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19 May 2021
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Story Dr Nitha Ramnath
The University of the Free State (UFS), Standard Bank, and the
Mangaung Chamber of Commerce and Industry (MCCI) are pleased to invite you to a special lunchtime webinar with
Mr Allon Raiz, CEO of
Raizcorp, one of South Africa’s most successful business incubators.
The COVID-19 crisis has affected the operations, cash flow, and debt positions of most businesses, often threatening the sustainability and even the survival of businesses.
Join us for a discussion on how to think about business models that will ensure the survival and even the growth of business in the time of COVID-19.
Date: Thursday, 10 June 2021
Topic: Resilience and business in the time of COVID-19
Time: 12:00-13:30
Platform: Zoom
RSVP to:
Alicia Pienaar
by 7 June 2021
Otorhinolaryngology research hopes to decrease morbidity
2016-10-04

Prof Riaz Seedat, Head of the
Department of
Otorhinolaryngology at the UFS
Prof Riaz Seedat, Head of the Department of Otorhinolaryngology at the UFS is a world-renowned ear, nose and throat specialist and researcher. He is also a National Research Foundation C3 rated scientist.
He is conducting his research in ear, nose and throat (ENT) pathology in a developing world setting, particularly focusing on recurrent respiratory papillomatosis and other ENT conditions. “This condition is caused by human papillomavirus (HPV), infective conditions as well as allergic rhinitis,” said Prof Seedat.
Current research is aimed at further describing the epidemiology of recurrent respiratory papillomatosis, identification of the HPV variants responsible for causing the condition and markers of disease aggressiveness.
The research has led to various international partnerships such as the multicentre collaborative studies, “Genetic Susceptibility to Papilloma-induced Voice Disturbance” at the Centre for Genomic Sciences at the Allegheny-Singer Research Institute in Pittsburgh, United States, and the HPV6/11 Global Diversity Consortium at the University of Ljubljana in Slovenia.
Although most head and neck squamous cell carcinomas are caused by excessive tobacco and alcohol use, there is an increasing body of evidence to show that HPV causes a subset of head and neck squamous cell carcinomas. However, there are few studies on the role of HPV in head and neck neoplasms in developing countries.
“Through the research we have shown that recurrent respiratory papillomatosis, caused by HPV, is not as rare in South Africa as it is in developed countries and that patients usually present respiratory papillomatosis at an advanced stage when the condition is life-threatening,” said Prof Seedat.
“It is hoped that this research will help us to address the morbidity caused by ENT conditions common in developing countries,” said Prof Seedat.