UCT FHS / The HUB Connexion / September / 2020 Issue 3

THE HUB

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Department of Human Biology

s e p te m b e r 2 020 / I SS UE 3 Image source: frontlinegenomics.com/how-to-perform-polygenic-risk-score-analysis/

Introduction to the HUB Divisions HUB brings together several medical, scientific and clinical academic disciplines that are currently housed in four Divisions. In this issue of The HUB Connexion we introduce each division as well as the recently formed Communications Committee.

HUB DEPARTMENT GOVERNANCE STRUCTURE HoD: Prof S Prince Deputy HoDs: Prof T Franz & Dr G Gunston Divisions & HoDivs

Manager Admin Staff K Crawley

Manager PASS Staff C Harris D Bowers

CABA A/Prof D Shamley

CNPs Prof D Lang

ESSM Prof A September

Committees & Chairs

BME Prof E Meintjes

TEC DRC Dr T Mutsvangwa A/Prof S Sivarasu

PG Education Dr Y Albertus

UG Education Dr A Abrahams Dr K Bugarith

Communications Dr M Goolam

Post Doc Dr R Dey

Core ExCo ExCo

Division of Biomedical Engineering (BME) BME is home to the Centre for Biomedical Engineering Research (which includes the Medical Imaging Research Unit), the South African Research Chairs in Brain Imaging and Biomedical Engineering and Innovation, and a number of research groupings. The Division offers a variety of postgraduate degrees from Biomedical Engineering, Health Innovation, Healthcare Technology Management, Mechanobiology to Neuroscience.

Research areas in the Division include medical imaging and image processing, medical devices, musculo-skeletal biomechanics, orthopaedic biomechanics, cell and tissue mechanobiology, digital health, healthcare technology management, and health innovation.

The head of the BME Division is Prof Ernesta Meintjes (pictured left). BME has 3 professors, 1 associate professor, 2 senior lecturers, 1 lecturer, 4 PASS staff, 7 post docs and 91 postgraduate students.

Division of Cellular, Nutritional and Physiological Sciences (CNPs) Welcome to the newly formed CNPs (pronounced snips!), an interim Division formed by the merger of the Division of Cell Biology and the Division of Physiological and Nutritional Sciences. CNPs is involved in the undergraduate teaching of medical, biomedical, and science students, and the training of postgraduate students and postdoctoral fellows. Within the Division researchers are focused on cancer cell biology, stem cell biology, developmental biology, neuroscience, cardiovascular physiology, public health nutrition and dietetics. The Division is also home to the UCT Confocal and Light Microscopy Core Facility. The head of the CNPs Division is Assoc Prof Dirk Lang (pictured right). CNPs has 2 professors, 1 associate professor, 7 senior lecturers, 4 lecturers, 9 PASS staff, 4 post docs and 61 postgraduate students.

Division of Clinical Anatomy and Biological Anthropology (CABA) CABA is dedicated to grow learning and scientific communities, in the context of diversity and inclusivity, for the betterment of the people of South Africa. Their vision is to impact the health of South African communities through scientific and teaching excellence via inter-disciplinary engagement, to uphold the dignity of all people, and create an environment of excellence and groundbreaking research. The team offers a diverse range of expertise in anatomy and biological anthropology. This expertise translates from research to teaching and enterprise. The head of the CABA Division is Assoc Prof Delva Shamley (pictured left). CABA has 2 associate professors, 3 senior lecturers, 3 lecturers, 6 PASS staff and 17 postgraduate students.

Division of Exercise Science and Sports Medicine (ESSM) The vision of ESSM includes promoting an active, healthy and winning nation through the implementation and translation of science. ESSM’s central mission is to be a centre of excellence for promoting healthy, active lifestyles and optimal sporting performance, through transformative and innovative research, teaching, training and clinical services. The Shanghai ranking has placed ESSM in consecutive years among the top 50 worldwide in the field of Sport Science. This Division has laboratories suitable for research in human genetics, cell biology, biochemistry, biomechanics and muscle recruitment, whole-body oxygen consumption, body composition and bone density, sleep patterns, sport skill performance, and orthopaedic surgical skills. The head of the ESSM Division is Prof Alison September (pictured right). ESSM has 4 professors, 4 associate professors, 5 senior lecturers, 1 lecturer, 1 adjunct senior lecturer, 4 adjunct lecturers, 5 PASS staff, 8 post docs and 92 postgraduate students.

