Research in the Department of Physiology

RESEARCH

The Department has long been a major research centre within the University, is well-equipped and supported financially by the South African statutory funding bodies (Medical Research Council and National Research Foundation), as well as by private institutions, the business community, and the University.

The research activities of the Department are broad covering both human and animal physiology. The Department has interests in thermal physiology, pathophysiology of fever, pain, environmental physiology, sleep physiology, cardiovascular pathophysiology & genomics, movement physiology, ecophysiology, neuroscience, stress physiology, biomechanics, gastrointestinal physiology, developmental programming, and receptor biology. The specialist research laboratories are supported by communal analytical and measurement facilities.  

Staff members and research students who are productive in their research are encouraged to attend conferences locally and internationally. Funding for travel is available from the statutory research bodies, the University’s central funds, and the Department's own funds.

FACILITIES

Apart from the research and teaching facilities available in the Department, there is access to communal Faculty of Health Sciences and University resources. University resources to which the Department has access include centralised flow cytometry, isotope counting, ELISA reader and electron microscopy services.

The Faculty of Health Sciences has a vast library, with inter-library loan facilities, and extensive computer facilities linked to databases. The Faculty of Health Sciences building houses a large and comprehensive animal service with facilities such as sterile operating theatres and X-ray equipment.