UKZN hosts Successful Neuroscience Conference in Durban

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UKZN’s School of Laboratory Medicine and Medical Sciences (LMMS) was congratulated at a Gala Dinner by eThekwini Mayor, Mr James Nxumalo, for hosting the stimulating 12^th International Meeting of the Society of Neuroscientists of Africa (SONA) in Durban.

Nxumalo said he was impressed with the wealth of knowledge shared by international experts at the conference; raising much needed awareness about brain disorders.

Academics had an important role to play in relaying important information about brain diseases to communities in the periphery, said Nxumalo, because lack of awareness resulted in cases of misdiognosis for those less enlightened.

There were 19 countries represented at the conference, including 11 African and eight  from Europe, Israel and the United States.

With the School’s Academic Leader for Research, Dr Musa Mabandla as President of SONA, the five-day programme united leading experts under the theme: Brain Sciences – Addressing Research Needs and Priorities in South Africa.

UKZN postgraduate students presented their research at the meeting and enjoyed networking with esteemed neuroscience researchers.

School of LMMS Dean, Professor William Daniels, said he had seen an impressive improvement in the quality of neuroscience research over the past few years. ‘The conference had a strong focus on diseases relevant to Africa,’ he said.

Daniels lauded UKZN’s neuroscience group for successfully hosting an international conference of this magnitude, and for taking local neuroscience research to the internation stage.

Prior to the conference, SONA hosted four satellite events including a writing workshop for PhD and postdoctoral students from across Africa where they received help in translating their data into publications.