Wits Health Sciences Research News September 2013

Dr Bavesh Kana, Head of the Wits University node of the DST/NRF Centre of Excellence for Biomedical TB Research was recently promoted to Reader/Associate Professor in the School of Pathology. He completed his PhD degree and Postdoctoral Fellowship in the Molecular Mycobacteriology Research Unit in the Faculty of Health Sciences, University of the Witwatersrand. Dr Kana also holds an appointment as an Early Career Scientist of the Howard Hughes Medical Institute. He has worked in several US institutions including the University of Pennsylvania, Texas A&M University, the Public Health Research Institute and Harvard Medical School.
He holds an NRF C3 rating, the Friedel Sellschop Research Award and the prestigious MRC Career Development Award. In June 2012, Dr Kana was selected as one of the “Mail & Guardian 200 Young South Africans”. The selection was based on outstanding contributions each young South African has made in their respective fields and to society in general.
His research is aimed at the identification and validation of novel drug targets for tuberculosis (TB). He and his colleagues study important metabolic pathways in Mycobacterium tuberculosis, the causative agent of TB, and their relationship to virulence and human disease. Congratulations on your appointment, Professor Kana!