Tread
Education in Cape Town

We have a very large database of patients and through innovative recruitment techniques, we are also able to enrol patients from numerous other sources – including academic and government hospitals, day hospitals and local physicians.

Founded in 1998, TREAD Research is situated in Tygerberg Hospital, Cape Town, South Africa; and is affiliated with the Division of Cardiology in the Department of Medicine, Faculty of Medicine and Health Science, Stellenbosch University. The organisation is managed by Professor Lesley Burgess and conducts pharmaceutically-sponsored contract clinical research in most medical fields. TREAD has an outstanding record of award winning recruitment, often over-recruiting by a substantial number. The mission of TREAD Research is to protect the rights, welfare and privacy of human subjects who choose to participate in human subject research. We have undergone successful audits by the American FDA, the South African MCC, and a number of local and international pharmaceutical research companies and clinical research organisations. TREAD has experience in a wide range of therapeutic areas, namely: Cardiology & Cardiology Risk Factors, Nephrology, Rheumatology, Osteoarthritis, Gastroenterology, and Vaccines to name a few. In June 2016, we became the first research organisation in Africa to be awarded accreditation by the Association for the Accreditation of Human Research Protection Programs (AAHRPP) joining an elite group of only 231 research institutions throughout the world to have achieved such accreditation merit. TREAD is committed to advancing responsible research, ethical treatment of human research subjects, and ensuring that the right of every human being to voluntary, informed consent with regards to research is respected. Promoting an environment of respect and understanding of the rights and welfare of human research participants\. Ensuring that the risks and benefits of each research study are thoroughly considered; and. Ensuring that our human participants are well-informed of their research rights. A strong training program is in place to improve the trial capacity building of both the permanent trial unit staff as well as Cardiology staff, especially registrars (of which about 50% are previously disadvantaged and/or females). All new staff is rigorously trained according to the unit’s Standard Operating Procedures to ensure a high standard of quality. TREAD Research has a commitment to training and, as such, contributes financially to the further training of investigators and other staff. One Clinical trial assistant has been enrolled for a two-year Pharmacy Assistant course. Two Study Coordinators have BSc Hons and three staff newly appointed staff members have completed their MSc Degrees (two clinical coordinators and one clinical trial assistant). Many of these doctors are now in private practice and functioning as principal investigators in their own right now. In addition, TREAD has also taken on a number of medical students for elective periods. During this time, students are exposed to research techniques and have been given the opportunity to participate in clinical research. In addition, TREAD Research staff has been involved in developing research training courses together with Wits Health Consortium. These courses are run by TREAD Research staff all over the country (Johannesberg, Pretoria, East London, Bloemfontein, Cape Town and Durban) and approximately 900-1000 people are trained per year. Prof Burgess, who runs TREAD Research, is also involved in clinical research training at Stellenbosch University. As such, she lectures for the Pharmacology Unit and the Ethics Unit, and is also involved in developing the Research Ethics diploma at Stellenbosch University. TREAD is one of the sites identified for on-site training for the purposes of this course.