FACULTY OF

HEALTH SCIENCES University of Cape Town / Faculty of Health Sciences / Department of Human Biology / THE HUB CONNEXION / SEPTEMBER 2020 / ISSUE 3

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Introducing the HUB Logo

As part of the planning of the first edition of what is now The HUB Connexion came the idea of establishing a Departmental logo. This would help to visually identify the Department and would give us a unified symbol to represent the various Divisions that make up HUB.

by Dr Mubeen Goolam With the help of Laurian from MantaRay Design Studio and the input of many people across the Department, over countless drafts, edits and reworking, we settled on our current design which we think represents the full scope of our Department.

As part of the unifying purpose of our logo, we gave each Division the opportunity to select their own colours for their sub-divisional logos. In this way, each Division has a unique logo, creating synergy with the Departmental one as a whole.

For the base of our logo we have a non-gendered, non-racial human figure. It is the central component of our logo as the study of the human body is what connects us all.

BME selected an orange that colour-matched the walls and doors on Level 7 of the Anatomy building where they are located.

The arms of the figure are thrust upward to represent a body in motion, and to recognise our colleagues in ESSM and their pre-existing logo.

The figure sits within a circle, reminiscent of classical anatomical drawings, and is a nod to our colleagues in CABA. The body of the figure is a double-helix, as we are a modern and research-orientated department, and serves as a representation of the molecular research of our colleagues in CNPs. The outside of our logo is surrounded by a cog, a contribution from BME, and represents the mechanical and physical contributions to human biological sciences.

CNPs selected a green colour, reminiscent of the green apple to represent the work of the nutritional scientists within the Division, as well as GFP, such an important tool used in confocal microscopy.

CABA selected their colour on preference, with a dark blue hue being the favoured one of the Division.

ESSM colour-matched the light blue of their pre-existing logo for continuity.

We are exceedingly happy with how our new logo has turned out and various formats of the logos are now available for use by all in email signatures, stationary and letterheads. I would like to thank everyone involved for helping put this together.

Finally, our logo is completed with our Departmental name and the affectionate abbreviation by which we all call it: HUB.

HUB HU

HUB

Department of Human Biology

Department of Human Biology Biomedical Engineering

Cellular, Nutritional and Physiological Sciences

HUB Department of Human Biology

HUB HUB HUB

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Department of Human Biology

Department of Human Biology

Exercise Science and Sports Medicine

Clinical Anatomy and Biological Anthropology

University of Cape Town / Faculty of Health Sciences / Department of Human Biology / THE HUB CONNEXION / SEPTEMBER 2020 / ISSUE 3

PEOPLE OF HUB

LOCKDOWN LETTERS

NEWSLETTER EDITORIAL TEAM

THE HUB Department of Human Biology

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We are pleased to introduce our newly formed HUB Connexion Newsletter Editorial Team, comprising 5 members with experience in diverse fields.

The working group is responsible for producing accessible content for the HUB Newsletter, the Deparment’s primary communication channel.

Dr Mubeen Goolam is a Lecturer in the Division

of Cellular, Nutritional and Physiological Sciences and joined the Department in January of this year. Mubeen is born and bred in Cape Town and completed his undergraduate and MSc degrees at UCT. Subsequently he moved to the University of Cambridge to undertake his PhD in developmental biology. In 2017 changed allegiances and joined the University of Oxford to take up a Post-doctoral position in the Sir William Dunn School of Pathology and to study early maternal-fetal interactions during pregnancy. Since returning to Cape Town he is on a mission to find the best coffee in city and improve his photography skills. He also once got into an argument with the Dalai Lama. No, really, he did.

Ms Jeshika Luckrajh is a Lecturer of Clinical

Anatomy in HUB since January 2020. She completed her Master’s degree in Clinical Anatomy in 2019, following her research into the anatomy of the proximal anterior cerebral artery complex and its association with anterior communicating artery aneurysms. Her research interests include human anatomical variations and neuroanatomy. In her young career, Jeshika has 4 publications and has presented her research at 6 national and 2 international conferences. Jeshika speaks a few languages, including French in which she has a B1 level diploma. Jeshika enjoys painting, cycling and travelling, and since she has recently moved to Cape Town, is enjoying discovering the City.

Dr Rachael Dangarembizi is a Lecturer in

the Division of Cellular, Nutritional and Physiological Sciences. She joined HUB in Feb 2020. She holds a BSc (Hon) degree from Zimbabwe University, and an MSc (Med) and PhD from Wits. Rachael joined UCT as a postdoc in the Raimondo Lab, and the Neuroscience Institute, and her research interest is in neuroinflammation and fungal infections of the brain.

Rachael is a member of the AFGrica Medical Mycology Research Unit, an initiative of the UK Medical Research Council Centre for Medical Mycology to tackle fungal infections in Africa. Outside her interests in neuroscience and mycology, Rachael has a keen interest in legal issues. She is also an advocate for equity, social justice and poverty alleviation. She enjoys music, nature photography and travel.

