You are hereby cordially invited to the fourth Stellenbosch Forum lecture of the year.

The Stellenbosch Forum lecture series was started in 1990 and provides regular opportunities to staff and students at SU, as well as interested people from the public, to learn more about the relevant, world-class research that is being done at SU. Researchers are requested to present their academic research topics in such a way that they are understandable for non-experts in the field, and these lectures therefore provide the ideal opportunity for critical debate and interesting discussions across disciplinary boundaries.

At this event, Prof Gerhard Walzl, Department Head of Biomedical Sciences and Division Head of Molecular Biology and Human Genetics at the Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences, Stellenbosch University, will present a lecture with the title:

When the bacterium goes undercover, why not ask the host?

 Date:      Thursday, 4 October 2018

Time:     13:00 – 14:00

Venue:   Stellenbosch University Library Auditorium

 More about the lecture

The direct detection of Mycobacterium tuberculosis is notoriously difficult at a programmatic health care level in resource-limited settings. This is the causative agent of tuberculosis, one of the top 10 causes of death world-wide, with 10.4 million cases and 1.7 million deaths in 2016. Sputum smear microscopy is still the most widely used detection method and only has a 60% sensitivity, culture of the organism takes up to 6 weeks to yield a result and nucleic acid detection remains expensive and relies on advanced, mostly laboratory-based equipment. More than 30% of TB patients are therefore not diagnosed and cumulatively up to 50% of all patients are never cured, even though TB programs report >75% cure rates amongst those starting treatment. Non-cured patient can die, can develop chronic forms of progressively destructive lung disease that is infectious or can self-cure. Our approach has been to base diagnostic and treatment response efforts on the concept that the diseased host will have detected the bacterium even when lab methods fail to do so, and that measurement of inflammatory markers by the host can have diagnostic and treatment response monitoring application. In other words, we use a biomarker approach. We have identified protein and mRNA signatures in different body fluids with promising diagnostic and even predictive potential. We have also employed modern lung imaging technologies, like [18F]-Fluoro-2-deoxy-D-glucose positron emission tomography/computer tomography (FDG-PET/CT) imaging in the search for biomarkers and to increase our understanding of pathophysiology. Site-of-disease sampling through broncho alveolar lavage studies also form part of our efforts to improve our understanding of TB disease.  The ultimate aim of our work is to use the findings of the advanced modern imaging and laboratory techniques to design simple, affordable, laboratory-free tests that are scalable for use in resource limited settings to contribute towards new tools against this disease. Together these studies point towards the importance of multi-disciplinary, highly collaborative research programs to support modern medicine to accomplish significant impact on our communities.

We look forward to welcoming you at this event, which is not to be missed!