Novartis mentorship programme is helping to reimagine medicine

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It aims to elevate scientific and leadership capability in emerging countries by inviting carefully selected scientists from these countries to participate in an intensive three-month internship in Switzerland. The interns work on research projects and participate in leadership development during this time.

Thandiswa Ngcungcu (PhD candidate) described how the mentorship programme had enabled her to solve a nearly 40-year-old puzzle of the genetic basis of keratolytic winter erythema, a disfiguring condition of the skin on the hands. “When I found the mutation, I felt like I had changed the world!” she said.

While, during her mentorship, Dr Nadia Carstens, similarly identified the mutation responsible for macular corneal dystrophy, a genetic cause of progressive blindness. “These discoveries, that would not have been possible in our country without the NGS programme, not only set us on the path to finding a treatment, but enable us immediately to advise and counsel affected families so they understand the prognosis and chance of passing the disease on to their children” explained Carstens.

“It is wonderful to be able to provide comfort and hope, where before there was only fear and uncertainty. Furthermore, we are able to bring the skills we have learned back to South Africa and share them with our colleagues and future South African scientists.”

“Those breakthrough moments are very exciting”, said Nico Bosch, director of cardiovascular and metabolic medicine at Novartis South Africa, “there is a lot of research linked to such discoveries that is producing new treatments. However, what I find exciting are the partnerships that enable us to make a difference to peoples’ health right now by providing medicines in countries and communities where these treatments would otherwise not be available.

The Malaria Initiative with the World Health Organisation is finding new solutions to this devastating ever-changing disease and, in the meantime, making sure that affordable effective antimalarial treatment is available to more than 250,000 vulnerable malaria patients every day. "Through the multi-organisational collaborative leprosy post-exposure programme, we anticipate that leprosy will become a disease of the past by the year 2020.”