Department of Psychiatry
Research - Research Units
The South African Posttraumatic Stress Disorder (SA PTSD) Programme of Excellence
Programme overview
The South African Posttraumatic Stress Disorder (SA PTSD) Programme of Excellence was created in 2023 as an offshoot of The South African Research Chairs Initiative (SARChI) Chair in Posttraumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD). The SA PTSD Programme of Excellence is led by Professor Soraya Seedat. PTSD is a severe, chronic, and debilitating psychiatric disorder that occurs after exposure to extremely traumatic events and significantly impairs normal functioning and quality of life. Since its inception, the programme has attracted both laboratory and clinically geared students and staff at various levels.
The SA PTSD Programme of Excellence has a gene-brain-behaviour research focus, often in collaboration with the South African Medical Research Council (SAMRC) / Stellenbosch University Genomics of Brain Disorders (GBD) Research Unit. The gene-brain-behaviour research incorporates gene expression, epigenetic analyses, brain ageing, and virtual reality (VR) technology to identify factors that play a role in increasing or decreasing an individual’s risk for PTSD.
Further, the SA PTSD Programme of Excellence has a strong focus on clinical research spanning a wide spectrum and including investigation of the psychopathological, neurocognitive, and socio-emotional aspects of PTSD in the context of trauma, HIV, fetal alcohol spectrum disorders, continuous traumatic stress, and moral injury, among others.
Projects Underway
A selection of research projects currently underway are listed below.
For more detailed information about any of these/other projects, please contact Prof Soraya Seedat (sseedat@sun.ac.za) or the project coordinator, Marnus Janse van Vuuren (marnusjvv@sun.ac.za).
- Biological endophenotypes of HIV and childhood trauma: A genetics, cognitive and imaging study.
- Cognitive deficits in people with HIV with post-acute sequelae of SARS-CoV-2 infection.
- Child Maltreatment through a Cross-Cultural Lens - An International Study.
- The impact of childhood maltreatment and traumatic stress subtypes on interpersonal distance regulation.
- Collaborative Outcomes study on Health and Functioning during infection times.
- Effects of alcohol abuse on the brain in the context of earlier ART-initiation among HIV positive individuals in the Western Cape, South Africa: a pilot cohort study.
- Willingness to participate and take risks in HIV cure-related research among women with HIV in the Western Cape, South Africa.
- Exposure to continuous traumatic stress and its consequences among adolescents in a high-risk social environment.
- From the margins to the mainstream: Play interventions to improve well-being among children with developmental disabilities and their caregivers in South Africa.
- The trauma of non-marital romantic relationship breakups among emerging adults: Associations with posttraumatic stress symptoms and underlying neural circuitry.
- Epigenetic profiles of neuropsychological function in South African women with HIV and variable exposure to childhood trauma.
- Impact of the Covid-19 pandemic on mental health professionals: A survey study.
- Biological ageing profiles of neurocognitive function and depression in South African women with HIV and variable exposure to childhood trauma.
Members
