Northcliff professor scoops Titan awards
NORTCLIFF – Local professor wins award for TB research.
Titans Building Nations Recognition Awards bestowed two awards upon Professor Bavesh Kana in the Medical and Veterinary category for South Africa and the Southern African Development Community region.
Prof Kana runs the DST/NRF Centre of Excellence for Biomedical TB Research at Wits University where he conducts research focused on the eradication of TB from human society.
Prof Kana pointed out that because South Africa carries the largest number of Tuberculosis (TB) cases, per capita in the world, the situation requires urgent and effective intervention.
He added that TB was the number one killer above all other diseases and that he was dedicated to changing the face of TB in South Africa and beyond. With 13 years of experience in the field, Prof Kana has conducted research focused on the eradication of TB from human society.
His work has shed new light on how tubercle bacillus enters or exits from a dormant state, and he studies how these phenomena ultimately determine the outcome of TB infection in HIV positive/negative people.
He expects that the results of his research will shed new light on how HIV infection accelerates TB disease and results in a poor clinical outcome. Prof Kana has also played a central role in the development of industry standards that have allowed for the roll out of new TB diagnostics in about 30 countries.
His translational research programme aims to identify new drug targets for TB, which will allow for the development of a new, shortened treatment regimen, with an associated reduction in daily pill burden.
He pointed out that one and half million people worldwide have died from TB, for which treatment is available.
“There are various treatment methods available but we need to find new drugs that will kill the bacteria faster so people can heal easier,” he concluded.