Dr Sharief Hendricks is a Senior Lecturer at UCT and a Visiting Fellow at Leeds Beckett University (UK). He has over 65 publications in international peerreviewed journals (half of which are first authored) with an h-index of 20 and a field weighted citation impact of 1.89. He is a C2 NRF (2018) rated scientist, has been awarded the prestigious UCT Fellows Young Researcher Award (2019), and is currently a finalist for the TW Kambule-NSTF Researcher Award (an award for South Africa’s top scientists). He is also listed as one of the Top 200 Young South Africans by the Mail and Guardian (2019). He is currently the President-Elect of the South African Sports Medicine Association, the Social Media Editor of the European Journal of Sport Science (since 2014), and a Fellow of the European College of Sport Science. In his spare time, he helps with ocean clean-ups and teaches high school learners how to snorkel. You can follow him on Twitter or Instagram @Sharief_H. MS Ayesha Hendricks is an Administrator in the Division of Exercise Science and Sports Medicine, based at the Sports Science Institute. She has completed a BA degree at UWC, majoring in Psychology, Sociology and Geography. In 2008, she completed her Honours in Industrial Psychology. She also holds Diplomas in HR management, Project Management and Sign language.

FACULTY OF

HEALTH SCIENCES

Out of the challenges of distance learning has come an appreciation from staff and students alike of the efforts made by members of HUB in adapting to our new situation. We share with you some of the messages that have been received in the past few months applauding the work done by our colleagues.

Letter from a HUB2019F student sent to Assoc Prof Dirk Lang and Dr Paul Steyn On a different note, I would also just like to add that the way you and Dr Steyn have handled the online learning has been by far the best out of the genetics/biochem/HUB course combination, and I would just like to thank you for always answering the endless queries and making everything so userfriendly for us. I think everyone is very appreciative of the hard work involved.

Letter from an undergraduate student sent to HUB staff For a change, this email is not requesting assistance or clarity, but is simply a heartfelt thank you. As the semester draws to an end, it is necessary to applaud you all for your relentless efforts in making this unforeseen transition as smooth as possible for us as students. It definitely was not without difficulties on all fronts, but I truly believe we have emerged on the other side as successful as possible. I am grateful to have been able to continue my learning during this time. Wishing you all a restful vacation and looking forward to resuming learning in semester 2, with utmost faith in our collective ability to push forward.

Letter from a HUB staff member sent to Prof Sharon Prince I felt compelled to message you to tell you about the fantastic efforts of Kishor and Lisa in convening the HUB1006F course. In particular, the way they have adapted this course for online teaching, and put together such a well-constructed and easy to use Vula site deserves plaudits. They have really gone the extra mile in providing students with a world class programme and deserve appreciation. It just struck me how well put together, efficient and constructive the content and presentation of the course is.

I don’t think any of my undergraduate courses were nearly as comprehensive. Our medical students are exceptionally fortunate to have the efforts of these educators as they embark on their university careers, and the people involved in making this happen deserve all credit for it. So, I am writing this email to let you know I think they are doing an excellent job.

Letter from a HUB staff member sent to Shirees Benjamin and Jacques Jacobs I just wanted to thank you for your willingness and effort in setting up the museum area for the anatomy lectures currently taking place for the Biokinetics students. To be solutions-driven, passionate and loyal during this time stands you in good stead which is certainly appreciated.

Letter from a HUB1019F student sent to Assoc Prof Victoria Gibbon and Jeshika Luckrajh HUB is definitely one of the most organised courses - I truly value the effort put in by the course convenors and lecturers. I appreciate the effort of the lecturers to assist the learning process as much as possible during online learning. It is well organised and structured. I always know what is expected from me and what I have to do to achieve it. I also really appreciated how welcoming the lecturers are of questions and critical thinking.

HUB Department of Human Biology

University of Cape Town / Faculty of Health Sciences / Department of Human Biology / THE HUB CONNEXION / SEPTEMBER 2020 / ISSUE 3

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BIOMEDICAL ENGINEERING MPhil in Health Innovation

Photo by Themba Hadebe/AP Photo Source: timesofisrael.com/africas-43-jump-in-covid-19-cases-in-one-week-worries-experts/ Men walk past health workers in a mobile testing clinic to queue for screening and test for COVID-19 at Lenasia South, south Johannesburg, South Africa, April 21, 2020.

Addressing health-related challenges experienced in communities and health facilities

by Prof Tania Douglas - BME The MPhil in Health Innovation offered in the Division of Biomedical Engineering develops skills in creative problem-solving in the South African health context.

The Health Innovation and Design courses have a strong emphasis on engagement with communities and health professionals to elicit their views on and experiences of the problem at hand.

