Wits Health Sciences Honours Celebration 2022

WITS FACULTY OF HEALTH SCIENCES

H O N O U R S

C E L E B R A T I O N

“Training healthcare professionals fit for the 21st century in an ever changing world"

PROGRAMME

Opening

Welcome Introductions

Dean's Address

Key-note Address

Awards Ceremony

Research, Innovation and Postgraduate

NRF Ratings

Special Graduations

Teaching & Learning

Long Service

Appointments & Promotions

Service Excellence

Emeritus Professors

Retirees

Vote of Thanks

Message from the Dean

FIT FOR PURPOSE

It is with great pride that the Wits Faculty of Health Sciences celebrates its achievements of 2022. Most significantly, we recognise the exceptional talent whose contribution drives the faculty to a leading institution in the country and the continent.

This wouldn’t be possible without the dedication of our professional and academic staff. There is no doubt that the collective efforts of these men and women are responsible for the faculty’s everdefining turning points since its inception.

All this is done with one goal in mind, namely to train healthcare professionals that are fit for the 21st century in an ever-changing world. This means that the faculty is reconceptualising a manner in which we use the latest technology to enhance our students’ experience and the management of patients.

Central to every aspect of our growth is our students and the knowledge that we impart to them. With so many brilliant minds and groundingbreaking developments in the health sciences profession, the education we provide would not have “the edge” if it doesn’t stand the test of time. Some of those celebrated in this ceremony are outstanding teachers and others are meticulous executors whose seamless work behind the scenes brings ideas.

How proud we are that our students walk, engage and learn from some of the top researchers in health sciences and innovative professionals of all disciplines.

In an era of an explosion of knowledge where over 9 million science research publications were published in 2022 alone, it is motivating that our students are taught by some of the toprated contributors of this time.

What a time it is that there are rigorous approaches in healthcare that not only expand but informs and advances the reach of the work of these top contributors that are in our midst. This phenomenon of Artificial Intelligence (AI) equips any category of healthcare worker to make a diagnosis, with such precision that even the greatest of specialists would come short of its multidisciplinary application.

This is the calibre of students that we pride ourselves to produce in our faculty. Not those that depend on technology, but collaborate and investigate their knowledge through such so that they are better practitioners in the future.

This has inspired the faculty to re-engage how we deliver our training to equip students to use the latest technology to their benefit and the benefit of their patients. All this in the hands of diligent, highly-trained and ethical healthcare practitioners is an emergence of healthcare workers of the 21st century – thanks to the exceptional staff of this faculty.

About the speaker

Dr Pantanowitz has been described in the media as an “iconic biomedical engineer”. As a technologist, he enjoys using his applied sciences skills to have a realworld impact.

He has co-founded several businesses/social impact projects including AURA, Resolute Education, shift.stream, and others. Dr Pantanowitz lectured on Software, Biomedical Engineering, and Medicine at Wits University in Johannesburg where he holds the Chair in Innovation. He is the incoming Director of the Wits Innovation Centre.

Dr Pantanowitz is an internationally chartered engineer and holds a PhD in Artificial Intelligence (AI) applied to healthcare innovation

About the talk

Dr Pantanowitz has innovated in healthcare using AI for 15 years. In this talk, he explores exciting cuttingedge AI innovations drawing from various tools such as data augmentation with applications of his own projects.

These include automated face mask detection, automated BMI detection, X-ray generation, and the brainternet project, to dream about how the field of healthcare is rapidly changing.

Critically, we consider how the chain of healthcare provision may be impacted, from patient to practitioner, unpacking why this pursuit is of the utmost importance, and how the professional of the future may be impacted and even enhanced.

Research, Innovation & postgraduate

SPECIAL ACHIEVEMENTS

Professor Shabir Madhi

NSTF-South32 Lifetime Award

Professor Madhi was awarded the NSTF-South32 Lifetime Award at the ‘Science Oscars’ of South Africa. A NRF A-rated scientist and a paediatrician, Madhi's research has focused on the epidemiology and clinical development of vaccines against pneumonia and diarrhoeal disease, as well as vaccines for pregnant women to protect the mother and her offspring.

These studies have informed World Health Organization’s recommendations on the use of the lifesaving pneumococcal conjugate vaccine and rotavirus vaccine in children, and flu vaccination of pregnant women.

Dr Simone Richardson

Faculty Research Prize

Dr Richardson (NICD/ Antibody Immunity Research Unit) was awarded the 2022 Faculty Research Prize for her publication in Cell Host and Microbe entitled “SARS-CoV-2 Omicron triggers crossreactive neutralization and Fc effector functions in previously vaccinated, but not unvaccinated, individuals”.

The Research Prize Award is made for the research publication considered to be of high quality within the discipline and judged substantially on the Impact Factor and rank in the discipline of the journal in which the article was published.

ASSAf Science for Society Gold Medal

Professor Karen Hofman was awarded the Academy of Science of South Africa (ASSAf) Science for Society Gold Medal. Hofman received a Gold Medal for her application of scientific thinking in the service of society, the results of which mean that we as a population are healthier.

ASSAf annually awards ASSAf Science for Society Gold Medals in recognition of outstanding achievements by individuals. Up to two Gold Medals are awarded per annum for outstanding achievement in scientific thinking for the benefit of society.

Karen Hofman is a Research Professor and Founding Director of the South African Medical Research Council (SAMRC)/Wits Centre for Health Economics and Decision Science (PRICELESS SA) in the School of Public Health.

Doctor of Science in Medicine honoris causa degree - University of London; Ministerial COVID-19 Special Award; L’ordre national du Mérite (National Order of Merit); Named in Harvard’s list of 25 standout voices in public health in Africa

Professor Rees, Executive Director of the Wits RHI was bestowed a Doctor of Science in Medicine honoris causa degree by the University of London in 2022. The University of London bestows these honorary degrees to people of eminence and distinction.

Secondly, Professor Rees was awarded the prestigious Ministerial COVID-19 Special Award at the National Batho Pele Excellence Awards in the Platinum Category in recognition of her contributions to the COVID-19 pandemic. This accolade acknowledges and recognises her outstanding contributions to COVID-19 research for 2021/2022.

She was also awarded the prestigious L’ordre national du Mérite (National Order of Merit) by the President of the French Republic Emmanuel Macron, in recognition of her ground-breaking and outstanding medical career. In February 2022, she received notice of the honour from the French Ambassador to the Republic of South Africa.

Lastly, in 2022, Professor Rees was named in Harvard’s list of 25 standout voices in public health in Africa (Harvard Public Health Magazine). She is amongst the many outstanding and remarkable leaders making a new path for the public health field and shaping policy and practice on the continent.

Professor Karen Hofman

Professor Helen Rees

Sydney Brenner Institute for Molecular Bioscience, (Director - Professor Michele Ramsay)

NRF Science Team Award

Sydney Brenner Institute for Molecular Bioscience (SBIMB) was awarded the NRF Science Team Award for extending the boundaries of scientific research in Africa that is impactful to society. The team is recognised for advancing human genetics in Africa. The director of SBIMB, Professor Michèle Ramsay and her senior research team, including Professor Scott Hazelhurst, Dr Ananyo Choudhury, Distinguished Research Professor Collen Masimirembwa, and Professor Chris Mathew, won the 2022 NRF Science Team Award.

This award recognises a team’s contributions, creativity and achievements in expanding the boundaries of scientific research in Africa, producing science outcomes which have positively impacted society, and raising South Africa’s international stature as a world-class research destination.

2022 FIP Distinguished Pharmaceutical Science Award

Professor Yahya Choonara received the 2022 FIP Distinguished Pharmaceutical Science Award at the 80th FIP World Congress of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences held in Seville, Spain. The FIP Distinguished Pharmaceutical Science Award recognises an outstanding research-active scientist, who has made significant contributions to the diverse field of pharmaceutical sciences. The award will be granted every three years at an annual FIP Congress.

ASSA Lifetime Distinguished Member Award

Professor Maryna Steyn is a Biological Anthropologist and Director of the Human Variation and Identification Research Unit was awarded an ASSA Lifetime Distinguished Member Award.

As a specialist in human skeletal remains, she consults to the South African Police Service on decomposed and skeletonized human remains and holds an accreditation as forensic anthropologist from FASE (Forensic Anthropology Society of Europe). In the past 20 years she has completed more than 500 forensic anthropological case reports and has been involved in several high-level investigations and repatriations. She conducts research on human remains from forensic contexts and archaeological sites, focusing on skeletal identification and palaeopathology.

Professor Yahya Choonara

Professor Maryna Steyn

Professor Paul Manger

FHS Best Postgraduate Supervisor Award

Professor Paul Manger was awarded the Faculty of Health Sciences Best Postgraduate Supervisor Award. His research focuses on the evolution of brain and behaviour – evolutionary neuroethology –of African mammals.

Professor Manger, his colleagues and numerous postgraduate students examine the structure of African and other mammal brains to investigate how brains change and how they stay the same in different phylogenetic lineages and mammals showing major morphological variations. The laboratory has examined the brains of very small mammals (such as Mus minutoides, with a brain weighing in at 275 mg) through to the brains of African elephants (which weigh in at around 5 kg). These studies are building a fundamental understanding of the processes of brain evolution and how they relate to behaviour in mammals.

