Durban – A young South African scientist walked away with a prestigious HIV/AIDS research award when five scientific awards to recognise exceptional research were presented at the 21st International AIDS Conference, which ends in Durban on Friday.
Dr Sinaye Ngcapu was awarded the AIDS 2016 Women, Girls and HIV Investigator's Prize for his winning abstract entitled ‘The effect of injectable hormonal contraceptives on vaginal epithelium thickness and genital HIV target cell density in women recently infected with HIV’. The announcement was made at the Symposium Session at the AIDS 2016 conference.
Ngcapu works for the Centre for the Aids Programme of Research in South Africa (CAPRISA).
The honours were presented to 10 recipients by the International AIDS Society (IAS), the organiser of the Aids conference. IAS said this prize highlights the impact of HIV on women and girls and seeks to encourage investigators from low-and middle-income countries to pursue research in this area. Ngcapu won himself R28 000 for his efforts.
Makhahliso Jubilee from Lesotho was awarded a prize for Excellence in HIV Research Related to Children. The prize supports investigators demonstrating excellence in research that is likely to lead to improved services for children affected by HIV in low- or middle-income countries.
Munyaradzi Pasipamire from Swaziland was recognised for her research, ‘Evaluating the incremental value of using the TB LAM test in intensified case finding for TB in people living with HIV’.
The IAS said supporting talented researchers, across a variety of scientific disciplines is a key component of the organisation’s mission.
“These prizes encourage outstanding researchers to focus on some of the greatest scientific challenges associated with the HIV epidemic, to put forth their best efforts to improve our understanding of HIV, and develop the knowledge and tools that can have a global impact on this epidemic,” said IAS President Chris Beyrer. – SAnews.gov.za
