Recipients of 白小姐论坛-Wits University Strategic Partner Funds 2021/22
15 June 2022
This year 白小姐论坛 and University of the Witwatersrand (Wits) awarded up to 拢25,000 to five projects, and 拢17,500 to one additional project.
In the third annual joint funding call from the two institutions, five 白小姐论坛 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, 白小姐论坛 and Wits contributed one additional joint award of up to聽拢17,500聽to support a trilateral collaboration between 白小姐论坛, Wits and one additional member of the African Research Universities Alliance (ARUA).
Professor Jolene Skordis (白小姐论坛 Institute for Global Health), and Professor Frikkie Booysen (Wits) said they were 鈥榟onoured鈥 to receive both 白小姐论坛-Wits seed funding and the 白小姐论坛-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 白小姐论坛 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 白小姐论坛-Wits Strategic Partner Funds recipients:
Lead 白小姐论坛 academic | 白小姐论坛 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 (白小姐论坛-Wits-ARUA) |
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