Professor Gavin Norton (posthumously)

2021 Helen Laburn Prize

The late Professor Gavin Norton was awarded the 2021 Helen Laburn Prize in 2022. The Prize was initiated by members of the School of Physiology, on Helen’s passing in 2014, to celebrate and honour her invaluable and special contribution to creating an environment in which research excellence can thrive.

Professor Norton was the Director of the Cardiovascular Pathophysiology and Genomics Research Unit. He was a formidable researcher. He had a great passion for the teaching and training of students and was instrumental in curriculum development, implementation and monitoring in the School of Physiology. His contribution to the body of work covering cardiovascular pathophysiology, hypertension and heart failure, has been immense.

May his soul rest in peace.

Dr Brooke Nichols

2022 Boston University School of Public Health Excellence in Research Early Career Award

Dr Brooke Nichols was awarded the 2022 Boston University School of Public Health Excellence in Research Early Career Award.

Dr Nichols, a health economist and infectious disease mathematical modeller from the Health Economics and Epidemiology Research Office (HE²RO) was awarded a Research Early Career Award by the Boston University School of Public Health (BUSPH) Excellence.

The early career excellence award recognizes the outstanding contribution of one junior faculty member whose primary academic appointment is at BUSPH. Recipients should have scholarly accomplishments that advance public health research and improves the health of the communities.

Professor Thesla Palanee–Phillips

Promotion and Joint Appointment to Affiliate Associate Professor with the University of Washington

Professor Palanee–Phillips obtained a promotion and Joint Appointment to Affiliate Associate Professor with the University of Washington, Department of Epidemiology, School of Public Health, Seattle, USA in 2022. This is a monumental achievement in her career.

Professor Sinead Delany-Moretlwe

Professor of Global Health and Infectious Diseases at Wits; SAHPRA registered long-acting, injectable cabotegravir (CAB-LA) for HIV prevention

Professor Delany-Moretlwe, the Director of Research at Wits RHI was appointed the Professor of Global Health and Infectious Diseases at Wits.

In addition, in 2022 the South African Health Products Regulatory Authority (SAHPRA) registered longacting, injectable cabotegravir (CAB-LA) for HIV prevention. As an executive committee member for the HIV Prevention Trials Network (HPTN) and the protocol chair for the HPTN 084 trial, Professor Delany-Moretlwe was intrinsic to this globally significant development.

HPTN 084 is a study being done to evaluate the safety and efficacy of CAB-LA in a context where long-acting pre-exposure prophylaxis for HIV prevention is needed to increase treatment adherence.

Professor Colleen Wright

2022 James W. Reagan Clinical Cytology Award

Professor Colleen Wright, Honorary Professor in the Department of Anatomical Pathology, School of Pathology was awarded the 2022 James W. Reagan Clinical Cytology Award. The Award was presented at the 21st International Congress of Cytology which took place in November 2022 in Baltimore, USA.

Professor Wayne Grayson

President of the International Committee for Dermatopathology

Professor Wayne Grayson, Honorary Professor in the Department of Anatomical Pathology, School of Pathology was appointed as President of the International Committee for Dermatopathology.

Network for Genomics Surveillance in South Africa

(part of the network - Drs Jinal Bhiman and Catherine Scheepers)

NSTF-South32 Data for Research Award

At the 2022 NSTF-South32 Awards, the Data for Research Award was awarded to a team of science “rockstars” from the Network for Genomics Surveillance in South Africa (NGS-SA) for their groundbreaking work with SARS-CoV-2.

The team consists of virologists, scientists, bioinformaticians and clinicians and is responsible for the discovery of both the Beta and Omicron variants of the virus. The Network for Genomic Surveillance in South Africa (NGS-SA) is a network of laboratories, scientists and academic institutions that have joined forces to rapidly respond to public health threats in South Africa, launched with five of the largest National Health Laboratory Service labs with funds from the Department of Science and Innovation (DSI) and SAMRC.

Two Wits authors, Drs Jinal Bhiman and Cathrine Scheepers of the MRC Antibody Immunity Research Unit are part of the Network for Genomic Surveillance in South Africa.

NRF RATING

NRF RATINGS

A-Rating

We recognise the A-rated scientists – these are researchers who are unequivocally recognised by their peers as leading international scholars in their field for the high quality and impact of their recent research publications.

A-Rated Researchers

Professor Lenore Manderson

Professor Lynn Morris

Professor Frederick Raal B-Rating

We recognise the B-rated scientists – these are researchers who enjoy considerable international recognition by their peers for the high quality and impact of their recent research outputs.

B-Rated Researchers

Professor Daynia Ballot

Professor Kevin Behrens

Dr Basil Brooke

Professor Charles Feldman

Professor Bavesh Kana

Professor Emeritus Saraladevi Naicker

Professor Angela Woodiwiss

NRF RATINGS

C-Rating

We recognise the C-rated scientists – these are established researchers with a sustained recent record of productivity in the field who are recognised by their peers as having:

• produced a body of quality work, the core of which has coherence and attests to ongoing engagement with the field

• demonstrated the ability to conceptualise problems and apply research methods to investigating them.

C-Rated Researchers

Professor Lisa du Toit Lee Shong

Associate Professor Abdullah Ely

Professor Kennedy Erlwanger

Dr Joel Francis

Associate Professor Philippe Gradidge

Professor Amadi Ihunwo

Professor Hellen Myezwa

Associate Professor Nisha Naicker

Professor Joanne Potterton

Associate Professor Karine Scheuermaier

Y-Rating

We recognise the Y-rated scientists - Young researchers (40 years** or younger), who have held the doctorate or equivalent qualification for less than five years# at the time of application, and who are recognised as having the potential to establish themselves as researchers within a five-year period after evaluation, based on their performance and productivity of quality research outputs during their doctoral studies and/or early post-doctoral careers.

Y-Rated Researchers

Dr Orienka Hellferscee

Dr Juliana Kagura

Dr Natasha Khamisa

SPECIAL GRADUATIONS

Professor Deborah Glencross

DSc (Med) from Wits

Professor Glencross' thesis was entitled “Panleucogated (PLG) CD4 HIV Immune Monitoring: a difference by disruption”.

Her research focus over the past 25 years has primarily been around the development of novel and affordable laboratory monitoring assays for HIV/AIDS; of note especially, was her development of the substantively cheaper and better quality CD4 test, called panleucogated or PLG CD4.

Since the inception of the South African HIV treatment programme in 2004, more than 40 million PLG-CD4 tests have been across the South African State Health Lab Services, with cumulative savings to South Africa exceeding R8 billion.

Professor Frederick Raal

DSc (Med) from Wits

Professor Raal's thesis was entitled “Familial hypercholesterolaemia (FH) –three decades of advances in therapy”.

He has played a pivotal role in advancing the treatment for FH both locally and internationally and his thesis describes these advances in therapy over the past three decades. The major focus of his research remains the clinical, biochemical, genetic and therapeutic management of this condition.

Lastly, Raal was named as one of the Faculty’s Most Highly Cited Researchers in 2022. Highly cited researchers publish in ISI indexed journals and their highly cited and hot papers are ranked in the top 1% and 0.1% of all articles by number of citations, respectively.

Professor Laetitia Rispel

DSc (Med) from Wits

Professor Laetitia Rispel became the first African woman to get a Doctor of Science in Medicine degree.

Her thesis was entitled “Transformation of Human Resources for Health in South Africa: Contributions to knowledge and policy”.

The research is a major cross-cutting issue that complements the scholarly contribution to health policy engagement, influence, and capacity building. In addition, Professor Rispel was awarded a Doctor of Science honoris causa from the University of Cape Town in 2022 in recognition of her service and outstanding contribution to the public healthcare sector in South Africa and abroad.

Teaching & Learning

PV TOBIAS AND CONVOCATION MEDAL DISTINGUISHED TEACHER AWARDS

For the first time for this category, a team award was offered. In line with their success in the ViceChancellor's Team Teaching Award, the team below is presented with the Faculty Award.

Joint Team Award Winner:

FHS Department of Paediatrics – Chris Hani Baragwanath Hospital Team

This team teaches the Paediatric Graduate Entry Medical Programme (GEMP) Year 3, Paediatric Physical Examination Skills Online (PPES) course.

TEAM MEMBERS:

Associate Prof Sanjay Lala, Clinical tutor

Associate Prof Ziyaad Dangor, Clinical tutor

Dr Shannon Leahy, Clinical tutor

Dr Ann George, Senior Lecturer

Mr Shogan Ganas, Instructional Designer

Dominique Woolridge, Team Leader: Learning Experience Design

Dr Gerrit Wissing, Director: Centre for Learning, Teaching & Development

VC'S TEACHING AWARDS

Individual Award Winner: Dr Argentina Maria Ingratta

Dr Ingratta, a lecturer in the Department of Internal Medicine at Wits and a physician at Helen Joseph Hospital, won the individual teaching award.

Ingratta took a leadership role in transforming teaching and learning in Internal Medicine, through the use of blended-learning technologies, which support student learning support, and spearheaded the adaptation of material and development of curricula suitable to a South African context.

Team Award Winner: FHS Department of Paediatrics – Chris Hani Baragwanath Hospital Team

This team teaches the Paediatric Graduate Entry Medical Programme (GEMP) Year 3, Paediatric Physical Examination Skills Online (PPES) course.

