The IDM has curated a go-to range of reliable information to guide and assist staff and students during this time of crisis. We are continuously updating the various COVID-19 resources listed on our webpage below.
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.
University accredited research institute | Tackling diseases of importance in Africa | Developing people | Impacting health policy and practice
A team of researchers from the University of Cape Town (UCT) have found a new way to test for asymptomatic vaginal infections in women in resource-poor settings. In this piece, Saberi Marais (technology commercialisation manager at UCT), Associate Professor Jo-Ann Passmore from UCT's Division of Medical Virology, and Dr Lindi Masson, an associate member of and senior lecturer in the Division of Medical Virology, discuss the results of their invention, the Genital Inflammation Test.
University of Cape Town scientists, who spent two decades researching plant-made vaccines before turning their attention to COVID-19 when the pandemic hit, have successfully reported the expression of the near-full length SARS-CoV-2 spike vaccine in plants.
Low Vitamin D levels have been hypothesised by some experts to be a risk factor for tuberculosis (TB). People who develop TB often present with low Vitamin D levels when they are diagnosed. However, whether Vitamin D levels at one point predispose a child to developing TB is debated and not clear.
