Second Golden Stethoscope Award for NWU research focus area

Dr Carla Fourie’s article fetched the Potchefstroom Campus of the North-West Univeristy (NWU) a second successive golden stethoscope. She is a senior lecturer in the School of Physiology, Nutrition and Consumer Sciences and a researcher from the research focus area Hypertension in Africa Research Team (HART).

The article, “Is HIV-1 infection associated with endothelial dysfunction in a population of African ancestry in South Africa”, was named best published article for 2011 in the Cardiovascular Journal of Africa (CVJA).

The award, which will be presented to Dr Carla at the SA Heart Association’s gala dinner at Sun City on 21 July 2012, consists of a golden, framed stethoscope. The winners’ names will be engraved on it, but due to the value of the item, it will be displayed in the boardroom of the CVJA in Durbanville. Dr Carla will, however, be presented with a replica.

“It was a big and pleasant surprise for all of us,” says Dr Carla. “It is good to see that the impact of HIV on the cardiovascular system is recognised and I hope that the research will make a meaningful contribution in South Africa.”

According to Dr Carla, the encouragement and experience of her two supervisors, Profs Johannes van Rooyen and Alta Schutte, contributed to the success of the article. “It is largely thanks to their expertise and unfailing support that this article could be published and that I was able to complete my PhD successfully.”

Prof Marlien Pieters, Dr Karin Conradie and Dr Tiny Hoekstra co-authored the article, and their contribution is also much appreciated.