Team members:

Associate Prof Sanjay Lala

Associate Prof Ziyaad Dangor

Dr Shannon Leah

Dr Ann George

Mr Shogan Ganas

Dominique Woolridge

Dr Gerrit Wissing

VC'S PROFESSIONAL AND ADMINISTRATIVE SERVICE EXCELLENCE AWARD

Individual Award Winner: Mrs Lynne Pritchard

Mrs Pritchard is an Administrative Officer in the School of Physiology, Faculty of Health Sciences was joint individual winner in the category Grade 10 to 13. Over 30 years, Pritchard has witnessed developments in Wits’ IT, learning management systems (LMS) and data-capturing platforms. As the interface between student and academic, she has been instrumental in facilitating this transition, particularly by intense training of academics on the ulwazi LMS, often remotely.

HUMAN RESOURCES

LONG SERVICE AWARDS: JOINT-STAFF

20 Years

Dr Tanvier Omar, School of Pathology

Dr Anthony Smith, School of Pathology

Dr Yvonne Perner, School of Pathology

Dr Agata Czajkowski, School of Pathology

Dr Eunice Van Den Berg, School of Pathology

Professor Nelesh Govender, School of Pathology

Dr Hassen Alli, School of Clinical Medicine

Dr Tracy Bakos, School of Clinical Medicine

Dr Ismail Kalla, School of Clinical Medicine

Keletso Zwane, School of Oral Health Sciences

Dr Mark Human, School of Clinical Medicine

Dr Elizabeth HO, School of Clinical Medicine

Dr Shabbir Aleka, School of Clinical Medicine

Dr Joan Mbengo, School of Clinical Medicine

Dr Susan Tager, School of Clinical Medicine

Dr Jordaan Elsabe, School of Clinical Medicine

Dr Daniel Hoffman, School of Clinical Medicine

Dr Coceka Mnyani, School of Clinical Medicine

Dr Palesa Motshabi, School of Clinical Medicine

Dr Khakhu Mathivha, School of Clinical Medicine

Dr Moleleki Moroeng, School of Clinical Medicine

Dr Nthatheni Madima, School of Clinical Medicine

Dr Solomzi Nyimbane, School of Clinical Medicine

Dr Elizabeth Semenya, School of Clinical Medicine

Dr Nkosinathi Mdladla, School of Clinical Medicine

Dr Thavendree Moodley, School of Clinical Medicine

Dr Alison Van Kwawegen, School of Clinical Medicine

Dr Kebashni Thandrayen, School of Clinical Medicine

Professor Sithembiso Velaphi, School of Clinical Medicine

Dr Vyonne Hoods - Moonsammy, School of Oral Health Sciences

LONG SERVICE AWARDS: JOINT-STAFF

25 Years

Sureka Bhola, School of Pathology

Dr Penny Keene, School of Pathology

Dr Jeanette Wadula, School of Pathology

Dr Kerrigan McCarthy, School of Pathology

Dr Celeste Quan, School of Clinical Medicine

Dr Willy Hendson, School of Clinical Medicine

Dr Mignonette Du Plessis, School of Pathology

Adjunct Professor Gita Naidu, School of Clinical Medicine

Adjunct Professor Shahed Omar, School of Clinical Medicine

Adjunct Professor Sagren Naidoo, School of Clinical Medicine

Adjunct Professor Susan Williams, School of Clinical Medicine

Adjunct Professor Adam Mahomed, School of Clinical Medicine

Adjunct Professor Ahmed Solomon, School of Clinical Medicine

Adjunct Professor Georgia Demetriou, School of Clinical Medicine

Adjunct Professor Efthimios Christofides, School of Clinical Medicine

30 Years

Dr Chris Frey, School of Clinical Medicine

Dr June Fabian, School of Clinical Medicine

Dr Kishen Dayal, School of Clinical Medicine

Dr Kashif Mustafa, School of Clinical Medicine

Dr Linda Doedens, School of Clinical Medicine

Associate Professor Mrudula Patel, School of Pathology

Adjunct Professor Joy Shackleton, School of Oral Health

Professor Mboyo-Di-Tamba Vangu, School of Clinical Medicine

Adjunct Professor Ebrahim Variava, School of Clinical Medicine

Adjunct Professor Andreas Chrysostomou, School of Clinical Medicine

LONG SERVICE AWARDS: JOINT-STAFF

30 Years Cont.

Dr Nitien Naran, School of Pathology

Adjunct Prof Antoinette Cilliers, School of Clinical Medicine

Dr Susan Brown, School of Clinical Medicine

Dr Jeanine Rademeyer, School of Clinical Medicine

Dr Rosemary Moabi, School of Clinical Medicine

Dr Romy Kuhn, School of Clinical Medicine

Dr Helen Clark, School of Clinical Medicine

Dr Ari Weinstein, School of Clinical Medicine

35 Years

Adjunct Prof Barry Jacobson, School of Pathology

Adjunct Prof Nazeer Alli, School of Pathology

Adjunct Prof Damon Bizos, School of Clinical Medicine

Dr Silvio Breno, School of Clinical Medicine

Dr Sandra Emdon, School of Clinical Medicine

Professor Rajen Morar, School of Clinical Medicine

Dr Yunous Omar, School of Clinical Medicine

Prof Haroon Saloojee, School of Clinical Medicine

Dr Jacinta Shung, School of Clinical Medicine

40 Years

Dr Clive Martin, School of Clinical Medicine

Dr Vinod Goolab, School of Clinical Medicine

Dr Ilse Nockler, School of Clinical Medicine

Dr Hansa Ratanjee, School of Clinical Medicine

Adjunct Prof Linda Scher, School of Clinical Medicine

45 Years

Dr Ayesha Bera, School of Clinical Medicine

LONG SERVICE AWARDS: FULL-TIME APPOINTMENTS

20 Years

Karen Dow, School of Clinical Medicine

Dr Chien Chen, School of Clinical Medicine

Shirley Cherane, School of Clinical Medicine

Mignon Coetzee, School of Clinical Medicine

Chantal Lambert, School of Clinical Medicine

Sepeke Sekgwele, Adler Museum of Medicine

Magaritha Kruger, School of Clinical Medicine

Martin Manyike, School of Oral Health Sciences

Manimagalay Naidoo, Office of Student Success

Sonnyboy Moshapo, School of Anatomical Sciences

Associate Professor Lois Harden, School of Physiology

Professor Paul Manger, School of Anatomical Sciences

Professor Helen Van Aswegen, School of Therapeutic Sciences

25 Years

Professor Andrea Fuller, School of Physiology

Professor Patrick Arbuthnot, School of Pathology

30 Years

Dr Tintswalo Hlungwani, School of Public Health

Shirra Moch, Centre for Health Science Education

Professor Angela Woodiwiss, School of Physiology

35 Years

Sandra Benn, Faculty Registrar's Office

Jacob Ntoi, Business Management Office

Glynis Veale, School of Anatomical Sciences

Professor Daynia Ballot, School of Clinical Medicine

APPOINTMENTS & PROMOTIONS

FACULTY SENIOR ACADEMIC APPOINTMENTS & PROMOTIONS

ADJUNCT PROFESSOR, School of Clinical Medicine

Dr Aubrey Makgotloe

Dr Makgotloe began his training in the Division of Ophthalmology in 2001, and has proven to be an excellent academic in the Division since. He completed his registrar training and qualified as a specialist in 2004, his MMed studying aspects of corneal transplantation, graduated in 2009, and published the work in the South African Medical Journal, which was a good achievement for a registrar. Dr Makgotloe received several awards including the prestigious 'Registrar of the Year' award.

Dr Makgotloe is currently the Academic Head of the Division of Ophthalmology, and therefore, makes a significant contribution in training both Undergraduate and Postgraduate students. He is responsible for curriculum development with respect to GEMP 3 and 4. Dr Makgotloe has been successful in modernizing the delivery of teaching to undergraduate and postgraduate students. This has made delivery of ophthalmology training more efficient and kept up with trends. The Division of Ophthalmology has an excellent pass rate at both undergraduate and postgraduate level. He conducts workshops on various Ophthalmology topics as part of ongoing medical education, while also serving as an examiner at both undergraduate and postgraduate level nationally.

His publications reflect his clinical involvement but he has also played a role with the projects in Pharmacology that has given rise to many publications for the department. He has further received recognition for his research in the SAM - Nora Cohen Award in 2008.

Dr Makgotloe is recognized as an expert vitreo-retinal surgeon, recognized for his management and training in retinal disorders on the WITS circuit. His clinical expertise is reflected in his many invitations as a speaker at National congresses and he was invited to Chair a session at the African Ophthalmology Congress. He has chaired 4 national congress sessions on Ophthalmology in the past 5 years. Dr Makgotloe serves on several Department, School and Faculty Committees. He is the current President of the College of Ophthalmologists and is a CMSA Senator (he was previously secretary of the college). He is a MMed examiner for other Universities, as well as, an editorial board member of SA Ophthalmology Journal (SAOJ) and reviewer for SAOJ and A YEH. He conducts ongoing CME workshops in Ophthalmology for General Practitioners, and served on the EXCO of the Ophthalmology Society of SA.

