Page 86 - SAMRC Annual Report 2024-2025

significantly advanced health research, enhancing
diagnostic capabilities, fostering international
collaborations, and building capacity in TB research
and bioinformatics.

Building Capacity Through
Training, Mentorship, and Support
The CTR graduated PhD students, MSc students,
and BSc Honours students within the academic
year 2024-2025, demonstrating their commitment
to academic excellence. The CTR enrolled
31 postdoctoral, 57 PhD, 61 MSc and 11 BSC
Animal TB Monitoring immobilized lions for Honours students for the 2024 academic year.
TB surveillance.
Efforts to advance gender equity and diversity
remain a priority, with 67% female representation
among the postgraduate students and 50% of the
student body consisting of black students. We
note that 67% of the student body is South African.
Notable academic advancements were celebrated,
including Prof Desiree Petersen's appointment as
Senior Specialist Scientist. Prof Andre Loxton was
awarded the SAMRC Silver for outstanding scientific
contribution to health research, and Prof Rob Warren
was honoured with a service recognition award.

Animal TB BMRI Open Day 2025. A total of 220 participations from CTR were recorded
in virtual and in-person workshops, conferences,
webinars, and training courses. The CTR hosted
various training courses, such as hosting a series
The CTR contributed to landmark publications
in The Lancet Microbe and eLife, advancing TB of Responsible Conduct in Research workshops.
susceptibility research and precision medicine. Other workshops included One Health discussions
and Public Squares brainstorming workshops.
Technological Advancements: The Bioinformatics
Research Unit developed a waste-water
metagenomics analytical pipeline for pathogen
detection, used by Kenya's national health
laboratory. They also built a machine-learning model
for a TB triage test and implemented a real-time
data capture system for Mycobacterium tuberculosis
whole-genome sequencing.

A point-of-care test for childhood TB meningitis
and alternative prototype tests for TB, with ongoing
optimisations and new international patent
applications filed.
A collaboration with the University of Pretoria and
the Nuclear Medicine Research Infrastructure to
merge nuclear medicine techniques with nanobiotic
approaches, improving diagnostics and targeted
TB therapy strategies. These highlights have

84 SAMRC ANNUAL REPOR T 2024-25