Page 122 - SAMRC Annual Report 2024-2025

PUBLIC HEALTH
RESEARCH
PROGRAMME 5
INNOVATION

PURPOSE OF THE PROGRAMME PROGRAMME STRATEGIC OBJECTIVES

To promote the improvement of health • To establish key modern technology (enabling)
and quality of life (impact prevention of platforms to facilitate generation of new drug
ill health, improvement of public health discovery knowledge through world-class
and treatment) in the Republic of South applied research.
Africa through innovation, and technology • To establish and manage research
development and transfer. laboratories and facilities as state-of-the-art
national research facilities for research and
development.
UNITS THAT CONSTITUTE THIS PROGRAMME • To train and mentor a new generation of high-
quality postgraduate students and Postdoctoral
1. Biomedical Research and Innovation Fellows in multi-disciplinary research, and in so
Platform (IRU) doing, equip them to compete in the science
2. Drug Discovery and Development Research and/or education sectors nationally and
Unit (ERU) internationally.
3. Genomics Platform (IRU) • To strengthening research and development to
build on and enhance public health innovation.
4. Herbal Drugs Research Unit (ERU)
• To increase the body of scientific knowledge
5. Pan African Centre for Epidemics Research through research translation into products,
Unit (ERU) patents, research papers, policy, practice and

6. Primate Unit and Delft Animal Centre (IRU) health promotion (including to the general
public).
• To increase the number of health-care
innovations and to produce patents based
on new discoveries and new research
methodologies.

120 SAMRC ANNUAL REPOR T 2024-25