Pathcare Research Committee

Purpose

The PathCare Research Committee (PRC) is a subcommittee of the Board, and acts to secure the integrity of research done at PathCare.  This includes operational research, evaluating best practice, research linked to educational programmes or degrees, research aimed at publications and research/innovations with a view to new developments and/or products. The committee facilitates and enables research by providing an easy to use structure to register projects, update progress reports and to link investigators to resources that can support their work.

Guidelines to do research on the PathCare platform (download document)

Committee Members

• Prof Dominique Goedhals (Chair)
• Ms Miekie Treurnicht (Vice-chair)
• Dr Ryan Soldin
• Dr Bongani Mhemedi
• Dr Francois Smit
• Dr Nadine Cronjé

Register your project

PathCare supports research on its platform that adds value to our role in patient management as part of the healthcare team

The following documents should be submitted via the secretariat to register projects with the PRC (research@pathcare.net):

• Checklist for registration of project (download document)
• Research proposal
• Datasheet detailing all variables that will be requested during data extraction (where relevant)
• Detailed budget and timeline, if not included in the research proposal
• Proof of approval by a registered ethics committee
• Proof of registration for degree/diploma/other qualification (where applicable)
• Signed approval from PathCare site head/discipline head confirming that PathCare can support the proposed research in that environment (download document)
• All researchers not employed by PathCare should sign a non-disclosure agreement (download documents: South Africa; Namibia)

 The following documents should be submitted via the secretariat to register case study/series with the PRC (research@pathcare.net) 

• Checklist for registration of case reports (download document)
• Proof of approval by a registered ethics committee if required by the journal/affiliated institution OR if the case report includes >3 cases
• Patient informed consent
• Draft of report (Note: this must be submitted for PRC review either with the registration application or prior to submission for publication/presentation) 
• All researchers not employed by PathCare should sign a non-disclosure agreement (download documents: South Africa; Namibia)

Information regarding additional funding for projects

In order to facilitate the execution of registered research projects, the PathCare Research Committee can consider applications for amounts up to R20 000.

These funds can be used for additional laboratory tests, statistical analysis or publication fees. All applications will be evaluated on merit, within the restrictions of our annual budget.

Application for PRC seed funding: Download Form

Information regarding travel funding

In order to support travel for congress presentations (oral/poster), the PathCare Research Committee can consider applications which may include any two of the following: Accommodation, travel, registration costs.  

Applications can be made by emailing the PRC (research@pathcare.net) 

Research Outputs for 2025

PathCare Staff that have contributed to research publications are listed below:

Title

Knowledge, attitudes and practices to hepatitis B among South African primary healthcare staff

Antimicrobial resistance and molecular typing of Neisseria gonorrhoeae isolates from the Eastern Cape province in South Africa

Clinical and Histopathological Findings in HIV-positive to HIV-positive Kidney Transplant Recipients

Feasibility and safety of the sentinel lymph node procedure for early vulval cancer in a low-resource high HIV-prevalence setting: a pilot study.

Treatment outcomes of Epstein-Barr virus-associated nasopharyngeal carcinoma

A comparative analysis of somatic mutational profiles according to HIV status among women with cervical intraepithelial neoplasia 3 (CIN3): a focus on hotspots in TP53, PIK3CA, PTEN, and EGFR.

Host Somatic Variation In HIV/HPV Co-infected Women With Precancerous Lesions (CIN3)

Mapping oral medicine (stomatology) and oral and maxillofacial pathology international organizations: a scoping review of global data and historical analysis

New insights into ameloblastic fibromas, fibrodentinomas, and fibro-odontomas: findings from an international multicenter study

Odontogenic Sarcomas: Clinicopathologic Analysis and Immunohistochemical Expression of BRAF and SOX9 in a Multicenter Series of 10 Cases

Investigating the Role of DNA Ploidy and Proliferation Index in Distinguishing Ameloblastoma from Ameloblastic Carcinoma

Tracing the spatial origins and spread of SARS-CoV-2 Omicron lineages in South Africa

Hepatitis B seroprevalence among HIV-positive adults in the Free State, South Africa

Whole genome sequencing of hepatitis B virus using tiled amplicon (HEPTILE) and probe based enrichment on Illumina and Nanopore platforms

SARS-CoV-2 seroepidemiology in Cape Town, South Africa, and implications for future outbreaks in low-income communities

Breast carcinoma tumour-infiltrating lymphocytes in pre- and post-systemic therapy in HIV-positive and HIV-negative women

Case report: Brucella canis infection in a resident of the Eastern Cape Province, South Africa

First vasectomy procedure successfully performed on a Southern African male giraffe (Giraffa camelopardalis giraffa)

The double-edged role of point-of-care testing in modern medicine

Anatomy and baseline histology of the hoof capsule, corium, and digital cushion in free-ranging southern giraffe (Giraffa giraffa)