New technology boost for the Wits Department of Physiology
- Wits Faculty of Health Sciences
From diagnostics to discovery: Wits researcher Dr Ashmeetha Manilall wins cutting-edge automation technology to accelerate medical research and collaboration.
When one thinks about healthcare, it's often in the context of visiting the doctor or local pharmacy. However, this routine norm is backed by laboratory-based research that results in clinical care.
Dr Ashmeetha Manilall recognised the importance of the ‘behind the scenes’ work to pursue clinical and experimental studies. She was given the opportunity to explore how advanced technology and collaborative partnerships can drive medical research despite resource challenges.
She is an emerging researcher working in the Department of Physiology at the Wits Faculty of Health Sciences. She was recently selected as the winner of the Promega Maxwell Industry competition, earning her department a Maxwell Automated Nucleic Acid Extraction device.
Dr Manilall’s first stint in scientific lab work was in 2010 during her internship in human genetics at the National Health Laboratory Service (NHLS). This primarily exposed her to diagnostic work.
“While I gained valuable experience and laboratory skills, I found myself increasingly drawn to the unanswered questions and unsolved case studies, which sparked my interest in research”, she explains. Today, she is focused on investigating the molecular mechanisms underlying inflammation-induced cardiac dysfunction.
She says the deployment of the Maxwell Automated Nucleic Acid Device has already facilitated successful RNA extraction, enabling downstream applications in gene expression analysis. “The project in the prize application was for RNA and DNA extractions for over 500 patient samples - perfect for automation,” she explains.
Caption: The Maxwell Automated Nucleic Acid Device
Through automation, this equipment reduces processes that would ordinarily take a week to just two days. Speaking on the advantage of this, Dr Manilall explains, “automation eliminates potential operator errors that arise during tedious manual extractions.”
Dr Manilall is also interested in the broader physiological system, including how factors such as maternal sleep and inflammation may affect pregnancy outcomes. She says, “In future, I aim to better understand how inflammation contributes to disease across the lifespan and furthermore to identify early molecular drivers that could inform more targeted and effective therapeutic strategies”.
As a medical researcher, Dr Manilall says the most fulfilling parts of her work include witnessing the growth and achievements of the students she supervises. “I also find fulfilment in knowing that our research contributes to a deeper understanding of disease mechanisms and, over time, may help inform improved clinical outcomes”, she states.
She says that in her profession, navigating resource and funding constraints is one of the biggest challenges, as high-quality research, in particular, requires sustained financial support, specialised infrastructure, and access to advanced technologies. “I believe that balancing these limitations while maintaining impactful research outputs requires adaptability, persistence, and collaborative networks.”
Her decision to enter the Promega Maxwell industry competition was prompted by the same challenges which affect her department as well. Their funding environment meant that purchasing advanced research equipment, which she later won through the competition, would have otherwise been unattainable.
“This issue is especially relevant to my current human clinical study, which involves large-scale processing of patient samples for DNA and RNA analysis, tasks that are both time-consuming and prone to variability when performed manually”, she mentions. Her prize application focused on a project involving RNA and DNA extractions for over 500 patient samples, which is ideal for automation.
While such extraction robots are common in diagnostic laboratories, Dr Manilall says it is considered a luxury in research labs.
“I believe that opportunities like this competition are invaluable, as they help make high-end technology more accessible through collaborative industry partnerships", she states.
The placement model provides advanced instruments, consumables, and publication acknowledgements, benefiting both researchers and industry. The Tumour Biology Research Group within the Wits School of Pathology has already committed to utilising the instrument. Furthermore, the Maxwell system is accessible to the entire Wits Faculty of Health Sciences community, encouraging collaboration beyond the Department of Physiology.