We congratulate Dr Makgotloe on his promotion to Adjunct Professor

FACULTY SENIOR ACADEMIC APPOINTMENTS & PROMOTIONS

ASSOCIATE PROFESSOR, School of Clinical Medicine

Dr Nqoba Tsabedza

Dr Tsabedze is a Specialist Cardiologist, and completed his certification in Cardiology (CMSA, 2015), and an MMed (2017), currently registered for a PhD. Dr Tsabedze is involved with curriculum development, and teaching Cardiology to Undergraduate GEMP 3 and 4 students. He is responsible for Registrar and Fellows training in Cardiology, and has successfully developed a cardiology bedside teaching guide at an Undergraduate level, and established ECG teaching for GEMP 3 and 4 students rotating in medicine. To date, 60 Registrars and 9 Fellows have successfully completed the cardiology rotation. He has supervised 5 MMed and 8 BTech students to completion. He supervises Registrars, and he is an external examiner at both Undergraduate and Postgraduate level for other Universities. He is extensively involved in continuing medical education and training in Cardiology.

Dr Tsabedze’s research niche is focused on heart failure and its respective phenotypes and etiologies. To date, he has published 24 peer-reviewed accredited articles – 15 original research, 3 case reports and 6 reviews. Two of the reviews by invitation are published in the Journal of American College of Cardiology, with an impact factor of 24. He is first/senior author on 10 of the articles. He is co-author on a book chapter, and he has an additional 6 unaccredited publications. He has 14 congress publications, and has successfully established a translational cardiovascular research group, which has attracted research-related funding through self-initiated research projects, PhD student's research grants and academic travel grants. Dr Tsabedze is the chair of weekly cardiology academic meetings at the CMJAH. He is a frequent convener of the Certification in Cardiology examination, also involved in reforming the CMSA Cardiology examination format, sets and moderates multiple-choice questions for the FCP (SA) part two examinations, and also regularly contributes to final-year medical students' exit examinations. Additionally, he has been invited to be an external examiner for the MBChB program at UKZN and SMU.

Dr Tsabedze has been an invited keynote speaker at more than 70 local and international congresses in the past five years. He served on the Ministerial Advisory Committee for Cardiovascular Health, and serves as the Vice President of the Heart Failure Society of SA and National Chairperson of the SA Heart Registry. He is a peer reviewer for 17 local and international journals, and is an examiner for the CMSA Diploma in Internal Medicine.

We congratulate Dr Tsabedza on his promotion to Associate Professor

FACULTY SENIOR ACADEMIC APPOINTMENTS & PROMOTIONS

ASSOCIATE PROFESSOR, School of Clinical Medicine

Dr Pascaline Fru

Dr Fru achieved a BSc (Hons) in Biochemistry in 2005, MSc in Biochemistry in 2008 and PhD in Biochemistry in 2012. She also completed the PGDip (HE) in 2021. She is currently employed as the Research Coordinator in the Department of Surgery at Wits University. This is one of the largest academic departments and she contributes significantly to the MMed program. Dr Fru has been up to the task of fostering the teaching, research and service goals and the overall vision of the university at various levels.

Dr Fru has a distinguished track record of Postgraduate teaching, has supervised 10 Masters (2 MSc and 8 MMed), five BSc Honours and one PhD to completion. She is currently supervising an additional 9 MMed, 4 MSc and 3 PhD students. Her teaching scores are above the University average, and it is also worth noting that her teaching extends broadly and is utilized beyond local/national borders.

Dr Fru has successfully aligned her research focus in driving the research agenda of the department by investigating important basic and translational research questions. She has independently obtained the necessary research funding through excellent granstmanship, and has put together a hardworking research team consisting of postgraduate students whom she mentors. Dr Fru has 25 DHET accredited publications. She is first/senior author on 12, has an additional published conference abstract, two non-accredited articles and two book chapters. Her H-index (Google Scholar) is 11 and she has 413 citations. Additionally, Dr Fru is involved in ongoing international collaborative research.

At a Departmental level, she serves on the protocol review committee, the School Graduate Studies & Research committee and the School- and Faculty Research day committee. She is an external examiner for Walter Sisulu University. She is also a reviewer for NRF grant applications. Dr Fru is a fellow of the Africa Science Leadership program, and mentors school-girls from disadvantaged backgrounds. She is involved in various committees and actively contributes to the smooth running of research various meetings. Externally, she recently completed a 4-year stint, serving as external examiner for the Department of Human Biology at Walter Sisulu University. She is a reviewer for numerous journals and serves as an Editorial Board member for the World Journal of Gastroenterology.

We congratulate Dr Fru on her promotion to Associate Professor

FACULTY SENIOR ACADEMIC APPOINTMENTS & PROMOTIONS

ASSOCIATE PROFESSOR, School of Pathology

Dr Reubina Wadee

Dr Wadee’s qualifications includes an MMed obtained in 2013 and a PhD in 2019, both from Wits. She is registered with the Irish Medical Council and the Health Professions Council of South Africa.

Dr Wadee has taught multiple anatomical pathology courses to medical, dental, pharmacy, occupational therapy and physiotherapy students. Her current teaching focus is on postgraduate students, predominantly registrars in Anatomical pathology. The Division has 30 registrars who regularly interface with her, as she is responsible for their regular assessments, mentoring, and supervising their research. She has graduated five masters to completion and is currently supervising another six students at various stages of their research.

Dr Wadee’s research niche is molecular analysis of endometrial carcinomas, which was the subject of her PhD. She is a “go-to” person for gynecologic pathology and is currently doing several studies with local and national collaborators. Dr Wadee has 26 original research articles and 14 case series, commentary and research letters in national and international journals. She is the first author in 23 of the 26 publications. She has produced 20 of the 26 articles in the last four years. Her H-index is 3 and has 31 Scopus citations. Dr Wadee has procured 8 research grants, 4 of which are currently ongoing. She is the principal Investigator in 2. She has presented at 17 national and international meetings.

Dr Wadee is involved in over 30 University, national and international Committees. Her leadership roles include coordinating the Intern Scientist training program in the Division, Convening the annual registrar examinations, and Co-chairing the School Transformation Committee.

We congratulate Dr Wadee on her promotion to Associate Professor

FACULTY SENIOR ACADEMIC APPOINTMENTS & PROMOTIONS

ASSOCIATE PROFESSOR, School of

Pathology

Dr Vindana Chibabhai

Dr Chibabhai is a specialist Microbiologist who obtained an MMed in 2015. She is a Senior Lecturer within the CMID, currently registered for a PhD.

In terms of Teaching, Dr Chibabhai’s Undergraduate teaching portfolio includes involvement in MBBCh 2 up to GEMP 3 level and teaching Dental, Pharmacy and Nursing students. Her Postgraduate teaching involves training registrars in Clinical Microbiology, Clinical Pathology and BSc Honours students. Dr Chibabhai’s participates in, and input in the Department’s course development, planning and student assessment. In order to reach the Undergraduate and Postgraduate student audience during lockdown, when face-to-face interactions were not allowed, she developed a Microbiology and Infectious Diseases podcast targeting students and clinicians. Episode topics are those encountered in everyday clinical practice, which are important for students and clinicians. Dr Chibabhai has supervised 6 Master’s and 2 Honours students to completion and currently manages 5 Postgraduate and 1 GEMP student research project.

Dr Chibabhai’s research niche is antimicrobial resistance (AMR), antimicrobial stewardship (AMS) and healthcare-associated infections (HAI). She has 26 publications in PubMed, including several case studies and an editorial. She is the first or senior author in 12 of the completed publications, the majority of which are in international journals with decent impact factors such as the CID ( IF=20), IJI (IF=12), and Clin Micro and Inf (IF=13). She is Principal Investigator in two ongoing research grants, and has 21 congress presentations and has delivered three plenaries.

Dr Chibabhai has a complex service record, including contributions to the University, the NHLS, the Charlotte Maxeke Johannesburg Academic Hospital, Nelson Mandela Academic Hospital and the Clinical Microbiology profession nationally. She co-chairs the antimicrobial Stewardship Committees at the CMJAH and NMCH, and has membership of several University and NHLS Committees. Nationally, her involvement includes the NHLS Microbiology Technology Assessment Committee, FIDSSA Candida Auris Working Group, FIDSSA Congress Scientific Committee 2019, Advisory Committee PathRed 2017 and NHLS EUCAST Working Group 2018-2019. She is a reviewer of several journals and has examined a number of research reports for Postgraduate students.

We congratulate Dr Chibabhai on her promotion to Associate Professor

FACULTY SENIOR ACADEMIC APPOINTMENTS & PROMOTIONS

ASSOCIATE

PROFESSOR,

School of Public Health

Dr Mary Kawonga

Dr Mary Kawonga graduated with an MBChB (1991) from the University of Zambia and a Diploma in Health Services Management (1997) with Distinction at the University of KwaZulu-Natal. She holds a PhD in Public Health (2015) from WITS, and is a fellow of the College of Public Health Medicine in South Africa.

Dr Kawonga has contributed to teaching at Postgraduate and Undergraduate level, and clinical training of public health medicine registrars. Her teaching roles also extend to classroom lecture sessions, research supervision, and mentoring of students enrolled for the Master of Public Health, Master of Science in Epidemiology, and PhD within the school. At postgraduate level within the School of Public Health, she has been involved in teaching Health Measurement I & II, Health and Society, and Research Protocol Development within the MPH programme and she took convening roles in courses such as Surveillance and Implementation Science I, within the MSc Epidemiology programme. She has led the MPH curriculum review, which culminated into core competencies for the first year of all MPH fields of study. Dr Kawonga has supervised 27 masters and three PhD students to completion, and is currently supervising two masters and four PhD students.

