University of Cape Town (UCT)
Universiteit van Kaapstad

South Africa

The University of Cape Town’s geographical vantage point at the tip of Africa offers an exhilarating research environment that combines excellence with impact.

As a leading research university (1st in Africa THE, QS, 2016; 148 in the world THE 2016), UCT is one of the best places in the world to research Africa-specific problems, from the chemistry of malarial drug discovery to the development of urban Africa. We have strong collaborative networks across the globe, and often form a nexus of partnerships between researchers in the global north and global south, particularly Africa. UCT is the first university in Africa to join the International Alliance of Research Universities (IARU). It is therefore not surprising that we attract researchers — from postgraduates and postdoctoral fellows to leaders in their field — from all over the continent and the world.

Experts in the southern skies

UCT is fast becoming Africa’s astronomy and cosmology hub. It includes global leaders in their field, such as Professor George Ellis, who co-wrote The Large Scale Structure of Space-Time with Stephen Hawking; Professor Michael Feast, who published his first paper in Nature at 21 and his most recent at the age of 87; and Professor Russ Taylor, who is leading our involvement in the Square Kilometre Array (SKA) project and the big data challenges it brings.

Climate and development

UCT has extensive interdisciplinary expertise in conservation, climate adaptation and community conflict. The AXA Research Fund awarded its first research chair in Africa to the director of the African Climate & Development Initiative, a leading interdisciplinary research group. The Percy FitzPatrick Institute was identified as a Centre of Excellence (CoE) in Birds as Keys to Biodiversity Conservation in 2004; UCT ranks 3rd in the world in ornithology (CWUR 2016). The Future Water Institute builds on UCT’s substantial research footprint in water and encompasses the skills and resources of 10 different departments across six faculties.

Healthcare for Africa

In a country that faces four epidemics, where most countries only have one or two, UCT has developed unique expertise in addressing healthcare in Africa. The Institute of Infectious Disease and Molecular Medicine (IDM) and the Drug Discovery and Development Centre (H3D) have produced ground-breaking research, particularly in HIV, TB and malaria. A Wellcome Centre for Infectious Diseases Research in Africa (CIDRI-Africa) – the first of its kind in Africa – will be established at UCT. In 2016, UCT received the highest number of direct awards, as well as the highest amount of funding, from the US National Institutes of Health (NIH) than any other higher education institution outside the US.

1 February 2017 - 31 January 2018

Region: Global
Subject/journal group: All

The table to the right includes counts of all research outputs for University of Cape Town (UCT) published between 1 February 2017 - 31 January 2018 which are tracked by the Nature Index.

Hover over the donut graph to view the WFC output for each subject. Below, the same research outputs are grouped by subject. Click on the subject to drill-down into a list of articles organized by journal, and then by title.

Note: Articles may be assigned to more than one subject area.

AC	FC	WFC
193	20.88	13.17

Outputs by subject (WFC)

Subject	AC	FC	WFC
Physical Sciences	156	13.18	5.48
Life Sciences	25	3.12	3.12
Chemistry	4	1.15	1.15
Earth & Environmental Sciences	11	3.83	3.83

Highlight of the month

Genomics gets personal for South Africa

The complete genome sequences of 24 individuals of different ethnic and linguistic ancestries have revealed the extensive genetic diversity of South Africa.

The study — the first report of its kind on Africans, fully funded by an African government and conducted locally — will serve as a springboard for future genetic studies of health and disease in this distinct population.

In an initial pilot project, researchers involved with the Southern African Human Genome Programme decoded the DNA of seven Sotho speakers from the Free State, eight Xhosa speakers from the Eastern Cape, one Zulu speaker from Gauteng, and eight people of mixed origin from the Western Cape.

The team, which included investigators from the University of Cape Town, identified notable genetic differences between groups of black South Africans who speak different but related languages. Plus, they found a much stronger South Asian ancestry in people of mixed heritage than had been documented previously.

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