About us
The BMRI Clinical Team forms part of the Stellenbosch University Division of Immunology, and we are situated on Tygerberg Medical Campus. We are led by Prof ST Malherbe and supported by a team of more than 30 staff members in various roles. The team coordinates multiple observational and interventional studies as well as clinical trials. The research scope spans several disciplines including infectious disease biomarkers, diagnostics, treatment response monitoring, and disease. The group possesses the required infrastructure, expertise and networks to lead, or support translational research and clinical trials.
Infrastructure includes facilities for consultation, sample collection, and both point-of-care and special investigations; the software and hardware for direct electronic data capturing, as well as paper-based source storage; and the BMRI bronchoscopy suite, which allows the collection of precious site-of-disease samples. The team’s expertise includes budget preparation, ethical and scientifically sound study design, protocol writing, database design, application for all levels of regulatory approvals, project coordination, participant recruitment and clinical management, sample collection and transport, and interpretation and dissemination of research findings. We also have knowledge of the local population and healthcare structures. The team has an extensive database of patients and also has active recruiting networks in urban (Northern Cape Town), peri-urban (Drakenstein municipality), and rural (Saldanha Bay Municipality) areas.
Our specialized collaborative networks include the various laboratories and storage facilities of the SU Division of Immunology; the Numeri Node for Infectious Imaging, with a PET-CT scanner
dedicated to infectious research; the SU Institute for Biomedical Engineering, with whom we have ongoing projects to develop new tools for image analysis and point-of-care diagnosis; community partnerships to ensure ongoing outreach and awareness drive; our community advisory board (CAB), who provide valuable feedback and guidance to ensure that a clinical study and its findings are well received and acceptable to the local population.
Due to the experience with recruiting participants with COVID-19 and tuberculosis, the team has high standards for infection control in our environment.