Programme Directors

Programme Directors

Dr Kgomotso Mathabe is the head of the department of Urology at the University of Pretoria and Steve Biko Academic Hospital, where she is responsible for clinical and research training of undergraduate students and Urology registrars. She was the first woman to qualify as a Urologist at the University of the Witwatersrand and the second Black woman in the country.

She holds the following degrees, diplomas and certificates: MB.ChB (UP), FCUrol (SA), Certificate in gifted education (Unisa), AHMP (Yale), M.Med (Wits), PGDip public management and governance (UCT).

Her M.Med was on prostate cancer and the findings on the high rate of perineural invasion on histology as well as the presentation of men with prostate cancer to the hospital with spinal cord compression prompted her to pursue a PhD with the University of Pretoria. Her study is focused on the relationship between prostate cancer and the nervous system.

Dr Emmanuel Matsebatlela is currently the Head of the Education Office in the Faculty of Health Sciences at the University of Pretoria. The Education Office is responsible for, inter alia, student feedback surveys in the faculty, students’ clinical electives, accreditation activities in the faculty, and providing support to the Deputy Dean for Teaching and Learning. He was previously a lecturer at the University of Johannesburg, the Manager: Institutional Audits at the Council on Higher Education and Manager of Triennial Reviews of Support Services at Wits University. His qualifications include a Management Advancement Programme (MAP) (Wits Business School) and a PhD in Education, focusing on Assessment and Quality Assurance from the University of Pretoria.

Prof Werner Cordier, an Associate Professor at the Department of Pharmacology at the University of Pretoria obtained his PhD in Pharmacology in 2016, and National Research Foundation Y2-rating in 2022. His biomedical research focuses on using advanced cell culture models to elucidate molecular factors that facilitate chemoresistance and dormancy in cancer so that better drug development platforms can be established for nanomedicine and indigenous knowledge systems. He has published 19 papers in accredited peer-reviewed journals, with a diverse range of students graduated under his (co-)supervision (33 Honours; 8 Masters; 1 Doctoral).

Apart from his biomedical research, he has completed a Postgraduate Certificate in Higher Education and the Sub-Saharan Africa Regional Institute of FAIMER’s health professions education fellowship. He is currently completing a second PhD in Curriculum and Instructional Design and Development with a focus on aligning pharmacology education with healthcare practitioner workplace competencies to ensure fit-for-purpose graduates. As such, he has started to develop a second research focus area focusing on graduate competency development, and its involvement with professional identity formation.

Using the expertise he has gained during his professional development, and the mentorship from his community of practice, Prof Cordier wishes to one day join the senior ranks of university management as a leader in biomedical and health professions education research. It is his goal to transform the educational foundation of the academic environment to ensure that graduates are capacitated appropriately, actualise their professional identities, and contribute to their specific scopes of practice.

Ms Nthabiseng Nkojoana is a fifth-year medical (MBChB) student at the University of Pretoria. She was born and bred in the mountain Kingdom of Lesotho. In her pursuit of medicine, she studied International Baccalaureate (IB) and obtained an IB diploma at Machabeng International school of Lesotho in 2015. In 2016, she enrolled at the university of Pretoria to study BSc Biochemistry, where she finally got admission into MBChB before completing BSc.

Nthabiseng Nkojoana was awarded the Golden Key International Society award during BSc. She enrolled in the Tuks residence leadership structure where she was nominated for a deputy chairperson position at Hatfield Studios residency. During this period, she headed the RAG and community outreach portfolio. In pursuit of her special interests in research, science, and public speaking, she joined the TUKS Undergraduate Research Forum (TURF) as one of the steering committee members heading the events portfolio that organises TURF webinars. As an active member of TURF, Nthabiseng recently led an interview with Prof Tivani Mashamba-Thompson, the deputy dean of Research and Postgraduate Studies in the Faculty of Health Science, to encourage the incorporation of STEM in Early Childhood Development Curriculum, for Play Africa Museum.

Chairpersons of Oral Presentations

Subtheme: Innovation in Teaching and Learning

Subtheme: Lessons learned  from COVID-19

Prof Vanessa Steenkamp took up the position of Deputy Dean: Teaching & Learning in September of 2019. Besides her Doctoral degree in Clinical Chemistry she holds a postgraduate diploma in Education. Her special interests include assessment strategies and the use of e-technologies in both teaching and learning. She is a member of the Teaching & Learning Committee of the South African Committee of Medical Deans and holds the position of Chair of the Sub-committee on Assessment for the Dirisana project, an EU- South Africa partnership with the mission to improve medical education. She holds the position of Vice-Chair on the Executive Board of the Education and Management Division of the International Federation of Clinical Chemistry and has served as Director of Education of the International Association of Therapeutic Drug Monitoring and Clinical Toxicology.

Prior to her appointment as Dean she was the Head of Department of Pharmacology at UP. Her research interest focuses on traditional herbal remedies and the development of drugs from the said medications. She is an established NRF rated researcher. Her outputs include 180 scientific papers, 7 book chapters, 328 presentations at conferences, supervision of 65 postgraduate students to graduation. She is registered with the Health Professions Council of South Africa as a Biological Scientist and has dual registration as a Natural Scientist and Toxicologist with the South African Council for Natural Scientific Professions. She has received various awards for her research both nationally and internationally. She acts as reviewer for 36 international peer-reviewed journals and is on the editorial board of 9 journals.  She is an active member of scientific organizations and holds an executive role as President of the South African Association of Basic and Clinical Pharmacology, President of the Federation of South African Society of Pathology and Vice-President of the Toxicology Society of South Africa.

Prof Joyce Mothabeng is currently associate professor and term head in the physiotherapy Department at the University of Pretoria. Her qualifications include a Tertiary Education Diploma (UP), a PhD in Rehabilitation (UP) and a Program for Academic Leadership (GIBS). Her main research interests are neurorehabilitation (specifically spinal cord injuries) and physiotherapy research and clinical education; and she is establishing herself as a scholar through numerous publications in these areas. She has supervised numerous masters and PhDs to completion; and is currently supervising 3 masters and 6 PhD students. She has numerous publications in rehabilitation and education; and numerous congress presentations including keynote papers and invited panel discussions at more than 40 congresses in 26 countries, with some presentations winning awards. Her passion for research in her 30 years as an academic is driven by her belief that Research powers the knowledge and innovation industry.