Rheumatology

The Department of Rheumatology is part of the School of Clinical Medicine in the Faculty of Health Sciences at the University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg. It is a department-level unit within the school, and its publication record centres on clinical rheumatology.

Its main research strengths are rheumatoid arthritis, interstitial lung disease, osteoporosis and axial spondyloarthritis. Work also covers national management guidelines and participation in global registries, which supports understanding of disease patterns across continents and the influence of socioeconomic context on disease onset.

Further themes include hypertension, cardiac remodelling, chronic kidney disease and COVID-19 exposure among healthcare workers, reflecting care for patients with complex, overlapping conditions. The research is clinically grounded and globally connected, with studies focused on South Africa and comparative work across countries through registry collaborations.