The University of Pretoria (UP) is pleased to launch the first UP Postdoctoral Fellowship Forum, which serves to create a supportive environment and a platform for postdoctoral fellows to share knowledge, learn from their peers and voice their experiences at UP.

The fellows will have the opportunity to participate in activities such as a postdoctoral fellowship research day/exhibition, seminars and guest lectures; to network; and gain access opportunities for research funding, mobility grants and other academic activities.

Prior to the launch, postdoctoral fellows elected the forum leaders, who will drive the platform in order to create a vibrant postdoctoral culture and a meaningful experience at UP.

Meet the leaders and learn more about their research areas.

 

From left to right: Dr Daniel Hart, Dr Pedro Lebre, Dr Mesia Ilomo, Dr Primrose Kurasha, Dr Mercy Mujakachi, Dr Dawit Kidanemariam and Dr Taiwo Afinowi.

Chairperson: Dr Primrose Kurasha

Dr Primrose Kurasha is an expert in international law who obtained her professional certification from the International Court of Justice’s Hague Academy of International Law. She holds additional professional certificates from the University of Salzburg in Austria, the Pretoria Bar of Advocates and UP’s Centre for Human Rights.

Dr Kurasha holds an LLD (Doctor of Laws) in Private International Law from UP, which is where she also completed her other degrees: a BA Law (majoring in International Relations), an LLB and an LLM in International Trade and Investment Law in Africa.

Her research and teaching centre on the interaction of trans-national business and human rights, specifically with regard to the human right implications of establishing an independent international commercial court in South Africa for the resolution of cross-border/trans-national commercial disputes.

Dr Kurasha has published extensively, both peer-reviewed journal articles and media reports. She has also presented at various conferences.

Deputy Chairperson: Dr Daniel Hart

Dr Daniel Hart has conducted most of his tertiary education at UP, including his undergraduate, postgraduate and postdoctoral studies. He holds a senior postdoctoral fellowship in UP’s Department of Zoology and Entomology under A-rated researcher Professor Nigel Bennett.

Dr Hart’s main area of research is evolutionary biology and application, specifically using knowledge of the evolutionary biology of mammals to improve the treatment of human medical conditions and predict the future consequences of climate change. During his tenure at UP, Dr Hart has been involved in the organisation, management and operation of a large research group.

Secretary: Dr Taiwo Afinowi

Dr Taiwo Afinowi is an architect, urbanist, built environment professional and a postdoctoral research fellow in UP’s Department of Architecture. He holds a Doctor of Philosophy and a Master of Built Environment from the University of Witwatersrand. He also holds a professional Master’s of Environmental Design in Architecture (with distinction) from the University of Lagos and a Bachelor of Science (Hons) from Obafemi Awolowo University in Nigeria.

He is a full member of the Nigerian Institute of Architects, and is registered as a chartered and professional architect with the Architects’ Registration Council of Nigeria and the South African Council for the Architectural Profession respectively.

 

Dr Afinowi’s fellowship at UP entails developing a digital laboratory for the Hatfield Digital Twin City. His research interests include sustainable housing, urban renewal and regeneration, global development agendas, smart and digital twin cities, future cities and African studies. He has also conducted extensive urban research in the built environment, focusing on global development frameworks in Africa.

Dr Afinowi has published several well-researched papers in his research areas, and is the recipient of various awards and scholarships.

Deputy Secretary: Dr Pedro Lebre

Dr Pedro Lebre holds a Bachelor of Science (Hons) in Biochemistry from the University of Southampton, and completed his postgraduate studies at University College London. After 10 years in London, he was inspired to move to South Africa by the research of Prof Don Cowan, an eminent scientist in the field of microbial ecology.

In 2015, Dr Lebre was accepted as a postdoctoral researcher at UP’s Centre for Microbial Ecology and Genomics, where he is a senior postdoctoral fellow. His research focuses on the microbial ecology of hyper-arid deserts and the adaptation mechanisms of microbial communities to these extreme environments.

Events coordinator: Dr Mercy Precious Mujakachi

Dr Mercy Precious Mujakachi is a vibrant young scholar and a postdoctoral research fellow in UP’s Department of English. She has a PhD in English Literature, a Master of Arts degree in English, and a Bachelor of Arts (Hons) in English and Communication from the University of Venda and Midlands State University respectively.

Her fellowship is focused on autobiographies/biographies by Southern African women. Dr Mujakachi has five years of experience teaching at universities and/or comparable institutions. Her research interests are African literature in English, academic literacy and communication. She is also skilled in language editing and proofreading. Dr Mujakachi has published in peer-reviewed and accredited journals.

Events coordinator: Dr Dawit Kidanemariam

Dr Dawit Beyene Kidanemariam is a postdoctoral fellow at the Molecular Plant-Pathogen Interactions research laboratory within the Department of Plant and Soil Sciences and the Forestry and Agricultural Biotechnology Institute at UP. Through his research, he aims to explore the molecular basis of RNA interference to manage Cercospora Zeina, which causes grey leaf spot disease in maize, thereby threatening food security in sub-Saharan Africa.

Dr Kidanemariam graduated with a PhD in Molecular Plant Pathology from the Queensland University of Technology in Australia. During his doctoral studies, he worked on the molecular characterisation of different DNA and RNA viruses that infect edible aroids in East Africa. Furthermore, he developed an infectious clone of the taro bacilliform virus.

Advisory Board: Dr Mesia Ilomo

Dr Mesia Ilomo is an international trade and business expert who holds a PhD in Business Administration from the University of Dar es Salaam in Tanzania, where he also obtained a Master of International Trade and Bachelor of Commerce in Accounting. His PhD degree benefited from the intellectual guidance of academics at the Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences.

Dr Ilomo is a postdoctoral fellow in UP’s Department of Plant and Soil Sciences, where he features as a social scientist in a research project titled ‘Agricultural biologicals: Identifying hurdles of use through a knowledge, attitude and practice analysis of stakeholders in sub-Saharan Africa’. The project aims to contribute to sustainable smallholder farming, and involves surveys with farmers, researchers and agro-dealers, as well as interviews with policymakers, manufacturers/importers and distributors of agricultural biologicals in Ethiopia, Kenya and South Africa.

Postdoctoral fellowship survey

The Postdoctoral Fellowship Forum leadership has designed a survey for UP’s postdoctoral community to complete. It seeks to determine the needs of these academics and explore potential solutions. Your participation in the survey would be greatly appreciated. It will be running until Tuesday, 31 January 2023.

Please follow the link below to participate in the survey:

https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLScmJliXJKa4WQYI2Xdw2h396vOeoFTXQXQHqX03PGFhZymaAQ/viewform?usp=sf_link

Postdoctoral Fellowship Forum contact details:

For more information and queries, please contact the Postdoctoral Fellowship Forum Secretary, Dr Taiwo Afinowi, at [email protected]