Two registrars at the Division of Clinical Pharmacology at Stellenbosch University's (SU) Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences (FMHS) contributed to SU's stellar research reputation at the 2016 All Africa Congress on Pharmacology and Pharmacy.

Dr Ahmed Abulfathi won first prize for his presentation on Evaluation of the effectiveness of Dose Individualisation to achieve therapeutic Vancomycin concentrations, while Dr Memela Makiwane was awarded the second prize for his presentation on Adverse drug reactions in Paediatric in-patients in a South-African tertiary hospital: A prospective observational study.

The congress was jointly hosted by the South African Society for Basic and Clinical Pharmacology (SASBCP), the Academy of Pharmaceutical Sciences of South Africa (APSSA), the Toxicology Society of South Africa (TOXSA) and Pharmacology for Africa (PHARFA). The theme of the congress was "Evidence in Action."

"Vancomycin is an antimicrobial used mainly to treat methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus. Therapeutic vancomycin plasma concentrations are related to bacterial cure," Abulfathi summarised the relevance of his study.

Makiwane's research analysed the rate of occurrence of adverse drug reactions which result in hospitalisation or develop while children are admitted to hospital.

"The All Africa Congress is an important conference that brings together various disciplines such as regulatory medicine physicians, toxicologists and researchers in various fields including paediatrics, infectious diseases and rheumatology to discuss and promote research and education for the purpose of advancing evidence-based health care delivery," says Makiwane. "Presenting at this conference is an opportunity to tap into this rich network of key opinion leaders and potentially forge future collaborations and relationships."

Abulfathi agrees. "Clinical pharmacology is a fascinating specialty that deals with all aspects of drug use in humans. It is a translational discipline that provides great potential for collaboration with almost every other specialty."

Abulfathi, who looks forward to a career in academia, says he is pleased to have represented his university, teachers and mentors. "The prize was a result of their mentorship."

Caption: Drs Ahmed Abulfathi and Memela Makiwane won the first and second prize respectively for their presentations at the All Africa Congress on Pharmacology and Pharmacy.