Brain gain: an African institute of excellence

Brain gain
An African institute
of excellence
The University of Cape Town (UCT) Neuroscience Institute is
designed to be comprehensive and cross-cutting, making it possible
for experts in diverse fields to come together to better understand
African challenges: the interplay between the brain and conditions
like trauma and infection, and its consequences.
In 1979, former UCT professor and
physicist Allan Cormack won the Nobel
Prize in Medicine for inventing CT
(computerised tomography) scanning.
Now, 40 years later and in the same
building where Cormack did his
research, there is an institute dedicated
to the human brain.
The director of the UCT
Neuroscience Institute and Mauerberger
Chair of Neurosurgery, Professor
Graham Fieggen, is a passionate
advocate for, in his words, “doing away
with false compartmentalisation when it
comes to the human brain”.
“While there has been a tendency
for clinicians and researchers to get
stuck in the perspective of their
training – whether that was neurology,
neurosurgery or psychiatry – it is
important to remember that we are all
10
treating the same brain,” he says.
“It is therefore essential to give the
next generation of specialists a much
broader understanding of the brain.”
According to Fieggen this is one
of the characteristics which sets the
Neuroscience Institute apart from other
such facilities. “Having a centre which
offers truly multi-disciplinary training
and the chance for patients to be
assessed in a holistic way is very exciting
and a first for Africa.”
Matthew Wood, a UCT alumnus
and professor of neuroscience at the
University of Oxford, believes that the
institute is unique. “It combines clinical
excellence with deep expertise in major
areas of neuroscience, such as brain
infections, which are a high priority
for African and developing-world
populations.
“This, coupled with a special focus
on paediatric populations, means that
the Neuroscience Institute will, in time,
make a powerful contribution to global
neuroscience.”
Breadth of brain research
Another defining characteristic of the
Neuroscience Institute is the scope
of its research. In addition to offering
a postgraduate programme and
specialised professional training, the
institute’s members are involved in
broad-ranging research related to the
brain.
“There is a huge array of work being
done: in the community and clinics
through to operating theatres and
the laboratory,” says Fieggen. “These
vary greatly: from a multi-year study of
1 000 mother-child pairs to intensive

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