Pneumococcal Disease Research Unit

Postgraduate supervision

The Unit offers supervision for postgraduate students (MSc and PhD). Please contact Mignon du Plessis (mignond@nicd.ac.za) or Peter Adrian (adrianp@hivsa.com) for further information. In addition, please submit a brief CV and letter of motivation indicating why you would be interested in joining our Unit.

The following degrees were conferred to students supervised in this Unit (2003-2007):

1. Dr Mark Nicol, MMed (Medical Microbiology) (Wits) 2003 for a Research Report entitled: “A randomised trial of the safety and immunogenicity of low dose Haemophilus conjugate vaccine in healthy infants at 6, 10 and 14 weeks of age”.
2. Prof Shabir Madhi, PhD (Wits) 2003 for a thesis entitled: “Impact of human immunodeficiency virus type-1 infection on the burden of lower respiratory tract infections and its prevention in children”.
3. Mr Garry Coulson, MSc (Wits) 2005 for a dissertation entitled: “Analysis of the genetic diversity of Neisseria meningitidis in South Africa”.
4. Dr Herbert Ludewick, PhD (Wits) 2007 for a thesis entitled: “Molecular and clinical epidemiology of human metapneumovirus in African children”.
5. Dr Nicole Wolter, PhD (Wits) 2007 for a thesis entitled: “Novel mechanisms of resistance to protein synthesis inhibitors in Streptococcus pneumoniae”.
6. Ms Kedibone Mothibeli, MSc (Wits) 2007 for a dissertation entitled: “Molecular epidemiology of South African serotype 3 and serotype 19A pneumococcal isolates”.

Students co-supervised:

1. Mr Peter Suwirakwenda Nyasulu, Master of Science (Med) in Epidemiology & Biostatistics, School of Public Health, University of the Witwatersrand, 2007, for a research report entitled “Risk factors for mortality in patients with invasive pneumococcal disease in South Africa”.

Students currently under supervision (2008):

1. Ms Chivonne Moodley, MSc (Wits). “Molecular characterisation of Neisseria meningitidis serogroup B causing invasive disease in South Africa, 2002-2006”. 2008-2009
2. Ms Morongwe Likoti, MTec (Vaal). “Effects of HIV and ARV therapy on the quantitative and functional assessment of antibody titers in response to a 7-valent pneumococcal vaccine”. 2007-2009
3. Ms Zelda Radebe, MSc (Wits). Clinical and molecular epidemiology of human bocavirus, new strains of coronavirus and rhinovirus by real time RT-PCR”. 2008-2010
4. Ms Zanele Ditse, MSc (Wits). “Effect of natural colonization by S. pneumoniae, on the systemic and mucosal immune responses to common pneumococcal protein antigens with immune protective potential”. 2008-2010
5. Mr Mashudu Madzivhandila MSc (Wits). “Development of a novel method for serotyping Streptococcus agalactiae isolates associated with maternal and neonatal colonization and invasive isolates from infants”. 2008-2010
6. Ms Omphile Simani, PhD (Wits). “Effects of HIV infection and treatment with ARV’s on immunological responses to childhood vaccines”. 2008-2011
7. Ms Kgomotso Lebogo, PhD (Wits). “Role of pneumococcal surface proteins in pneumococcal virulence using a mouse colonization model”. 2008-2011

Students currently under co-supervision (2008):

1. Mr Piotr Hippner. Master of Science (Med) in Epidemiology & Biostatistics, School of Public Health, University of the Witwatersrand, “Risk factors for trimethoprim-sulfamethoxazole resistance in Streptococcus pneumoniae causing invasive disease in South Africa, 2003-2006”. 2007-2008
2. Mrs Leigh Dini. PhD (Part time), University of the Witwatersrand, “Pneumocystis jirovecii pneumonia in South Africa” 2005-2010
3. Ms Bhavani Poonsamy, University of the Witwatersrand, “Resolution of mixed dihydropteroate synthase (DHPS) genotypes in respiratory specimens from patients with Pneumocystis jirovecii pneumonia in Gauteng, South Africa” 2008-2009