Hatter Institute

Professor Karen Sliwa speaker at DMM 2015

Hatter Institute — Thu, 07 May 2015 13:18:23 +0000

Director, Professor Karen Silwa, has been invited to speak at the DMM 2015 (DAYS OF MOLECULAR MEDICINE) on Heart Disease in Africa- Gaps and Opportunities,taking place on 7-8 May 2015.

Please follow the link provided to find out more about the DMM 2015

http://conference.ki.se/dmm/

Dr Gasnat Shaboodien Receives Prestigious Awards

Hatter Institute — Tue, 05 May 2015 09:37:49 +0000

Senior Research Officer, Dr Gasnat Shaboodien (PhD) has recently been honoured with two very prestigious awards. The first is the NRF Research Career Award Fellowship for 2015, which includes 5 years of funding. The second is the MRC Self-initiated Research Grants for 2015 including funding for 3 years.

Hatter Institute — Fri, 06 Mar 2015 10:05:54 +0000

Gerald Maarman Graduation

Dr Gerald Maarman, Hatter Institute student supervised by Prof Sandrine Lecour and Prof Karen Sliwa,was awarded his PhD in December 2014 for his project entitled Cardioprotection in pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH): A novel role of the SAFE pathway in a model of pulmonary arterial hypertension.

Hatter Institute — Thu, 05 Mar 2015 15:33:31 +0000

French Collaborators visit the Hatter institute

Prof. A. Mebazaa, Prof. Etienne Gayat, Dr. Jane-Lise Samuel and colleagues from University Diderot, Inserm, Paris, France visited the Hatter Institute for Cardiovascular Research in Africa, where the first of 2 planned collaborative workshops took place in February 2015.They are part of a larger collaboration and a formal Memorandum of Understanding has been signed between the University of Cape Town and the University Diderot, Inserm, Paris, France. The research focus of this collaboration is to explore the role of biomarkers for the diagnosis and risk stratification in women presenting with cardiac disease in pregnancy. Prof Mebazaa, Dr Jane-Lise Samuel and Prof Etienne Gayat delivered stimulating lectures on Biomarkers in Heart Failure/Cardiovascular Disease and the GREAT Network.

However, Prof.Mebazaa and Dr. Dike Ojii (NIH Millenium Postdoctoral Fellow) were almost blown away by the strong Cape winds

Hatter Institute — Thu, 05 Mar 2015 15:21:45 +0000

Visit of Sir Maurice Hatter

We were delighted to have one of our main supporters, Sir Maurice Hatter, visit our Institute where he spent the morning interacting with staff and students.

The work of Professor Karen Sliwa, Director of the Hatter Institute, has been highlighted in a recent profile article in the Lancet (July, 2014).

Hatter Institute — Wed, 16 Jul 2014 09:54:33 +0000

Lancet – Karen Sliwa profile article

Visiting NIH Millennium Chronic Disease Leadership Programme PhD candidates

Hatter Institute — Fri, 04 Jul 2014 08:50:32 +0000

Mrs Angela Hobbs and Mrs Vanesa Pillay, PhD students on the NIH Millennium Chronic Disease Leadership Programme were invited to the Hatter Institute to give talks on their research projects. Mrs Hobbs gave an interesting talk on Gestational diabetes in black South African women. Mrs Pillay covered the topic of Identifying Genetic markers of Obesity Risk in a South African Black Population.

Left: Mrs Angela Hobbs; Centre: Prof Karen Sliwa; Right: Mrs Vanesa Pillay

Hatter Students Graduate – 20 June 2014

Hatter Institute — Sat, 28 Jun 2014 13:09:06 +0000

Dr Mzwandile Mbele

Dr Gaurang Deshpande

Gaurang Deshpande was awarded his PhD in June 2014. His project focused on testing metabolic and pharmacological agents for recovery following de novo acute heart failure in an isolated rat heart model. He is currently pursuing a Postdoctoral Fellowship with Prof Bongani Mayosi focusing on the role of FAM111B in fibrosis.

Mzwandile Mbele was awarded his PhD in June 2014. His project focused on the molecular genetics of Arrhythmogenic Right Ventricular and Dilated cardiomyopathy in South Africans. He is currently pursuing a Postdoctoral Fellowship with Prof Bongani Mayosi focusing on the prevalence and functional effects of PARVA and HMGXB3 gene mutations in South African patients with cardiomyopathy.

ANNUAL B-A-HEF STUDY MEETING: 26th & 27th May 2014

Hatter Institute — Mon, 02 Jun 2014 13:18:50 +0000

The Hatter Institute for Cardiovascular Research in Africa hosted the ANNUAL B-A-HEF STUDY MEETING on the 26th & 27th May 2014. Invited Study Investigators and Sponsors from across Africa and the USA attended.

The Hatter Institute hosted the annual B-A-HEF Meeting on the 26^{TH &}27^th MAY 2014. The two days were spent giving feedback on the study statistics, goals of the study including the challenges researchers face doing research in Africa. Recruitment has been a particular challenge due to the strict eligibility criteria, thus a lot of time was invested into brain storming different methods to approach this problem.

The way forward was discussed with the investigators and help was offered in various ways to help the investigators that came from six other countries in Africa.

During the above two days further capacity building was discussed with the African network partners with regards to an imminent German grant from the ‘Bundesministerium für Bildung und Forschung’ that is on offer to interested investigators.

Titin gene mutations are common in families with both peripartum cardiomyopathy and dilated cardiomyopathy.

Hatter Institute — Mon, 24 Mar 2014 09:51:07 +0000

Van Spaendonck-Zwarts, Posafalvi A, van der Berg MP, Hilfiker-Kleiner D, Bollen IAE, Sliwa K, Alders M, Almomani R, van Langen IM, van der Meer P, Sinke RJ,van der Velden J,Van Veldhuisen DJ, van Tintelen JP. Titin gene mutations are common in families with both peripartum cardiomyopathy and dilated cardiomyopathy. Eur Heart J, doi: 10.1093/eurheartj/ehu050. Advanced Access published February 20, 2014.