The programme is anchored in two courses on Health Innovation and Design. These courses guide students through a process of design thinking to address health-related challenges experienced in communities and health facilities.

The MPhil programme welcomes students from a variety of disciplinary backgrounds. To-date, students with first degrees in development studies, engineering, information technology, marketing, medicine, optometry, physiology, psychology and public health have been enrolled.

Design thinking is intended to nurture a specific mind-set that allows for a rich understanding of the problem to be addressed and its environment; this is particularly important in a complex world in which health and wellness are influenced by a multitude of factors.

Design thinking places people at the centre of the problemsolving or design process. It is characterised by empathy; humility in approaching a challenge, accompanied by a willingness to experiment; teamwork and collaboration; and learning by doing and solving.

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The introductory Health Innovation and Design course is also taken by some of the students of the MSc in Biomedical Engineering and has attracted semester-abroad students. This diversity of perspectives enriches learning as well as problem-solving.

Gathering views from multidisciplinary teams is a feature of design thinking that contributes to the ability of its practitioners to articulate problems or challenges comprehensively, and with deep understanding.

University of Cape Town / Faculty of Health Sciences / Department of Human Biology / THE HUB CONNEXION / SEPTEMBER 2020 / ISSUE 3

EXCERCISE SCIENCE Postings from the PostDoc

Photo by Mike Hewitt/Getty Images Source: gettyimages.in/detail/news-photo/cheslin-kolbe-of-south-africa-receives-treatment-to-his-news-photo/1179289773 Cheslin Kolbe of South Africa receives treatment to his ankle during the Rugby World Cup 2019 Group B game between South Africa v Italy at Shizuoka Stadium Ecopa on October 4, 2019 in Fukuroi, Shizuoka, Japan.

Rugby: identifying ways to reduce injury risks and improve performance

by Steve den Hollander - ESSM I am a postdoctoral fellow within the Division of Exercise Science and Sports Medicine (ESSM), based at the Sports Science Institute of South Africa.

After completing an undergrad degree in Sports Science at UKZN, I came to ESSM in 2014 to do an honours degree in Biokinetics.

This degree sparked an interest in research.

Under the supervision of Dr Sharief Hendricks and Prof Mike Lambert, I did a Masters’ degree in Exercise Science, which I upgraded to a PhD, and submitted at the beginning of this year.

Prof Lambert and Dr Hendricks are now also the hosts of my postdoctoral fellowship at ESSM. Our research is primarily focused on rugby and identifying ways to reduce injury risks and improve performance. I have 9 publications to-date, and an h-index of 4.

The focus of my PhD was on measuring tackle and ruck technique in rugby. The outcomes of both tackles and rucks are key indicators of overall team performance in the game, but also carry the highest injury risk, compared to other match events. Research has found that proficient technique in contact can reduce the risk of injury and improve performance. The rationale behind the PhD was, therefore, to develop a valid and objective contact technique assessment tool, to assist coaches to develop technique in training.

The PhD degree provided me with great opportunities to publish my research, present at conferences around the world, collaborate with local and international researchers, and supervise and lecture other students. During this time, I also had incredible opportunities to work with local rugby teams. I worked as a video analyst for two Super League A teams, and as a technical analyst for the Western Province Rugby Academy (WPRA). This allowed me to work directly with coaches, understand the game from their perspective, and learn how to apply research in real world settings.

My postdoc fellowship has enabled me to build on these opportunities. I have been able to prepare myself for an academic career by taking part in department teaching activities, supervising research projects and publishing research.

At the beginning of this year, I was appointed as a sports scientist at the WPRA. My role at the academy involves collecting, analysing, and reporting on coach-driven data. Combining the two roles of academic and sports scientist has been great, as I have been able to apply the skills I learnt through research in a sports context, while also collecting meaningful data for research.

Aside from science I love hiking. Most weekends you will find my wife and I somewhere on Table Mountain. I am also a passionate football fan #blueisthecolour.

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HEALTH SCIENCES department of human biology Physical Address Anatomy Building, Level 5, Room 5.14 Faculty of Health Sciences, University of Cape Town Anzio Road, Observatory, Cape Town, South Africa Email thehubconnexion@uct.ac.za Website humanbiology.uct.ac.za Twitter twitter.com/uct_hub Facebook facebook.com/ucthumanbiology Instagram instagram.com/hub_uct/

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HEALTH SCIENCES

HUB Department of Human Biology

University of Cape Town / Faculty of Health Sciences / Department of Human Biology / THE HUB CONNEXION / SEPTEMBER 2020 / ISSUE 3 Design, Typesetting and Proofreading MantaRay Design Studio www.mantaraydesign.co.za

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