Research Projects
In vitro Molecular RNA-seq data for rapid diagonostic testing and validating RT-qPCR reference genes for studying respiratory specimens from Persons Under Investigation (PUIs), with Suspected or Confirmed Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19).
The SARS coronavirus (SCoV) appears to be zoonotic and to have originated in wild mammals in southern China. A coronavirus comprises single-stranded RNA inside a lipid envelope. Coronaviruses cause a substantial fraction of human colds and a number of common respiratory infections in other animals…
Understanding Droplet Transmission in a clinical environment
This project performs a Continuum Fluid Dynamics CFD study of droplet based transmission and airborne transmission for Tuberculosis (TB) and COVID-19 scenarios in real clinical environments. The study focuses on the probability of infection for either disease as a function of the environment and…
Artificial Intelligence and Diagnosis based on Multiple Data Sources
This project is a large interdisciplinary partnership of Doctors, Public Health Researchers, Data Scientists, Physicists and Engineers. It combines the data sets represented by several sources, including images of chest X-rays, audio recordings of coughs and set sentences, and Natural Language…
Understanding Droplet Transmission in a Taxi
This project performs a Continuum Fluid Dynamics CFD study of droplet based transmission and airborne transmission for Tuberculosis (TB) and COVID-19 scenarios in a Taxi environments. The final goal of the study is to guide development of disruptive and innovative interventions for a Taxi to…
A 12-month Prospective study: A Self-reported outcome of South African population recovering from COVID-19 pandemic
The brief purpose of this study is to determine the patient-reported outcomes of participants recovering from COVID-19. This is a longitudinal study seeking to study the same population over a period of 12 months in intermittent timepoints. This study will collect data and assess the change in…
Wastewater-Based Epidemiology for Covid-19 Detection
The concept of wastewater-based epidemiology (WBE) has been used extensively for the detection of drug use patterns and disease incidence from a population perspective. Recently researchers have proposed SARS-CoV-2 sewage-monitoring plan as a form of an early warning system. It can have an…
What is South Africa’s healthcare response to COVID-19: A mapping and situational analysis study
This study is comprised of three sub-studies that together make up our research into the healthcare response to COVID-19.
Firstly, we will conduct a policy review: to identify and analyse what the South African health policy and guideline documents specify as ‘the response’ in…
The questions of Social justice in university education during COVID-19 with a focus on the University of Johannesburg Library StaffJ.
COVID-19 outbreak brought a sudden change in the manner in which both staff and students conducted academic business at the University. The closure of academic campuses and the suspension of face to face contact meant that staff and students had to adapt to the online environment with immediate…
The University of Johannesburg students' Use of Technology to Consume Library Services During the COVID -19: Challenges and Benefits
The COVID -19 outbreak led to the closure of academic institutions worldwide, leading to the introduction of online teaching and learning. Students had to consume the University's academic services electronically. Library services (access to online material and information literacy training)…
The University of Johannesburg Library staff Use of Technology During the COVID -19 : Challenges and Benefits
The COVID -19 pandemic caught everybody off-guard. The sudden mandatory closure of academic institutions and the resultant use of online learning impacted on the University as a whole. The Library had to respond to the change and continue to provide teaching and learning and, research support…
Health facility-based observational studies to investigate interaction and overlap between SARS- CoV2, HIV-1 and M. tuberculosis infections (HIATUS)
This programme of projects is focused on understanding and providing information on the clinical presentation and pathogenesis of COVID-19 in the South African population.
Researchers in the HIATUS programme of four related projects will invite hospitalised COVID-19 patients to…
Design and testing of novel viral fusion inhibitors against SARS-CoV-2
This project has employed computational (in silico) methods to design a novel class of inhibitors against the SARS-CoV-2 virus (COVID-19). The project has employed state-of-the-art computer-aided drug design (CADD) methods to develop an initial library of putative small molecule inhibitors. Because…