Recipients of MyAV范-Wits University Strategic Partner Funds 2021/22

15 June 2022

This year MyAV范 and University of the Witwatersrand (Wits) awarded up to 拢25,000 to five projects, and 拢17,500 to one additional project.

Exterior view of the Great Hall at University of the Witwatersrand in Johannesburg

In the third annual joint funding call from the two institutions, five MyAV范 academics and their counterparts at Wits University received up to 拢5,000 each.

The funds will go towards supporting their projects in diverse subject areas including the treatment of neurodegenerative disease, voter behaviour in Zimbabwe, and weather and climate models.

This year, MyAV范 and Wits contributed one additional joint award of up to聽拢17,500聽to support a trilateral collaboration between MyAV范, Wits and one additional member of the African Research Universities Alliance (ARUA).

Professor Jolene Skordis (MyAV范 Institute for Global Health), and Professor Frikkie Booysen (Wits) said they were 鈥榟onoured鈥� to receive both MyAV范-Wits seed funding and the MyAV范-Wits-ARUA Strategic Partner Fund award. They added:

鈥淭his combination of funding has already established a new research consortium (the Lelapa Consortium) and enabled a novel household survey investigating family wellbeing and capabilities in South Africa.聽 Most importantly, this funding has established new collaborations between Wits聽and MyAV范 and includes also new work with the University of Pretoria.

鈥淭he flexibility of this funding is uniquely enabling and the two funds have built upon one-another seamlessly, to maximise innovation and research impact, including the development of early career researchers, in a short period of time.聽We are already working on our next grant applications together and have the sense that this is only the start of a long and fruitful relationship.鈥�

Congratulations to all the 2021/22 MyAV范-Wits Strategic Partner Funds recipients:

Lead MyAV范 academic	MyAV范 department	Project
Prof Marc Deisenroth	Department of Computer Science	Collaborative Visit on Scalable Gaussian Processes in Statistical Downscaling of Weather and Climate Models
Amy Geard	Wits/SAMRC Anti-Viral Gene Therapy Research Unit, School of Pathology, Faculty of Health Science	Upscaling production of adeno-associated viral vectors for treatment of neurodegenerative disease
Dr Adam Harris	Social and Historical Sciences/ Political Science	Pulling for the Party: the impact of party foot soldiers on voter behaviour in Zimbabwe鈥檚 polarised political space
Prof Lewis Philip	Department of Geography and National Centre for Earth Observation	Crop monitoring in an era of big earth observation data
Prof Jolene Skordis	Institute for Global Health	LELAPA: A Consortium for the Study of Family Health and Development
Prof Jolene Skordis	Institute for Global Health	The importance of time and resilience: investigating household factors that impact on child development and well-being in rural South Africa (MyAV范-Wits-ARUA)

More information

MyAV范-Wits Strategic Partner Funds 2020/21 recipients

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