Biography

My interest in Biology started when I was in secondary school. After matriculating at the end of 1995 I knew that I wanted to pursue a career in the Sciences, but more specifically in Biology. So in 1996 I registered at the University of Pretoria (UP) for a degree in Biological Sciences, with an interest in Microbiology, in the Faculty of Natural Sciences. After completion of the three year degree programme I was successful in obtaining a UP bursary and enrolled for the honours programme in the Department of Microbiology and Plant Pathology. Apart from successfully completing the rigorous course work of the honours programme, I also achieved the objective of my research project, which was to develop a semi-nested polymerase chain reaction (PCR) method to detect Shigella, the pathogen that causes Shigellosis, in spiked environmental samples. I graduated with my honours degree in the year 2000, and the manuscript on this study was published in the journal Water Research in 2001.

Later during 2001 I was awarded the Utrecht Delta Scholarship, which granted me the opportunity to spend 13 months in the Department of Infectious Diseases and Immunology at the Faculty of Veterinary Medicine at the Utrecht Universiteit in The Netherlands. I was a junior researcher at the time and worked on a research project aimed at producing the tools that would eventually lead towards the development of diagnostic tests for early detection of bovine tuberculosis (BTB) in elephants and rhinoceroses. After completing the initial objectives of this research project in Utrecht, I was appointed as a junior academic staff member in the Department of Veterinary Tropical Diseases, Faculty of Veterinary Science, University of Pretoria, in January 2003. The results of the research that I performed at Utrecht University culminated in my Master’s degree that I obtained from the University of Pretoria in November 2003.

In 2004 I registered for a Doctorate degree at the University of Pretoria, with the decision to continue research in the field of BTB diagnostics in pachyderms, and build on the work that resulted from my Master’s degree. My PhD thesis, titled "Development of ELISAs for the detection of interferon-gamma in rhinoceroses and elephants as diagnostic tools for Mycobacterium bovis and Mycobacterium tuberculosis infections", described the production and generation of the reagents and new tools that went towards the development of the ELISAs as well as showing proof of principle that the ELISA was capable of detecting the native form of the protein IFN-y. Before obtaining my PhD, I was promoted to lecturer in 2006. After obtaining the doctoral degree [PhD Thesis - http://www.repository.up.ac.za/handle/2263/30063] in 2009, my research in the field of BTB diagnostics in rhinoceroses and elephants continued but also extended to include BTB diagnostics in lions. In 2010 through to 2011, an opportunity emerged where a large number of lion samples were processed. The intention now is to test these samples in the lion IFN-y specific assay which was recently developed by Maas et al. (2012).

In 2011 I also extended my research profile into another area in Microbiology, which is related to identifying the cause of enteritis in ostrich chicks. Two students, one MSc candidate and the other an honours candidate, were selected to work on this project of which I was the primary supervisor. The project was funded by the South African Ostrich Business Chamber, and was further supported in 2012 by Technology and Human Resources Programme (THRIP), a flagship research and development programme of the Department of Trade and Industry as well as the National Research Foundation (NRF). The grant application was completed by me and by the co-supervisor of the project, Prof Estelle Venter, and submitted in 2011. The objectives of the project were achieved, but further questions from the study could lead to a new project that might commence in 2014/2015 for a full-time MSc candidate.

I have been invited as a reviewer for the Journal of the South African Veterinary Association (JSAVA) and have reviewed three papers related to BTB since 2009. The most recent one being in 2013. Currently I am still involved in the field of BTB diagnostics in wildlife, with specific interest in early diagnosis of BTB in rhinoceroses. I have a total of six publications in BTB research to date.

During my research career (September 2001-current) I have gained and continue to gain experience in the field of BTB especially in development of ELISA assays, and performed various tasks related to the field of BTB diagnostics in wildlife. In addition I have had the opportunity to travel to different parts of the world; meet, engage, learn, work, teach and collaborate with a number of researchers and experts in the field of TB/BTB and continue to do so.

Click here to view my CV.

Professional and academic experience

• Taught third year students in the BVSc degree programme – Immunology
• Teach first year students in the Diploma in Vet Nursing Programme – Microbiology (2004 -2018) and Immunology (2015-2018)
• Teach second year students in the BVSc degree programme – Immunodiagnostics (2015-current) Module co-ordinator for Basic Microbiology (MBI 111), in the DVN I programme. (2006-2018)
• Module co-ordinator (shared with Dr Sibeko-Matjila) of Veterinary Research Report (VRE 600) module, in the BVSc curriculum (2018 – current)
• Member of the Bachelor in Veterinary Nursing (BVN) Curriculum Working Group
• Module co-ordinator for Primary Animal Health Care (PAH 110), in the BVN programme (2018- current)

Professional memberships

TUKS Alumni

Subjects taught at undergraduate and postgraduate levels

• Molecular biology
• Microbiology
• Bacteriology
• Immunology

Research interests

My research interests include the following two research areas:

• Wildlife Immunology and
• Vectors and Vector-borne Diseases

Current Research Projects

• Evaluating ante-mortem diagnostic tests for detection of Mycobacterium bovis infection in white rhinoceroses (Ceratotherium simum)
• African Wildlife Immunochemistry: developing specific diagnostic tools

Postgraduate students and research topics