Professor Viness Pillay, Director of the Wits Advanced Drug Delivery Platform Research Unit and his team have been awarded a new Center of Excellence (CoE) in “Translational Neuromaterials” by the African Network for Drugs and Diagnostics Innovation (ANDI). This new CoE will be integrated into their existing CoE on “Advanced Drug Delivery Technology” previously awarded by ANDI and to will be renamed as “Advanced Drug Delivery Technology and Translational Neuromaterials”. The focus of the all-encompassing CoE will be on the development of drug delivery technologies specifically targeting neurological disorders and includes the brain, spinal cord, cranial nerves, peripheral nerves and nerve roots.
Emphasis will be placed on epilepsy, neurodegenerative disorders such as Parkinson’s disease and Alzheimer’s disease and other dementias, cerebrovascular diseases including stroke, migraine and other headache disorders, multiple sclerosis, neuroinfections, brain tumours, traumatic disorders such as brain trauma and neurological disorders as a result of malnutrition.
The future of nanoscience is poised to make significant life changing breakthroughs for human kind in this defined area of Translational Neuromaterials, i.e. advanced biomaterials modified for the enhanced treatment of neurological disorders. The team will design translational neuromaterials for pharmaceutically-enhanced neuro-gadgets and implantable neurodevices to target human neuro-spaces that will allow us to effectively treat individuals suffering from chronically debilitating CNS illnesses.
Story by: The Wits Health Sciences Research News – February 2016
