. Advances in biomedical and scientific research have produced successful interventions and improved care for those living with HIV. Yet HIV remains a global public health challenge. In Southern Africa, which accounts for a significant number of people living with HIV, there is evidence that the HIV epidemic compounded the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic. The long-term consequences on the public health system in this region are unknown. 

In this webinar, experts share their work on HIV treatment and prevention and the advances towards HIV immunity. 

Professor Yasuhiro Yasutomi, director of the Laboratory of Immuno regulation and Vaccine Research (NIBIOHN, Japan) will present results on the development of an HIV vaccine. 

Professor Glenda Gray, CEO, and President of the South African Medical Research Council                       (SAMRC) will speak about her work in HIV vaccine research and treatment strategies in Southern Africa.  

Prof Nico Gey van Pittius, Professor in Molecular Biology  and Vice Dean: Research and Internationalisation at Stellenbosch University’s Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences, will facilitate the discussion.  

The discussion highlights both the milestones and challenges in science’s response to the HIV epidemic and implications for global public health ahead. ​


Programme

12h30-12h35      Welcome and introduction
                              Prof. Scarlett Cornelissen, Department of Political Science, Stellenbosch University

                             Prof. Elmi Muller, Dean of Faculty of Medical and Health Sciences, Stellenbosch                                               University.

12h35-12h40      Opening remarks
                            Akihiko UCHIKAWA​, Minister and Deputy Chief of Mission, Embassy of Japan in South                                    Africa

12h40-13h05     Presentation

                           Prof.  Yasutomi, Director, and Chairman: Laboratory of Immunoregulation and Vaccine                                 Research (NIBIOHN, Japan) and Professor, Mie University Graduate School of                                                Medicine, Japan.


13h05-13h25     Presentation

                            Prof. Glenda Gray, CEO and President of the South African Medical Research Council                                      (SAMRC)


13h25-13h45     Facilitated Roundtable: 
                           Prof. Nico Gey Van Pittius, Vice Dean of Research and Internationalisation in the                                               Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences, Stellenbosch University.


13h45-13h55      Q & A

13h55-14h0​0      Conclusion ​

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Speaker Bio's


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Professor Elmi Muller is a transplant surgeon and the Dean of the Faculty of Healthcare and Medicine at Stellenbosch University. She is an international leader in the healthcare sector and President-elect of the international Transplantation Society (TTS) She holds clinical as well as business qualifications in South Africa and England, as well as a fellowship in the USA. She had been the chair of the Declaration of Istanbul Custodian Group, the South African Transplant Society, and served on the World Health Organization Transplantation Taskforce. She pioneered a transplant program for HIV-positive recipients in South Africa using HIV-positive donors. She holds an A1 rating for research with the National Research Foundation of South Africa.


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Professor Scarlett Cornelissen is Professor in Political Science at Stellenbosch University. Her research centres on Africa in the global order, with a specialist focus on diplomacy and economic relations between Japan and Africa. She has held fellowships with the Radcliffe Institute for Advanced Study at Harvard University, as well as at Kyoto University and Tokyo University of Foreign Studies in Japan. She was also Leibniz Professor at Leipzig University.​



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Akihiko Uchikawa, Minister and Deputy Chief of Mission, Embassy of Japan in South Africa.  Former Minister-Economic Section of Embassy of Japan in the Kingdom of Thailand. Akihiko has also served as Director, Economic Security Division, Economic Affairs Bureau, MOFA and Director of  International Research Division, Agriculture, Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries.

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EDUCATION 

1988 Graduated from Faculty of Political Science and Economics, Waseda University, Japan 1991 Graduated from European College of Parma, Italy 

1991-1992 Study at University of Toulouse, France

 PROFESSIONAL CAREER

1988 Joined the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Japan (MOFA)

 1992-1994 Second Secretary, Embassy of Japan in Italy

 2000-2004 First Secretary, Embassy of Japan in Italy 

 2004-2006   Director, Conventional Arms Division, Disarmament, Non-Proliferation and Science Department, MOFA 

2006-2008 Director, International Organized Crime Division, Foreign Policy Bureau, MOFA 2008-2011 Counsellor, Embassy of Japan in Italy

 2011-2013 Director, International Research Division, Agriculture, Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries

2013-2014 Director, Economic Security Division, Economic Affairs Bureau, MOFA

 2014-2017 Minister-Economic Section, Embassy of Japan in the Kingdom of Thailand

 2017-2020 Minister and Deputy Chief of Mission, Embassy of Japan in Italy

 2020-- Minister and Deputy Chief of Mission, Embassy of Japan in South Africa




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Professor Yasuhiro Yasutomi received his DVM degrees from Rakunogakuen Univesity, Hokkaido, Japan and his Ph.D. from the Graduate School of Veterinary Medicine, Rakunogakuen University from 1986-1990. He was a Research fellow (Immunology), 1990-1991. at Harvard Medical School from 1990-1991 and then Instructor 1992-1994. He was Instructor in Medicine at the Department of Viral Pathogenesis in Beth Israel Hospital in Harvard Medical School from 1994-1996.  He was an associate professor in Mie University Graduate School of Medicine from1996-2007. He is Director at Tsukuba Primate Research Center in National Institutes of Biomedical Innovation, Health, and Nutrition, and Professor in Mie University Graduate School of Medicine in July 2007 to present.  He is an immunologist in vaccine development field.​​​


