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03 August 2020 | Story Nitha Ramnath | Photo Supplied
Prof Ivan Turok.
The University of the Free State is pleased to announce that the Human Sciences Research Council’s (HSRC) Prof Ivan Turok has been awarded a research chair by the South African Research Chairs Initiative (SARChI). Prof Turok is one of South Africa’s most cited social scientists. He will hold the Research Chair in City-Region Economies in the Department of Economics and Finance and the Centre for Development Support at the UFS. The UFS is now home to six SARChI chairs.  

The research chair is the first partnership of its kind between a South African university and the HSRC. The chair will seek to understand how cities can accelerate economic growth and inclusive development in SA. It will analyse why some cities are more successful than others, and what policies and practices can improve conditions for citizens and communities. It will also provide funding to increase research capacity through the appointment of postdoctoral, PhD, and master’s students.

SARChI is a government intervention aimed at strengthening the scientific research and innovation capacity of South African universities. It was established by the Department of Science and Technology in 2006 and is managed by the National Research Foundation (NRF). According to the NRF, its prestigious research chair is awarded to established researchers who are recognised internationally for their research contributions.  

“Prof Turok’s appointment as Research Chair is a great honour for the university. He is a highly rated researcher and his knowledge of city-region economies will be of exceptional value to the university’s research portfolio, as well as to the country’s agenda of transforming urban areas. Our country is in dire need of research in this area, in which Prof Turok will be playing a significant role,” said Prof Francis Petersen, Rector and Vice-Chancellor of the UFS. 

According to Prof Lochner Marais, Head of the UFS Centre for Development Support, the research chair will have four main themes: The Urban System – Demographics and Economics; Economic Sectors in Space; Dynamic Places; and Strategic Urban Assets. The chair brings together research from the Departments of Economics and Finance, Urban and Regional Planning, and the Centre for Development Support. The long-term goal is to develop the chair into a centre of excellence.

“The chair is co-funded by the South African Cities Network. All research will speak directly to the South African Cities Network’s agenda of transforming urban areas in the country,” Prof Marais adds.

In congratulating Prof Turok, the CEO of the Human Sciences Research Council, Prof Crain Soudien, said, “It is fitting that this research chair has been awarded to Prof Turok.  It is a culmination of many years of work in the area of city regions through which he has earned a sterling reputation as a scholar in this area of work.”

Prof Turok has authored more than 150 peer-reviewed publications and 11 books/monographs. He holds an NRF B1-rating and is the former Editor-in-Chief of the top international journal, Regional Studies. He is currently Executive Director: Economic Performance and Development at the Human Sciences Research Council and was Chairman of the Durban City Planning Commission. He was formerly Professor of Urban Economic Development, and Director of Research: Department of Urban Studies at the University of Glasgow. Prof Turok was also a Mellon Fellow at the University of Cape Town and Professor of Urban and Regional Planning at the University of Strathclyde. He is an occasional adviser to the United Nations, OECD, African Development Bank, UNECA, and several national governments. His recent books include Transitions in Regional Economic Development (2018, Routledge), Value Chains in Sub-Saharan Africa (2019, Springer), and Restoring the Core: Central City Decline and Transformation in the South (2020, Elsevier). He has a PhD in Economics from the University of Reading.

News Archive

Cardiology Unit involved in evaluation of drug for rare genetic disease
2013-01-04

Front from the left, are: Marinda Karsten (study coordinator and registered nurse),
Laumarie de Wet (clinical technologist), Charmaine Krahenbuhl (study coordinator and radiographer),
Lorinda de Meyer (administrator), Andonia Page (study coordinator and enrolled nurse);
back Dr Gideon Visagie (sub investigator), Dr Derick Aucamp (sub investigagtor),
Prof. Hennie Theron, (principal investigator) and Dr Wilhelm Herbst (sub investigator).
Photo: Supplied
09 January 2013


The Cardiology Research Unit at the University of the Free State (UFS) contributed largely to the evaluation of the drug Juxtapid (lomitapide), which was developed by the Aegerion pharmaceutical company and approved by the FDA (Federal Drug Administration). Together with countries such as die USA, Canada and Italy, the UFS’ Unit recruited and evaluated the most patients (5 of 29) for the study since 2008.  

The drug was evaluated in persons with so-called familial homozygous hypercholesterolemia (HoFH).  

Following its approval by the FDA, Juxtapid is now a new treatment option for patients suffering from HoFH. The drug operates in a unique way which brings about dramatic improvements in cholesterol counts.  

According to Prof. Hennie Theron, Associate Professor in the Department of Cardiology at the UFS and Head of the Cardiology Contract Research Unit, HoFH is a serious, rare genetic disease which affects the function of the receptor responsible for the removal of low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C) (“bad” cholesterol) from the body. Damage to the LDL receptor function leads to extremely high levels of blood cholesterol. HoFH patients often develop premature and progressive atherosclerosis, which is a narrowing or blockage of the arteries.  

“HoFH is a genetically transmitted disease and the most severe form of hypercholesterolemia. Patients often need a coronary artery bypass or/and aortic valve replacement before the age of 20. Mortality is extremely high and death often occurs before the third decade of life. Existing conventional cholesterol-lowering medication is unsuccessful in achieving normal target cholesterol values in this group of patients.  

“The only modality for treatment is plasmapheresis (similar to dialysis in patients with renal failure). Even with this type of therapy the results are relatively unsatisfactory because it is very expensive and the plasmapheresis has to be performed on a regular basis.  

“The drug Juxtapid, as currently evaluated, has led to a dramatic reduction in cholesterol values and normal values were achieved in several people. No existing drug is nearly as effective.  

“The drug represents a breakthrough in the treatment of familial homozygous hypercholesterolemia. The fact that it has been approved by the FDA, gives further impetus to the findings,” says Prof. Theron.  

In future further evaluation will be performed in other forms of hypocholesterolemia.  

According to Prof. Theron, the findings of the study, as well as the recent successful FDA evaluation, once again confirms the fact that the UFS’ Cardiology Contract Research Unit is doing outstanding work.  

Since its inception in 1992, the Unit has already been involved in more than 60 multi-centre, international phase 2 and 3 drug studies. Several of these studies, including the abovementioned study, really affected the way in which cardiology functions.  

The UFS’ Cardiology Contract Research Unit is being recognised nationally and internationally for its high quality of work and is constantly approached for their involvement in new studies.  

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