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UFS Department of Dermatology celebrates opening of Dermatologic Surgery Unit at Universitas Hospital

23 September 2025 | Story Reuben Maeko | Photo Sizwe Gwiba

Dermatology Unit — Celebrating the milestone launch of the Dermatologic Surgery Unit at Universitas Academic Hospital, a new chapter for advanced patient care, training, and research.

The Department of Dermatology in the Faculty of Health Sciences at the University of the Free State (UFS) marked a historic milestone with the official opening of the Dermatologic Surgery Unit at Universitas Academic Hospital on 11 September 2025. This new facility represents a significant step forward in expanding access to specialised surgical treatment for complex dermatological conditions, while simultaneously strengthening academic training and research opportunities for registrars and medical students.

The inauguration was attended by Prof Francois P Retief, a distinguished medical pioneer from the UFS Faculty of Health Sciences, after whom one of the faculty buildings is named. His wife, Ria Retief, extended words of gratitude and gifted a book from his medical library to Prof Frans Maruma, Head of the Department of Dermatology.

“We are truly honoured to be included in this significant milestone and to witness the beginning of what we know will be an impactful journey aimed at improving patient care,” Ria Retief said. “It is a privilege to celebrate this remarkable achievement with you, and we deeply admire your dedication and vision.”

Honouring a legacy in dermatology

In his opening address, Prof Maruma reflected on the journey that led to the establishment of the Dermatologic Surgery Unit, acknowledging the teamwork, persistence, and collaboration that made the vision a reality.

“The Derm-Surgery Unit is not just a surgical space – it is a testament to teamwork, perseverance, and the drive to advance patient-centred care in dermatology,” he said. “We pay homage to visionary leadership that has afforded us the opportunity to expand dermatology services to include surgery and as a skill sacrosanct to modern practice. This is not only about healing, but also about preparing our registrars for the realities of clinical practice through work-integrated learning.”

Prof Maruma extended appreciation to colleagues and staff members in the Department of Dermatology, as well as strategic partners in the UFS, the Department of Health, the pharmaceutical industry, and private practitioners who dedicate their time to teaching and mentoring. Special acknowledgement was given to Dr Marc Roscher, Dr Harriet Makuru, and Dr Yashica Khalawan, who played a pivotal role in supporting the project’s launch.

The programme also included remarks by senior academic leaders. Prof Alicia Sherriff, Acting Head of the School of Clinical Medicine, commended the department for its innovation and foresight in the face of resource limitations, highlighting the potential for further expansion through collaboration with both public and private stakeholders.

While cutting the ribbon, Prof Thabiso Mofokeng, Head of Internal Medicine at Universitas Academic Hospital, emphasised that the launch of the Derm-Surgery Unit reflects the broader ethos of the clinical platform: to enable world-class training, foster research excellence, and deliver quality healthcare that is responsive to the needs of the community.

The launch underscored the university’s commitment to Work-Integrated Learning (WIL), bridging the gap between academic training and real-world clinical demands. The Derm-Surgery initiative is designed to equip registrars with essential industry-specific skills in procedural dermatology while fostering collaboration between private and public healthcare sectors. The evening concluded with awards recognising individuals whose contributions ensured the success of this landmark opening.

Looking ahead, the Department of Dermatology envisions its Derm-Surgery Unit as more than just a clinical unit – it is set to become a hub of advanced patient care, high-impact training, and cutting-edge research. This initiative strengthens the UFS Faculty of Health Sciences’ role as a leader in medical education and healthcare innovation in the Free State and beyond.

News Archive

Multi-disciplinary research approach at UFS

2005-10-25

UFS follows multi-disciplinary research approach with opening of new centre

“A new way of doing business in necessary in the research and teaching of agriculture and natural sciences in South Africa. We must move away from departmentalised research infrastructures and a multi-disciplinary approach to research involving several disciplines must be adapted,” said Prof Herman van Schalkwyk, Dean: Faculty of Natural and Agricultural Sciences at the University of the Free State (UFS).

Prof van Schalkwyk delivered the keynote address during the launch of the Centre for Plant Health Management (CePHMa) at the Main Campus in Bloemfontein today (21 October 2005). CePHMa is an initiative of the UFS Department of Plant Sciences.

According to Prof van Schalkwyk a tertiary institution must practice multi-disciplinary research to be a world-class research institution. “It is difficult for researchers to admit that they do not know a lot about each other’s area of speciality. It is therefore necessary for researchers to make a paradigm shift and to focus on inter-disciplinary co-operation. To do this, we must encourage them to work together and to find a common language to communicate ideas en establish symbiotic relationships,” said Prof Van Schalkwyk.

“We tend to think that research is better and faster if it is specialised. This is not true. The new generation of scientists are young and they are trained to form a concept of the total system and not to focus on a specific area of speciality. At the UFS we encourage this approach to research. This was one of the main reasons for the establishment of CePHMa,” said Prof Van Schalkwyk.
CePHMa is the only centre of its kind in Africa and is established to extend the expertise in plant health management in South Africa and in Africa, to train experts in plant health and to conduct multi-disciplinary research about the health of agricultural crops.

“CePHMa is a virtual centre comprising of ten disciplines applicable to crop production and crop protection,” said Prof Wijnand Swart, Chairperson of CePHMa during the opening ceremony.

“The UFS is the leading institution in Africa in terms of news crop development and manages three research programmes that concentrate on new crops, i.e. the New Crop Pathology Programme, the New Crop Development Programme and the Insects on New Crops Programme. Other applied research programmes that are unique to the UFS are genetic resistance to rust diseases of small grain crops and sustainable integrated disease management of field crops,” said Prof Swart.

“Because the expected growth in population will be 80% in 2020 in sub-Saharan Africa, the future demands of food produce in Africa will be influenced. Therefore research will in future be focused on ways to improve food security by employing agricultural systems that are economically viable and environmentally sound,” said Prof Swart.

“Thorough knowledge of the concept of holistic plant health management is crucial to meet the challenge and it is therefore imperative that innovative crop protection and crop production strategies, with particular emphasis on plant health, be adopted. This is why the Department of Plant Sciences initiated the establishment of CePHMA,” he said.

According to Prof Swart there is a shortage of expertise in plant health management. “The UFS has shown the potential to address the demand of the sub-continent of Africa regarding expertise training and CePHMa is the leader in southern Africa to provide in this need,” he said.

The appropriateness and quality of training in plant health management is reflected in the fact that students from Ethiopia, Eritrea, Malawi, Uganda, Zambia, Ghana, Tanzania, Cameroon, Angola, Mozambique and Lesotho have already been trained or are in the process of being trained in at the UFS.

Scientists from CePHMa have forged partnerships with numerous national and international institutions including the Agricultural Research Council (ARC), various community trusts, seed, pesticide and agricultural chemical companies, in addition to overseas universities.

Media release
Issued by: Lacea Loader
Media Representative
Tel: (051) 401-2584
Cell: 083 645 2454
E-mail: loaderl.stg@mail.uovs.ac.za
21 October 2005

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