The IDM - a cross-faculty, multidisciplinary postgraduate health research institute
Based on the UCT Faculty of Health Sciences campus in a 7,100 sqm state-of-the-art facility, we operate in the fields of infectious diseases and molecular medicine.
Clinical research relevant to the needs of Africa's people
The IDM influences health policy and practice by translating our scientific discoveries and applying them in various communities; community relationships and trust are critical.
Capacity building in the IDM
The largest research entity at UCT, the IDM is a national leader in research and health sciences human capital development.
IDM driving world class research
We conduct research at the laboratory-clinic-community interface by engaging a wide range of scientific and clinical disciplines; with 62 consortia linking us with 183 institutions in 22 African countries and 24 countries beyond.
University accredited research institute - Tackling diseases of importance in Africa - Developing people - Impacting health policy and practice
Researchers have found that the most-prescribed antimalarial drug is less effective in severely malnourished children than in those that are adequately nourished. The study calls for further research into optimising treatment for undernourished children – who are particularly vulnerable to contracting malaria and dying from the disease.
Academic and Clinical Scientist Liesl Zühlke is an Associate Professor. She’s based in the Department of Paediatric Cardiology at the University of Cape Town, is an Affiliate Member of the University’s Institute of Infectious Disease and Molecular Medicine and is an NRF-rated scientist. Zühlke is a leading researcher in Rheumatic Fever (RF) and Rheumatic Heart Disease (RHD). A disease which, while preventable, had an estimated global burden of 33.4 million cases and a death toll of 319 400 in one year. This, according to a study looking at case estimates in 2015, which also noted 10.5 million disability-adjusted life-years (DALY). DALY is a measurement of the gap between current health status and an ideal health situation where the entire population lives to an advanced age, free of disease and disability.
The late Professor Bongani Mayosi, former dean of the Faculty of Health Sciences at the University of Cape Town (UCT), is remembered as a humble servant leader who lifted as he rose.
It was a serendipitous meeting with a University of Cape Town (UCT) professor in a Mother City shopping mall that set the wheels in motion for Sue Dennis’s PhD research.