Her research interests lie in health services research and evaluation and health policy and systems research, including implementation research. She has 35 peer-reviewed publications. Her research output has increased significantly over the last five years with 23 peer-reviewed publications.

She has been an external examiner to four academic institutions in South Africa for either their postgraduate programmes or postgraduate student’s research reports. She is currently a member of research committee, executive, teaching & learning, and plagiarism committees with the school of public health, and the undergraduate committee within the faculty.

Previously, she was a member of several committees in the School of Public Health, School of Clinical Medicine and Faculty. External to Wits, she has been a peer reviewer for more than 10 journals, reviewer for conference abstracts, external reviewer for research funding applications to funding bodies

We congratulate Dr Kawonga on her promotion to Associate Professor

FACULTY SENIOR ACADEMIC APPOINTMENTS & PROMOTIONS

ASSOCIATE PROFESSOR,

School of Public Health

Dr Sumaya Mall

Dr Mall graduated with an MPH in Public Health (2007) from the University of Cape Town, and an MSc in Epidemiology (2015) from Columbia University, USA, and obtained a PhD in Public Mental Health (2012) from Stellenbosch University.

Dr Mall’s research is focused on the area of Psychiatric Epidemiology with a particular focus on early childhood trauma. She has a number of productive collaborations both within the School and outside the School. For an academic at a relatively early stage of her career, her publication record is outstanding and in addition, she has obtained an NRF Y2 rating. She has co-authored 56 publications, as the first author on 17, and the senior author on 8.

Within the School, she lectures on non-communicable disease epidemiology and Introduction to Epidemiology for health researchers within the MSc Epidemiology programme, the MSc and MPH research methods courses, and the Health Measurement 1 and 2 courses in the MPH programme. Outside of the School, she has taught epidemiology and biostatistics to psychiatry registrars, and has assessed research protocols in the anthropology and psychology departments. Dr Mall has played a key role in curriculum development for a number of courses: combining content for Adapting and implementing evidence-based intervention course with that for Epidemiology for health researchers 1 in the MSc Epidemiology programme; and reviewing and revising the MPH Health and Society, and Health Measurement 2 courses.

Dr Mall has supervised 20 Masters students to completion since 2016 and is currently supervising nine Masters and three PhD students, with a focus in epidemiology, implementation science, metaanalysis and systematic reviews.

Dr Mall is the co-chair of the School of Public Health Research Committee, which includes facilitating academic meetings on research, potential research collaborations, and career development activities for academic staff, and professional and administrative staff (PAS). She co- leads the Sheiham Family Programme on social determinants of health in the school, with the objective of building teaching and research capacity in social determinants of health, and social epidemiology.

We congratulate Dr Mall on her promotion to Associate Professor

FACULTY SENIOR ACADEMIC APPOINTMENTS & PROMOTIONS

ASSOCIATE PROFESSOR, School of Anatomical Sciences

Dr Tanya Augustine

Dr Augustine holds a PhD from the University of the Witwatersrand (2014), and has recently completed the Postgraduate Diploma in Higher Education (PGDip HE).

Dr Augustine is highly adaptive in her pedagogical approach and seeks to build an understanding of how knowledge is acquired by diverse student populations. She has a far-reaching teaching portfolio that permits effective multidisciplinary applications. Dr Augustine has made considerable contributions to the curriculum and teaching innovations in Histology and Cell Biology. She has supervised 32 Honours students, 2 Masters and 3 PhD students to completion. She is currently supervising/cosupervising 6 Masters and 5 PhD candidates.

Dr Augustine has published 22 papers of which 19 are in international journals. She has several papers currently under review. She has established her own research laboratory for the purpose of expanding her research niche, which is within the area of tumourbiology. She has active collaborations within various Schools within WITS (Engineering, Clinical Medicine, Molecular and Cell Biology); the CSIR (Proteomics Unit); NECSA; Northumbria University, UK and strengthening collaborations with Ghent University, Belgium and George Washington University, USA.

She is the founding member of the WITS Cannabis Research Initiative, stimulating engagement between academics from various disciplines across economics, botany, cell biology and architecture, and Gauteng Provincial Government, with whom the objective is to enhance innovation and research, particularly in indigenous knowledge systems for academic and economic benefit. During the Covid-19 lockdown, Dr. Augustine served (along with two other academics in the School on the Interim Management Committee) as acting Head of School.

Dr Augustine was instrumental in attaining further University funding (top-up) for the upgrade of the dissection halls. Internally, Dr Augustine is an elected non-professorial academic representative on the Senate and University Forum, Collections Committee in the Ethics and Legislature portfolio, and the Faculty Board. Externally, she is an external examiner for the College of Medicine, UWC, UNISA and UP.

We congratulate Dr Augustine on her promotion to Associate Professor

FACULTY SENIOR ACADEMIC APPOINTMENTS & PROMOTIONS

ASSOCIATE PROFESSOR, School of Physiology

Dr Antonia Wadley

Dr Wadley been a senior lecturer with the University since 2019.

Dr Wadley has published 29 papers to date of which 13 were published in the last 5 years, she has graduated 6 Masters and 3 PhD students, has a Y NRF rating and a Scopus h-index of 12. She has served as an external examiner, reviews manuscript submissions to many prestigious international journals, reviews funding applications for the NRF, presented at local and international conferences, and has demonstrated granstmanship. She has both national and international collaborators with whom she publishing and contributing to the global research agenda of pain in HIV.

Dr Wadley has managed the “Carnegie Diversifying the Academy Programme” run by the Transformation and Employment Equity Office. This role is a new one and has been created to address recommendations provided in a recent report of the Programme including providing better support, programming, and coaching to the recipients. Additionally, as part of the CDTA programme project management, it was identified that academics at the mid-career stage need greater support and particularly academics from disadvantaged groups. Dr Wadley has thus, created a collaboration with the Research Office and the Centre for Teaching and Learning Development and together established the follow-on from the “Early Career Academic Development Programme”, the” Enhancing Mid-Career Academic Transitions Programme”. The pilot with both CDTA recipients and staff from the wider university, is now running, through her administration, and co-facilitation of the course.

Dr Wadley has been coaching academic staff and postgraduate students for the Faculty and the wider university. Following her initial coaching course through the Faculty, she has completed 18 months of professional training, and successfully registered and credentialed with the International Coaching Federation, and in the last four years, Dr Wadley has recorded over 200 hours of coaching for the university. She mentors the Postgraduate student cohort, and has one-on-one sessions with the students during which she guides them in time management, lifestyle management, coaches in student-supervisor relationships and monitors Postgraduate student progress. Despite difficulties that the COVID pandemic enforced upon all, the school continued to enjoy outstanding Postgraduate completion rate, and Dr Wadley’s contribution to this achievement has been immense.

We congratulate Dr Wadley on her promotion to Associate Professor

FACULTY SENIOR ACADEMIC APPOINTMENTS & PROMOTIONS

PERSONAL PROFESSOR, School of Clinical Medicine

Professor Abdullah Laher

Professor Laher achieved his MBBCH in 2004 and MMed (with distinction) in 2013. He is a qualified Specialist in both Emergency Medicine and Critical care, who obtained a PhD from WITS in 2021. He has subsequently also completed a number of diplomas, including a Diploma of Allergy, Emergency Medicine and another in Child Health.

Prof. Laher has authored 76 peer-reviewed articles in both national and international journals, of which he is the first/senior author on 36. He has an H index of 10 (Google Scholar) with 358 citations, and 40 refereed conference outputs. In the past five years, he was a keynote speaker in three (3) local conferences, presented at an additional three (3) local and three (3) international congresses, and has been successful in a number of grants.

Prof. Laher teaches both undergraduate GEMP and BCMP students and postgraduate students in Emergency Medicine (Registrars and MSc). He is closely involved in the newly developed Honours program in Emergency Medicine. Associate Professor Laher has supervised 12 MMeds and 8 MSc students to completion. Additionally, supervision of two (2) MMed projects, two (2) MSc qualifications and one (1) PhD student is currently underway. He examines at both undergraduate and postgraduate level (specialist and sub-specialist exams) – MMed and CMSA. He is an instructor in several emergency / resuscitation courses including ACLS, ATLS, PALS, BLS and BASIC courses.

Prof. Laher has served on several School and Department committees, including the MBBCH Undergraduate curriculum committee, the GEMP 3 and 4 committee and the School Graduate Studies and Research Committee. Furthermore, he is the current convener of the MSc in Emergency Medicine, as well as a reviewer for both national and international journals. He participates in clinical outreach locally and Gift of the Givers’ disaster responses both locally and internationally. He is the Chair of the Social and Ethics Committee of the CMSA.

We congratulate Professor Laher on his promotion to Personal Professor

FACULTY SENIOR ACADEMIC APPOINTMENTS & PROMOTIONS

PERSONAL PROFESSOR, Steve Biko Centre for

Bioethics (SBCB)

Professor Kevin Behrens

Professor Behrens is a Bioethicist and the Director for the Steve Biko Centre for Bioethics, who obtained a DLitt et Phil from the University of Johannesburg in 2012, as well as a Postgraduate Diploma in Higher Education from WITS. Prof. Behrens teaches both Undergraduate and Postgraduate Bioethics. He has supervised 19 Masters students to completion (three graduated with distinction), and 6 PhD students. His teaching portfolio reflects his impressive contribution to the field of bioethics. His teaching evaluations are above the University average and most students give positive feedback. He has been extensively involved in curriculum development for bioethics training at both Undergraduate and Postgraduate level for the Faculties of Law and Health Sciences.

