Centre for the Aids Programme of Research in South Africa (CAPRISA)

CAPRISA was established in 2002 with an NIH grant through the Comprehensive International Program of Research on AIDS. CAPRISA’s headquarters are based in the Doris Duke Medical Research Institute (DDMRI) at the Nelson Mandela Medical School campus, University of KwaZulu-Natal and is recognized as a world-renowned HIV and tuberculosis research organization.

CAPRISA is an official research center of Columbia University in New York and the University of KwaZulu-Natal in South Africa and is a designated UNAIDS Collaborating Centre for HIV Research and Policy.  CAPRISA hosts the South African Medical Research Council Extra Mural Research Unit for HIV-TB Pathogenesis and Treatment. It is a Department of Science and Innovation (DSI) and the National Research Foundation (NRF), designated Centre of Excellence in HIV Prevention and a Centre of the Excellence of the Global Virus Network (GVN).

The main goal of CAPRISA is to undertake globally relevant and locally responsive research that contributes to understanding HIV, TB and SARS-CoV-2 pathogenesis, prevention and epidemiology as well as the links between tuberculosis and AIDS care. To achieve this goal, CAPRISA conducts research in four main Scientific Programmes namely: 1) HIV and Covid-19 pathogenesis and vaccines, 2) HIV and TB treatment, 3) HIV epidemiology and prevention and 4) SARS-CoV-2 epidemiology, prevention and vaccines.

Research activities at CAPRISA are supported by eight support cores including, administration, statistics, data management, laboratory, community, pharmacy, bioethics, and information systems. CAPRISA has multi-institutional and multi-skilled teams with expertise in the areas of basic and molecular epidemiology, virology, immunology, infectious disease medicine, HIV primary care and service delivery, bioinformatics, social and behavioral science, statistics, ethics, and health policy. The organization undertakes research across the spectrum of disciplines from basic science, clinical research, public health and implementation science funded by many different sources.

CAPRISA will participate with MATRIX as part of the Design to Delivery (D2D) program related to the integration of social and behavioral research (SBR) into the MATRIX clinical trial portfolio. In addition, CAPRISA’s Clinical Research Sites will conduct behavioral studies and/or clinical trials of products within MATRIX. 

Key Contacts

Dr. Leila E Mansoor – Co-lead on D2D hub Pillar 2 (SBR in clinical trials)

For more information about CAPRISA, visit https://www.caprisa.org/