K-RITH Director William Bishai tours the site of a new 40,000 sq. ft. K-RITH building on the Nelson R. Mandela School of Medicine campus in Durban, South Africa.
HHMI, UKZN Collaboration Spurs New TB/HIV Research Institute
The KwaZulu-Natal Research Institute for Tuberculosis and HIV (K-RITH) is a groundbreaking collaboration between the Howard Hughes Medical Institute and the University of KwaZulu-Natal in South Africa (UKZN).
K-RITH’s mission is to conduct outstanding basic science research on tuberculosis (TB) and HIV, translate the scientific findings into new tools to control TB and HIV, and expand the educational opportunities in the region. K-RITH is an independent research institute, led by William R. Bishai, that will work in collaboration with UKZN and other academic and clinical institutions in South Africa and around the world. Their goal is that discoveries made in the heart of the TB and HIV epidemics will drive innovation to control the deadly diseases.
Why Here? Why Now? Partners in HIV and TB Research
Faces, voices, and words from KwaZulu-Natal.
The new institute will be housed in a state-of-the-art, 40,000 sq. ft. research building on the campus of the Nelson R. Mandela School of Medicine on the UKZN campus in Durban, South Africa. The building will contain approximately 6,000 sq. ft. of biosafety level-3 laboratory space to enable the safe handling of HIV and the bacteria that cause TB, Mycobacterium tuberculosis and drug-resistant M. tuberculosis.
In addition to its research mission, K-RITH is committed to expanding the TB and HIV research capabilities of scientists throughout Africa. They will capitalize on the motivation of young scientists to address the crises of TB and HIV. The ties to UKZN and other institutions in Africa, North America, Europe, and Asia will enable K-RITH investigators to work with innovative scientists both locally and globally.