Professor Behrens is an NRF B2 rated researcher. He has 35 publications in total, of which 10 in international journals and 10 in local journals (first/senior author on 18). He is the first author of seven book chapters, and an h-index of 13. His author impact Beamplot 13 on the 76th percentile in his field. He has received grants from the SAMRC and NRF.

He serves on many University, Faculty and School committees. To name a few, he Chaired the MV AX appeals Committee. He is on the University Advisory committee for Ethics, while also serving as the Deputy Chair of PESC. He participates in a broad range of extra University Institutions including the Research Ethics Committee for the CSIK, COVID Ethics consultant for Lenmed, and Clinical Expert Advisory panel of the SA Council of Medical Schemes. He is a reviewer for several international publishers and journals. He has also served as an NRF reviewer. He is an external examiner for many other Universities at undergraduate and postgraduate level.

We congratulate Professor Behrens on his promotion to Personal Professor

FACULTY SENIOR ACADEMIC APPOINTMENTS & PROMOTIONS

PERSONAL PROFESSOR, School of Clinical Medicine

Professor Sithembiso Velaphi

Professor Velaphi is a Paediatrician with a sub-speciality in Neonatology, currently serving as the Clinical Head of Paediatrics at Chris Hani Baragwanath Academic Hospital.

Professor Velaphi is in the process of applying for NRF rating. He is a full-time clinician, who has managed to establish himself as an international researcher in Neonatology. His Google Scholar Hindex is 33 with 5751 citations. He has 75 international peer reviewed publications and 26 peer reviewed publications in local journals, as well as three book chapters and 76 published conference abstracts. He has delivered 11 keynote addresses in the past 2 years. Associate Professor Velaphi is an excellent grantsman, having secured major grants including SA Medical Research Council and Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. Associate Professor Velaphi is involved in international collaborative research, notably on neonatal sepsis, and received a silver SAMRC Research Award in 2016.

Professor Velaphi is considered a distinguished teacher at both Undergraduate and Postgraduate level with more than 30 years of experience in teaching and training. He is integrally involved in Paediatric Undergraduate training for GEMP students. He has supervised 19 Masters students to completion and is supervising a further 3 Masters and 2 Doctoral students. He has also increasingly been involved in curricular development.

He is an advocate for newborn infants in South Africa and has made a substantial lifetime contribution to reducing neonatal mortality. He serves on the International Liaison Committee for Resuscitation (ILCOR). He promoted “Helping Babies Breathe” between 2015 and 2020 in the Eastern Cape. Over the last 15 years, he has been involved in the marking of MMeds from across the country as an external examiner. He served on the OCH Task Team for developing District Clinical Specialists. He has served on the Executive Committee of the Priorities in Perinatal Care Congress many times and is currently the President of USAMA. He is also regarded as an authority figure in Neonatology, with respect to local guidelines. He is involved in not only the writing of international guidelines but also in the training of scores of healthcare professionals on how to be better in conducting neonatal resuscitation. He serves on provincial and national Department of Health committee’s notable of which is the COMIC (ministerial committee on infant mortality).

We congratulate Professor Velaphi on his promotion to Personal Professor

FACULTY

SENIOR ACADEMIC APPOINTMENTS & PROMOTIONS

PERSONAL PROFESSOR, School of Therapeutic Sciences

Professor Pradeep Kumar

Professor Kumar is a qualified Pharmacist and obtained his PhD from the University of the Witwatersrand in 2017 for which he received the Faculty’s most Prestigious Postgraduate Degree Award. It is worth noting that he is the only pharmaceutical scientist in the world who has used molecular mechanics simulations for mechanism and performance elucidation for drug delivery systems.

Professor Kumar demonstrates excellent capacity for collaboration, however, he remains an established researcher with independent research projects and funding. The focus of Professor Kumar’s research is in tissue engineering and regenerative medicine including biomaterial design, molecular pharmaceutics, simulations and modelling, and image analysis. He has 275 publications in ISI/DNE accredited journals, with first authorship in 25 and senior authorship in 118. Additionally, 62 of these 275 published articles are external of WADDP where he has employed his expertise in molecular modelling and biomaterial design with national and international collaborators. Professor Kumar has achieved an NRF Y1-rating, a Web of Science h-Index of 32; Scopus h-Index of 34 and Google Scholar h-Index of 39. He has been invited as speaker to 21 conferences and presented at 19 conferences within the past 5 years. He has supervised 16 MSc/MPharm and 14 PhD students to completion and is currently supervising 9 Masters’ and 14 PhD students of which three Master’s students submitted in 2022 and are awaiting the examiner’s outcome.

Professor Kumar has won , most recently the 2021 Vice-Chancellor’s Innovation Award (jointly), Wits’ Friedel Sellschop Research Award, the ASRT Young African Researcher Award and was named as one of the Mail & Guardian’s Top 200 Young South Africans in 2018.

He is ranked among Top 2% scientists in the world, and has served effectively at Departmental level on internal committees and coordination roles in the department. At Faculty level, he serves as a member on the Faculty Assessment Policy Review committee and the deputy Chair of the School’s Teaching and Learning committee. He serves as a member on a number of national and international committees. He is an Associate Editor for six journals and serves on the reviewer panel for 110 journals.

We congratulate Professor Kumar on his promotion to Personal Professor

FACULTY SENIOR ACADEMIC APPOINTMENTS & PROMOTIONS

RESEARCH PROFESSOR,

School of Clinical Medicine

Professor Micklesfield is the Deputy Director of the SAMRC/Developmental Pathways for Health Research Unit (DPHRU). She has been employed at the University of the Witwatersrand since 2008, prior to which, she completed a post-doctoral fellowship at the University of Cape Town (UCT).

Since completing her PhD in 2004, her research interest has been on physical activity and noncommunicable disease risk through the life course. Profofessor Micklesfield, has lead the “Adulthood and Aging Programme” of work within DPHRU, which seeks to build understanding of the effect of HIV and menopause in altering the trajectory of disease risk into middle-age and older adulthood, and the potential role of physical activity in ameliorating this risk. She played a key role in leading an initiative called: “The South African Healthy Aging Adult report card”, a systematic review of evidence published between 2013 and 2020 on diet, physical activity, tobacco and alcohol use, obesity, hypertension, dyslipidemia and diabetes, of South African middle-aged adults. Another recent initiative within the mid-life age group has been the co-production of contextually relevant information resources about the menopause for women in Zimbabwe and South Africa. This incorporated the views and experiences of midlife women from one of the unit’s studies, together with stakeholders working in the area as well as colleagues at the University of Bristol in the UK and the Biomedical Research and Training Institute (BRTI) in Zimbabwe. This has now been translated in English, Afrikaans, Zulu, Tsonga and Setswana, and will be distributed widely to clinics and available through the South African Menopause Society.

Professor Micklesfield is a member of the SOCM Graduate Studies and Research Committee, and has successfully contributed to the graduation of postgraduate students through supervision and mentorship, and holds an NRF C2 rating (2016-2021).

Prof. Micklesfield has significantly impacted her field by being the first researcher to successfully develop and implement the measurement of infant physical activity through accelerometer devices, and working with colleagues at the University of Cambridge to determine unique ways of analyzing and interpreting the data. She has also been instrumental in contributing to our understanding factors associated with obesity in South African women. Community engagement is a critical part of Lisa’s impact strategy and she has successfully implemented multiple co-created research workshops and dissemination activities.

We congratulate Professor Micklesfield on her promotion to Research Professor

Professor Lisa Micklesfield

FACULTY SENIOR ACADEMIC APPOINTMENTS & PROMOTIONS

READER, School of Public Health

Dr Wade graduated with a Bachelor of Medicine, Bachelor of Surgery (Honours) (2000) at the University of West Indies and, as a Rhodes Scholar, went to the University of Oxford where she obtained a DPhil in 2006. She later obtained diplomas in Internal Medicine and Endocrinology, Diabetes and Metabolism through the American Board of Internal Medicine.

Her main research focus is in endocrine and metabolic diseases in lower- and middle-income countries (LMIC), focusing on individuals of African descent. In addition to her own research programme in Agincourt, she spearheads the development of a clinical research programme, nested in the existing population research platform, which seeks to develop clinical cohorts for longitudinal follow-up of patients with prevalent chronic non-communicable diseases. She has co-authored 57 peer-reviewed publications, and is a first author on 7. She is also first author on two book chapters and an editorial in the reputable Clinical Journal of the American Society of Nephrology and co-author of a review in Science. She has presented at more than 20 local and international conferences, her research excellence is also demonstrated through her NRF C3 rating, google scholar H-index of 27 and Web of Science and Scopus H-index of 24.

She is currently supervising one masters and two PhD students, including one at the University of Oxford. She has been an external examiner for an MPH course in non-communicable disease epidemiology (UCT), and external examiner for dissertations at Sefako Makgatho Health Sciences University. She has been an internal examiner of 12 masters’ students’ research and besides her supervisory and examination roles, she has provided mentoring and guidance to staff members through the SPUH Career Development Committee.