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Professor Glenda Gray, President & CEO: SAMRC An NRF A1 rated scientist, CEO, and President of the South African Medical Research Council (SAMRC), Professor Glenda Gray is a qualified pediatrician and co-founder of the internationally recognised Perinatal HIV Research Unit in Soweto, South Africa. Prior to her appointment at the SAMRC, she was the Executive Director of the Perinatal HIV Research Unit, an affiliate of Wits University. Glenda’s global profile includes a role as Co-PI of the HIV Vaccine Trials Network (HVTN), a transnational collaboration for the development of HIV/AIDS prevention vaccines.

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She is also Director of International Programmes for HVTN and Chairperson of the Board of the Global Alliance for Chronic Diseases, and a member of the Institute of Medicine of the National Academies, USA.

She received South Africa’s highest honour - the Order of Mapungubwe - for her pioneering research in PMTCT. Other prestigious accolades include the Nelson Mandela Health and Human Rights Award for significant contributions in the field of mother-to-child transmission of HIV. Selected as one of Time’s 100 Most Influential People in the World, Glenda is a recognised leader in her field. Her qualifications include an MBBCH, FCPaeds (SA), DSc (honoris causa SFU), DSc (honoris causa SUN), LL.D (Rhodes).



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Professor Nicolaas Claudius (Nico) Gey van Pittius VI is currently the Vice Dean of Research and Internationalisation in the Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences, with an extensive portfolio which includes all aspects of research, postgraduate research studies (MSc and PhD degrees), internationalisation, and innovation (including intellectual property and technology transfer). He is also a full Professor of Molecular Biology in the Division of Molecular Biology and Human Genetics of the Department of Biomedical Sciences at Stellenbosch University, and a core member of both the Department of Science and Technology (DST)/National Research Foundation (NRF) Centre of Excellence in Biomedical Tuberculosis Research (CBTBR) and the Medical Research Council Centre for Tuberculosis Research (CTR), both hosted by Stellenbosch University.
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After obtaining his BSc (cum laude), BSc Hons (cum laude) and MSc degrees from the University of Potchefstroom, and his PhD degree from Stellenbosch University, he spent some years as a Postdoctoral Research Fellow, before being appointed Senior Researcher, later Associate Professor, and finally Full Professor of Molecular Biology at the Department of Biomedical Sciences of Stellenbosch University. He continued studying part time while working, obtaining a Certificate in Intellectual Property Law (cum laude) and an LLB degree (cum laude) from the University of South Africa, and the degrees LLM, MBA and MPhil (cum laude) from Stellenbosch University. He is a South African National Research Foundation (NRF) B-rated (internationally acclaimed) researcher and was elected to membership of both the ‘Suid-Afrikaanse Akademie vir Wetenskap en Kuns’ (South African Academy for Science and Arts, in 2006 at the young age of 33 years) and the Academy of Science of South Africa (ASSAf) (in 2010, at the age of 37 years). He is the Chair of the Provincial Health Research Committee (PHRC) of the Western Cape, a member of the National Health Research Committee (NHRC), and is also a member of several other national and international scientific societies and committees, such as the American Society for Microbiology (ASM) and the International Union against Tuberculosis and Lung Disease (IUATLD).

Prof Gey van Pittius is a molecular mycobacteriologist who has worked on tuberculosis for more than 20 years, specifically focusing on the mechanisms of evolution of the mycobacteria and the development of mycobacterial pathogenicity and drug resistance. He has co-authored over 100 papers, book chapters and other communications on various aspects of tuberculosis, with over 4 800 citations, a Scopus h-index of 39 (Google Scholar h-index of 46) and is a co-inventor of two granted and three provisional patents in the field. He has supervised numerous postgraduate students on all levels over the years and taught postgraduate modules in intellectual property law, bioinformatics, genomics and genome variation. His work has been presented in oral and poster form at more than 40 international and nearly 100 national conferences and meetings, and he has been invited to present lectures at numerous institutions worldwide.










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Contact People

  • Lidia du Plessis
    Coordinator: Staff Mobility Programmes & Partner Projects, Centre for Partnerships and Internationalisation
     lidia@sun.ac.za​
  • Prof Scarlett Cornelissen
    Professor: Department of Political Science
     sc3@sun.ac.za ​