This is the news blog for the Department of Psychiatry
Dr. Olivia Matshabane, a neuroethics researcher in the South African Medical Research Council (SA MRC) Genomics of Brain Disorders Unit in the Department of Psychiatry at Stellenbosch University was awarded a R4.1-million seed grant from the African Academy of Sciences (AAS) and the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation (BMGF) in…
GALENOS: Global Alliance for Living Evidence on aNxiety, depressiOn and pSychosis Introducing the Fellows: Dr. Elugbadebo Olufisayo, MBBS, MSc, FWACP is an early career clinical and academic psychiatrist. She is a consultant psychiatrist at the University College Hospital, a lecturer at the University of Ibadan, Nigeria, and the Vice President…
GALENOS: Global Alliance for Living Evidence on aNxiety, depressiOn and pSychosis A new living evidence resource of early phase research for research prioritisation in mental health. The number of research publications is increasing every day, in all scientific areas including mental health. This makes it increasingly more…
Dr. Anusha Lachman, head of the Adolescent Psychiatry Unit at Tygerberg Hospital and senior lecturer in the Department of Psychiatry, Stellenbosch University, together with the Tygerberg Hospital Children’s Trust (THCT), a non-profit organization patronaged by The Desmond & Leah Tutu Legacy Foundation, received a R3.4 million grant from the Stavros…
By Kirsten Rowe on behalf of the organising committee; photos by Domenic Gorin. Mental illness is a huge contributor to the aggregate burden of “years lived with disability”. Half of all mental illness starts before the age of 14-years-old. Resource allocation to mental health care is generally limited and…
Prof Willie Pienaar, an Emeritus Professor in the Department of Psychiatry with more than 40 years of experience in healthcare (clinical and academic) published a book in Afrikaans titled ‘Sober – n’ Pratiese gid na vryheid van verslawing’. What inspired Prof Piennar to write this book? As clinicians, educationists,…
In 2023, the Department of Psychiatry enrolled the first students for the new MSc in Neuroscience degree, a research-based programme with no study modules. The aim of the programme is to train researchers who can contribute toward the biopsychosocial understanding of neuropsychiatric disorders and develop much-needed research capacity in neuroscience in…
Dr’s Angus Fletcher, Kholofelo Morodi, Musa Ngwenya, and Sinombulelo Booi joined the MMed (Psychiatry) programme in February 2023. Dr. Flecther completed his MBChB degree at the University of Pretoria after growing up under the purple canopy of the Jacaranda trees. He then set his sights on Cape Town, where…
At the Stellenbosch University December 2022 graduation ceremony, the Department of Psychiatry, Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences had 3 PhD graduates: Dr Jaiyeola A. Kajero investigated the potential attenuating effects of cannabidiol (CBD) on antipsychotic-induced vacuous chewing movements, behavioural and biochemical aberrations, and cognitive and negative symptoms of schizophrenia…
Dr. Stéfan du Plessis is a clinician scientist who specializes in MRI neuroimaging with related software and hardware development and has over ten years of experience in the field. He received his MBChB from Stellenbosch University in 2005. In 2019 he completed his PhD, where he investigated the impact of…