In addition to her clinical practice in Endocrinology at the Wits Donald Gordon Medical Centre, she is also a member of the in-house Medical Executive Committee. Her input is valued in the review of grant applications within the Health Sciences Advisory Panel for the Competitive Programme for Rated and Unrated Researchers of the NRF for several years and was a reviewer for the transcontinental COVID-19 Africa Rapid Grant Fund. Lastly, in the wider society, she has served on several national and international scholarship committees, is currently a Board member of a non-profit organization that supports early intervention in babies with hearing impairment.

We congratulate Dr Wade on her promotion to Reader (Associate Professor)

Associate Professor Alisha Wade

EXCEPTIONAL SERVICE EXCELLENCE AWARDS

Dr Loredana Bocchino, School of Clinical Medicine

When I first met Lori and saw how hard she worked, I thought she was employed 100%, only to find out that she is employed 70% while giving 150% of her time to managing her workspace. She is always available to assist students and colleagues alike.

She is quite meticulous, making sure that everything is perfect and is delivered on time. She is very dedicated to her students and making sure that they are catered for, and the program is running well. During my sabbatical, she was an acting Director, and she did a sterling job of running the unit while simultaneously managing the GEMP III IV space. As her GEMP III and IV puts it “Dr Bocchino is the epitome of great leadership. She leads from all angles and always leads with her team; nobody is left behind. A firm, courageous and fair leader, she is approachable and has an open-door policy. She does not dwell on mistakes or what could have been. She moves swiftly and with great efficiency. Lori is incredibly hard-working, going above and beyond what is expected of her to make sure the GEMP III and IV curriculum runs smoothly. She has to deal with all kinds of challenges and difficulties in a very complex environment and does so with calm and competence. Every year she does the equivalent of organizing the Olympics and does so with great efficacy.

She is pragmatic and reliable, always getting the job done, and is a brilliant problem solver. She is one of the most welcoming and approachable people in the unit, always willing to help, and is a wealth of experience and advice. Her sense of humour, in particular, makes her an invaluable part of the positive culture of our unit.

Lori is passionate about graduating doctors who are prepared to work in and strengthen the South African Health Care system. During her time in UUME, she has become an integral member of the team supporting her colleagues with their day-to-day tasks, and taking on extra roles and responsibilities if needed, to ensure that the unit functions efficiently and effectively. Her insight, wisdom, and leadership have been invaluable in facilitating curriculum change in the final two years of the medical programme and initiating several educational innovations to improve the quality of the medical programme (e.g. WBA and assessment reforms).

She is currently doing her Masters in Health Science Education, with the aim of improving the GEMP III and IV space with the knowledge and skills she will be acquiring through this degree.

EXCEPTIONAL SERVICE EXCELLENCE AWARDS

Carl Nkosi, Education Media Production Technician, School of Clinical Medicine

Mr Carl Nkosi has been a wonderful asset in preparing the teaching and learning audio-visual videos for many departments. He has produced extremely high-quality teaching videos for the Department of Surgery.

These include:

36 videos for the 3-day Basic and Essential Surgical Training Course (BESST) which is run in the advanced surgical skills lab as well as nationally

Teaching videos for the Laparoscopic Suturing course He has made promotional videos for the Skills lab and is always happy to help with photography and videography

Mr Nkosi has always demonstrated a tremendous work ethic and has time and again come in outside of normal work hours to take videos and then spend many hours of his private time processing these videos.

He has shown tremendous patience with users, often helping them to become better presenters as a result of eloquently worded suggestions. It is a pleasure working with him. He is a perfectionist and can be relied on to be punctual and to meet tight deadlines.

EXCEPTIONAL SERVICE EXCELLENCE AWARDS

Dr Stuart Pattinson, Head: Clinical Skills Unit, School of Clinical Medicine

Stuart joined UUME as an associate clinical lecturer from November 2016 to 2018. He subsequently took a senior position as the Head of the Clinical Skills Unit. He is hardworking and very diligent and enthusiastic about medical education. His passion is to interacting with students and teaching.

He is an excellent leader as praised by one of his team members, “Dr Pattinson is a leader par excellence, a servant at heart and is compassionate. He is hardworking and goal-oriented. He makes space for others to join in the work of the unit with him and he actively harnesses an environment of harmony for his team to co-exist and work together in. He is available to students and co-workers alike, lending an ear and advising and assisting where he is able”.

He is an excellent manager and has developed systems to improve the operations of the unit. The team seamlessly transitioned to working remotely during the pandemic due to his enthusiasm and acute awareness of everyone’s unique situation. He is also a very resourceful academic.

This was apparent during the COVID-19 pandemic where we had to move to online teaching. He, together with his team was very creative in flipping the classroom. They recorded videos used for skills sessions where students would watch the videos before coming to skills sessions and put their prior learning to practice during face-to-face sessions. This is the period where we did not have simulated patients, but Stuart and the team found other ways for students to practice percussion using 5-litter buckets half filled with water to practice. He thrives as a creative teacher/trainer whose sole mandate is to move his students up with him. Stuart’s agility during Covid-19 has resulted in a changed assessment methodology. The programmatic assessment format has ensured that students are benefitting from the learning experience by being able to improve on identified areas of struggle. He is very scholarly as evidenced by his being a PhD candidate and published researcher.

He keeps the unit informed of pedagogical development related to clinical skills by hosting regular journal club meetings. He encourages all his team members to advance their careers in whichever way they see fit. These characteristics and examples are the reason why the Clinical Skills Unit is an excellent place to learn, work and grow.

EXCEPTIONAL SERVICE EXCELLENCE AWARDS

Minkie Kente, Senior Administrator, School of Clinical Medicine

I’ve worked with Minkie in GEMP I and II space, as a Logistics Officer. She is highly organised and ensures that all is in order. She always knew how to negotiate in such a way that everyone wins.

Minkie is very hardworking and dedicated to her job. She tries very hard to always deliver on any mandate she is even. She is very pleasant to work with and is always willing to assist others. The administrators from the clinical departments always go to her for assistance and she assists them cheerfully with no complaints.

During stressful exam times, she works tirelessly and she does not leave until the work is done. If she cannot finish, she takes the work home. Results are always delivered on time, even if she has to work throughout the night.

Her peers shower her with praise for good leadership skills and being supportive and dependable. She is very approachable and courageous. She is the glue that sticks the GEMP III and IV space together. She has shown that she is determined to bring social change hence her position in structures that are facilitating this attribute. She is a member of the School and Faculty of Health Sciences Transformation Committees.

She is also the branch executive committee member, PAS representative for the University Senate and the PAS representative for the University Forum.

EXCEPTIONAL SERVICE EXCELLENCE AWARDS

Innocentia Vukeya, Research Administrator, School of Public Health

Her role and contributions have grown extensively over the years, making her a suitable nominee for this award.

Inno joined the School of Public Health in January 2017 as its Masters Research Administrator. She administers all research-related processes for the Masters in Public Health, MSc in Epidemiology, MSc Med Exposure Science, MMeds in Community Health and Occupational Health, and Masters by Dissertation. At any given time there are approximately 200 enrolled students. Through the relationships that she creates with the students, she keeps up with their progress by being their “go to” person for information, motivational support, and to discuss their challenges and successes. With the large numbers of part-time and international students, these interactions are key to keeping our students connected with the School.

Inno inherited an electronic database, containing student milestones from the first Masters cohorts in the early 2000s to date, that was in disarray. Over the years, Inno has cleaned the database and keeps it up to date. She is therefore able to provide Heads of Division and the Masters Research Coordinator with regular status reports on students. Further, she created a progress report questionnaire in RedCap for students and supervisors. She sends this out annually and collates the information that is used to identify students with challenges to enable early intervention.

Inno’s duties include organizing Masters protocol assessment meetings. She also submits protocols, forms, and research reports to the Faculty of Health Sciences Research Office on behalf of the students. This enables her to check that all submitted documents are complete, keep records of all submissions, and follow-up delays through regular engagement with Faculty administrators. Since the move from paper-based to email submissions at the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, this process, though time consuming, has been particularly useful in finding submissions that might have been missed. She also helps students with registration and follows-up those who fail to register on time.

Over the years, as efforts to keep students engaged while doing their research and to improve student throughput have been introduced, Inno has gracefully and cheerfully embraced the additional duties. These include scheduling and providing administrative support for monthly research support meetings for MSc students and biannual MPH student writing workshops. At these meetings and during Orientation and the research methods courses, she presents and discussions administrative matters with students.

Cont.

Inno serves as secretary of the School’s Postgraduate Student Research Committee. She also sits on the sub-committee that organizes the committee’s brown bag sessions and workshops for supervisors. Inno has also actively participated in the School’s Research Day committees in 2019 and 2021, and in the Postgraduate Symposium in 2021.

In her many roles in the School, Inno consistently goes the extra-mile to assist and support students and supervisors, often having to work after hours and during weekends. She works well with colleagues and willingly takes on extra duties of other administrators when they are not available. She is well-acquainted with university systems and creates time to attend training to keep up to date. Since joining the School, she has completed the Wits Postgraduate Diploma in Management. She is solution-focused, reliable and pays attention to detail. Inno represents the School well at its interface with students and supervisors who come from diverse backgrounds, ranging from recent graduates to very senior professionals. There is no doubt that her calm efficiency, work ethic, dedication and exceptional communication skills have contributed improvements in student throughput in recent years.

