Prof Lyndy McGaw

BSc, BSc (Hons), PhD (Natal) LLB (UNISA)

Associate Professor: Phytomedicine

ORCID ID: 0000-0001-8447-0613

Summary CV

Since completing my PhD at the University of Natal (now University of KwaZulu-Natal), I have worked in diverse fields at the University of Pretoria, King’s College London and the University of Adelaide. Much of my research career has involved development of biological activity and cytotoxicity assays to investigate the potential usefulness of South African plants for treating various health issues in humans and animals.

I currently hold a C2 rating from the NRF and have an H-index of 26 (Google Scholar). I serve on the editorial boards of the South African Journal of Botany, BMC Complementary and Alternative Medicine, Frontiers in Pharmacology (Ethnopharmacology) and Journal of Ethnopharmacology. In 2012 I was elected a member of the South African Academy of Science (SAYAS). I am leading a research group of several postdoctoral fellows, 25 PhD and MSc students, and have previously supervised or co-supervised 14 PhD and 6 MSc students to completion of their degrees. I have published 92 research articles in scientific peer-reviewed journals, and over 40 abstracts in conference proceedings. I have also co-authored 13 book chapters and been a scientific contributor to two patents. I have been principal author or co-author of close to 100 national and international conference research paper or poster presentations.

I contribute lectures in Veterinary Law and Ethics, and Pharmacology (Ethnoveterinary Medicine) to undergraduate veterinary students, and also present lectures to the Phytomedicine postgraduates.

Research Expertise/Interest

Current interests include evaluation of the antibacterial, antifungal, anthelmintic, antimycobacterial, anti-inflammatory, cytotoxic, mutagenic and antimutagenic effects of plant extracts and purified compounds derived from plants. I am also interested in immune modulatory activity of plant preparations, and cell culture applications form another major interest. Mechanism of action studies are a particular focus incorporated into various projects. The research emphasis of the Phytomedicine Programme targets the development of effective and safe anthelmintic, acaricidal and antimicrobial remedies for use in animal and human medicine, as well as alternatives to antimicrobial feed additives.

Postgraduate Students

PhD

​Ms AO Aro: Completed her PhD in 2016 in the field of  “Evaluation of the antimycobacterial and immune modulatory activity of South African Rubiaceae plant species”

Ms OT Iji: Completed her PhD in 2017 in the field of  “Primary catfish tissue cultures as a sensitive in vitro model for assessment of contaminants of pollutants commonly associated with acidic drainage.”

MSc

Ms BM Sakong: Completed her MSc in 2013 in the field of  “Isolation and characterisation of compounds from Calodendrum capense (Rutaceae) and Lydenburgia cassinoides (Calastraceae) for treatment of fungal and bacterial infections in immunocopromised patients”

Dr L Le Roux Pullen: Completed her MSc in 2016 in the field of  “In vitro culture of Boer goat mammary epithelial cells to form a monolayer constituting a tight barrier to drug movement.”