Wellcome Discovery
Wellcome Discovery Award: Breaking New Ground in Brain Infection Research
Tuberculous meningitis (TBM) is the most severe manifestation of tuberculosis, carrying high rates of mortality and long-term neurological disability in children. Despite its devastating impact, our understanding of the disease’s underlying mechanisms remains limited — largely due to the challenges of studying the brain directly during active infection.
The African Brain Child team is proud to lead a transformative research programme supported by the Wellcome Discovery Award — a prestigious 8-year grant that enables us to investigate disease mechanisms and treatment responses in TBM with unprecedented precision.
Led by Professor Anthony Figaji at the University of Cape Town, this research introduces a novel method to study TBM at the site of disease — the brain itself. By adapting existing clinical tools, we are now able to safely collect high-frequency cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) samples directly from the brain via ventricular drains, allowing for dynamic, real-time analysis of disease processes.
This work addresses long-standing limitations in TBM research, including: inability to access direct brain samples during infection, reliance on single time-point or spinal CSF measurements that may not reflect true cerebral pathology, and limited understanding of drug distribution in the brain.
A New Frontier in TBM Research
This programme brings together a multidisciplinary team across clinical neuroscience, pharmacology, infectious diseases, and complex data science. In addition to strengthening the research infrastructure at the University of Cape Town, we are creating research capacity in the Neurosurgery Unit at Inkosi Albert Luthuli Central Hospital, University of KwaZulu-Natal under the leadership of Professor Basil Enicker.
The project also benefits from international collaboration with the Metabolomics and Complex Data Analysis Science and Technology Platforms at the Francis Crick Institute in London — allowing for high-resolution analysis of a rich and unique dataset from the site of disease.
Building Regional Capacity and Global Partnerships
The Wellcome Discovery Award represents a significant endorsement of the scientific excellence emerging from the African continent. It reflects confidence in our ability to deliver pioneering research in clinical neuroscience and contribute globally relevant insights from a high-burden setting.
This investment not only advances our understanding of childhood brain infections, but also strengthens local research ecosystems, fosters international collaboration, and supports the training of future scientific leaders in Africa.
Through this programme, we are laying the groundwork for a new era of brain infection research — informed by the realities of our context, and guided by the highest standards of scientific inquiry.
This project is more than science. It’s a bold vision for the future of healthcare in Africa.
A Milestone for African Neuroscience