EXCEPTIONAL SERVICE EXCELLENCE AWARDS

Dr Poovangela Naidoo, Head Clinical Unit, School of Clinical Medicine

Dr Naidoo joined the Department as a specialist in 2005 and is a Head Clinical Unit from 2013. She has exceptional clinical skills in looking after the critically ill obstetric patient. She has a special interest in Hypertensive diseases in Pregnancy and Multiple pregnancy. She started the multiple pregnancy clinic at CHBAH and is doing her PhD on growth restriction and growth charts in women with multiple pregnancy. She has a certificate in Maternal Fetal Medicine.

Her involvement with Post Graduate training has been teaching clinical and surgical skills and also regularly does lectures. She is involved in examination preparation of those writing their final examination. She has supervised 18 MMed’s. She has been part of the O&G part one committee for the college of medicine and has also examined in the Part 2 and Diploma examinations. She has been involved in the Ultrasound workshops and ran the maternal resuscitation workshops in the Department.

She has been involved in teaching and training undergraduates. Her contribution to clinical and surgical training of Interns has been outstanding. She was the intern co-ordinator for several years and was responsible for changing the Obstetric and Gynaecology experience for interns and CHBAH. She introduced ESMOE teaching at CHBAH.

Her commitment to her clinical work and the educational requirements of the Department and the University should be applauded.

EXCEPTIONAL SERVICE EXCELLENCE AWARDS

Dr Haroun Rhemtula, Lecturer, School of Clinical Medicine

Dr Rhemtula joined the Department as a specialist in July 2010. He has exceptional surgical and clinical skills. He has been instrumental in developing the cardiac obstetric unit at CMJAH amongst his other clinical duties. He has several publications from work that was done in this area. He embarked on the fellowship training in Maternal and Fetal Medicine and will write the examination in the 2nd semester 2023. He contributes clinically to the management of cardiac conditions in Southern Gauteng and is in fact an expert. He has also been invited to present at the “Cardiovascular disease in pregnancy” conference.

His involvement with Post Graduate training has been teaching clinical and surgical skills and also regularly lectures. He has supervised 2 MMeds, and an MSc. He has marked 8 MMeds. He contributed to the protocol booklet in Obstetrics.

His commitment and contribution to undergraduate teaching, training and evaluation has been excellent. He has been the co-ordinator and an examiner for IPC. He has been an examiner to the returning NMFC students. He took over as co-ordinator of the GEMP 3 and 4 programs in 2020. He has developed an MCQ exam, changed the format of teaching and examining during COVID. I am really grateful to Haroun for his commitment to all the administration of the program.

It is always amazing how he accomplishes all that he does with a smile and without a complaint.

EXCEPTIONAL SERVICE EXCELLENCE AWARDS

Dr Argentina Maria Ingratta, Lecturer, School of Clinical Medicine

Dr Ingratta has been an integral member of the Department of Internal Medicine Undergraduate Portfolio. In addition, she is the chair of the GEMP 3 portfolio. She has been instrumental in establishing the published pass-fail criteria and driving the core curriculum revision. She drew the guidelines for the moderation templates for our examinations to be externally, as well as, internally moderated.

Dr Ingratta revises our yearly Department handouts and logbook. Furthermore, Dr Ingratta was instrumental in developing and assisting with the NMFC project. For her efforts, Dr Ingratta has been awarded the PVT Teaching Award and most recently the VC’s Teaching Award.

Dr Ingratta is an invaluable asset to our department and is a worthy recipient of a service excellence award.

EMERITUS PROFESSORS

EMERITUS PROFESSORS

Professor Maureen Coetzee Health Sciences Research Office (HSRO)

Professor Coetzee obtained her PhD from WITS University in 1987, and is the recipient of a number of prestigious Scientific Achievements, and Honours, namely: the South African Medical Research Council Lifetime Achievement Award for contributions to Malaria research and control in South Africa (2020); the Lifelong Achievement and Contribution Award (EMBO Conference on Molecular & Population Biology of Mosquitoes and other Disease Vectors, Kolymbari, Crete); and the South African Medical Research Council Platinum Award for outstanding Lifetime Scientific Contributions to health research.

In 2016, she was a finalist in the Standard Bank Top Women Awards, and a winner of the “Distinguished Woman Scientist of the Year L’Oréal Award”, (2015). The John Belkin Memorial Award (USA, 2012), WITS Vice Chancellor’s Research Award (2011), and African Union Kwame Nkrumah Regional Women Scientists Award, Ethiopia (2011), are a few other examples of the high-standing recognition locally and internally her work has attracted. Prof. Coetzee has also been invited as a Keynote and Plenary Speaker at various Conferences and Symposiums.

In the past ten (10) years, Prof. Coetzee has not only demonstrated highly successful granstmanship, functioned in the capacity of an Editorial Board Member, undertaken supervision of Post-doctoral Fellows, as well as PhD, MSc and Honours students, but also further grown her own publication output in excess of 200 publications. Additionally, she has served as the Chair of both the National Health Research Committee of the SA Department of Health, and the Expert Review Group on new generation bed nets for MPAC, and the WHO Global Malaria Programme.

She is a member of the Steering Committees of the WHO Global Vector Control Response working group, and the Gates Foundation Project on genetically modified mosquitoes. In the past, she has featured on the Steering Committee on a number of other WHO Projects (Global Malaria Programme’s Vector Control Technical Expert Group, WHO/BMGF project on impact of insecticide resistance on malaria vector control, WHO/BMGF project vector biology and control). She is a member of Senate within the University since 2008, a member of the DDT Expert Group (UNEP Stockholm Convention, Geneva), the Welcome Trust Public Health & Tropical Infections interview panel; and the Scientific Organizing Committee of the Pan African Malaria Congress (MIM), October 2013.

We congratulate Professor Coetzee on the awarding of Professor Emerita status

EMERITUS PROFESSORS

Professor Anna Kramvis School of Clinical Medicine

Professor Kramvis is a member of various University committees such as the SEC for both the Department, and the School, as well as the Faculty Board and the “African Centre for Gene Technologies” (ACGT) as a WITS representative. She is also a contributing member of professional societies, such as the European Association for the Study of the Liver; the American Society for Microbiology; the Paediatric Virology Study Group (Athens, Greece) and the Australasian Society for HIV, Viral Hepatitis and Sexual Health Medicine (ASHM).

Professor Kramvis has an NRF rating of B3 (2008) and B2 (2013) with a Web of Science H-index of 35 and Scopus H-index of 36. Her Google Scholar H-index is 42 with a total citation of 7036. In the last 3 years, she has published: 26 peer reviewed publications of which she was the senior author of 7, published in international journals; 18 Case reports/case series, commentary, letters, and review article in ISSN accredited refereed/peer-reviewed journals of which she was the first author of 2 (international journal), senior author for 9 (international journal), other author' for 7 (international journal). She has been an 'other author' for one chapter in a book.

Professor Kravis played an important role in the development and teaching of Molecular and Cell Biology for Computer Scientists as part of the “National Bioinformatics Network: Introduction to Bioinformatics” course, which provide non-biologists with a complete introduction to biological concepts relevant to bio-informatics to enable them to understand these concepts in the context of the remainder of the course.

To date, Professor Kramvis continues with supervision and mentoring of Postgraduate and Postdoctoral Fellows, working towards the completion and submission of at least 10 manuscripts, while assisting with organizing conferences. All the while, pressing forward with her involvement in the advocacy towards elimination of HBV of sub-Saharan Africa.

We congratulate Professor Kramvis on the awarding of Professor Emerita status

EMERITUS PROFESSORS

Professor Girish Modi School of Clinical Medicine

Professor Modi was the Academic Head of the Neurosciences Department within the School of Clinical Medicine, and his commitment to teaching, research, supervision and service have been outstanding, and his continued support will be of great use to the department and its divisions.

He is recognised as having made a significant, meritorious contributions to WITS through long service in administration, teaching and/or research. His position as Full Professor has exceeded I0 (ten) years, and his vast clinical and academic experience would be beneficial to both current academic staff and the younger, emerging generation. Professor Modi has expressed keen interest to remain active in the life of the University through teaching, lecturing, mentoring and advising faculty staff. His expertise will be especially advantageous with academic events and activities that promote the development of new staff.

He will also continue with research and the supervision of his PhD and MMed students within the Department of Neurosciences.

We congratulate Professor Modi on the awarding of Professor Emeritus status

DISTINGUISHED PROFESSORS

Professor Robert Breiman Office of the Dean

Professor Frederick Raal School of Clinical Medicine

RETIREES

RETIREES 2022

Linda Malan, School of Clinical Medicine

Ethel Moledi, School of Clinical Medicine

Cherly Bove, School of Anatomical Sciences

Dr Denise Muller, School of Anatomical Sciences

Stella Modimoeng, School of Anatomical Sciences

Professor Anna Kramvis, School of Clinical Medicine

Brent Lincoln, Faculty of Health Sciences Operations

Professor Lynne Schepartz, School of Clinical Medicine

Dhanasagree Govender, School of Therapeutic Sciences

Associate Professor Juanett Scribante, School of Clinical Medicine

CLOSURE AND THANKS

Thank you to all involved in the planning and implementation of this event:

Professor Lindelani Mnguni

Professor Maria Papathanasopoulos

Charles Gilbert

Gobotsamang Motlhabani

Didi Mmatladi

Prenisha Naidoo

Leanne Harwood

Nomfundo Sibiya