BEKKER, Prof Linda-Gail
Desmond Tutu HIV Centre

Main areas of expertise
Pathogenesis of tuberculosis and HIV infection

Positions held
Desmond Tutu HIV Centre - Deputy Director
Desmond Tutu HIV Foundation - Chief Operating Officer

Biosketch
Born in Zimbabwe, Linda-Gail Bekker qualified as a medical doctor at UCT in 1987. After qualification, Prof Bekker went to work in rural Northern Kwazulu- Natal for 4 years as a generalist in a regional hospital. She returned to UCT in 1993 to begin specialising in Internal Medicine. The twin epidemics of TB and HIV, so rife in South African communities prompted her to read for a PhD investigating the interaction between the two infections and the impact on the human host. Her PhD was completed at the Rockefeller University in New York and locally in Cape Town. On completion of her doctoral studies, for which she was awarded the Bronte prize for best thesis at UCT in 2000, she returned to Cape Town and UCT. Together with Prof. Robin Wood, she set up the Desmond Tutu HIV Centre. Since then, the Centre has expanded from a focus on individual clinical drug trials to operational issues around community treatment of adult women and men, operational research on mother-to-child interventions and VCT, a new major project on TB and HIV, other opportunistic infections and HIV, treatment adherence, pharmaco-economics and more recently vaccine and other HIV preventative research. She has also developed expertise in the following key populations such as MSM, Youth and unemployed men.

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BLACKBURN, Prof Jonathan
Applied & Chemical Proteomics Group

Main areas of expertise
Enzymology; molecular biology; in vitro evolution; proteomics; protein arrays; protein-drug interactions; biomarker discovery & validation; biosensors

Positions held
South African Research Chair in Applied Proteomics & Chemical Biology, University of Cape Town (2008-); Head, African Network for Drugs & Diagnostics Innovation (ANDI) Centre of Excellence in Proteomics & Genomics, University of Cape Town (2011-)

Biosketch
Prof Blackburn previously held a Royal Society University Research Fellowship at the Department of Biochemistry, Cambridge University (1995-2003) and an EPSRC Visiting Research Fellow at the University of Manchester (2004-2008). He was also a Fellow of Fitzwilliam College, Cambridge (1992-2003). He was founder and Research Director of the Centre for Proteomic and Genomic Research in Cape Town (2006-2008), was the academic founder and Chief Scientific officer of a UK biotechnology company, Sense Proteomic Ltd (1999-2002), and was Chief Scientist of Procognia Ltd, UK (2003-2006). He obtained his D.Phil degree in Chemistry from the University of Oxford under the supervision of Prof Sir Jack Baldwin, FRS, and carried out post-doctoral research at the Medical Research Council (UK) with Prof Sir Alan Fersht FRS. Prof Blackburn serves in a number of national and international committees including the National Health Research Committee, the Biotechnology committee of the International Union of Pure & Applied Chemistry, and the Nominations and Election Committee, Human Proteome Organisation. He sits on the editorial advisory boards of the Journal of Proteome Research, Journal of Proteome Science & Computational Biology, and Expert Review of Proteomics. He also sits on the Scientific Advisory Board of GenTel BioSciences (USA), and on the Research Advisory Panel of the CSIR Biosciences.

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BROMBACHER, Prof Frank
Cytokines and Disease Group

Main areas of expertise
Immunology, Tuberculosis, Listeriosis, African trypanosomiasis, leishmaniasis, bilharzia, helminth infection, Transgenic mouse models, Transcriptomics

Positions held
Scientific Coordinator for Immunology and Infectious Diseases, African International Center for Genetic Engineering and Biotechnology (ICGEB), Cape Town; South African Research Chair (SARChI) for Immunology of Infectious Diseases in Africa; Director, Medical Research Council Unit, Immunology of Infectious Diseases, University of Cape Town; Fellow at UCT; Visiting Professor, University of Strathclyde, Glasgow; President, South African Immunology Society (SAIS)

Biosketch
Frank Brombacher (NRF A1-rated) Immunologist, scholar of Nobel Laureate Prof. G. Koehler (hybridoma) and previous International Senior Wellcome Trust Fellow for Medical Research in South Africa, is currently the Scientific Coordinator for Immunology and Infectious Diseases at the African International Center for Genetic Engineering and Biotechnology (ICGEB, http://www.icgeb.org) based in Cape Town. In addition, he holds a South African Research Chair (SARCHi) for Immunology of Infectious Diseases in Africa and a Medical Research Council Unit on Immunology of Infectious Diseases at the University of Cape Town (IIDMM, http://www.iidmm.uct.ac.za). His group investigates immunological mechanisms, regulation and protective host effector functions in experimental murine infectious disease models, relevant to Africans, e.g. tuberculosis, African trypanosomiasis, leishmaniasis and helminthic infections, like bilharzia - four of the top ten WHO declared human threats to combat. In addition, he and his group are interested in chronic diseases, including allergic asthma and colitis, causing high morbidity and mortality in humans. His research strategy is based on loss or gain of function approaches in genetically engineered transgenic mouse models with focus on interleukins (IL), particular IL-4 and IL-13. Genes, factors and cells beneficial or detrimental for the disease outcome are uncovered and investigated with advances made, supporting our long-term goal of safe and cost- effective drug and vaccination strategies.

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CHIBALE, Prof Kelly
Drug Discovery and Synthetic/Medicinal Chemistry Group

Main areas of expertise
Drug discovery and synthetic/medicinal chemistry. ADME/DMPK assays, Drug metabolite generation and biotransformation.

Positions held

• Tier 1 South African National Research Chair in Drug Discovery under the South African Research Chairs Initiative
• Director, South African Medical Research Council Drug Discovery and Development Research Unit
• Founder and Director, UCT Drug Discovery and Development Centre (H3-D)
• Full Professor (ad hominem promotion), Department of Chemistry, UCT
• Full Member, Institute of Infectious Disease and Molecular Medicine (IIDMM), UCT

Biosketch
Full Professor (ad hominem) at the University of Cape Town (2007). In 2008 awarded a Tier 1 South Africa Research Chair in Drug Discovery under the South Africa Research Chairs Initiative (SARChI) of the Department of Science and Technology (DST) and administered through the National Research Foundation (NRF). In 2009 appointed founding Director of the Medical Research Council (MRC) Drug Discovery and Development Research Unit at UCT. In the same year (2009) elected a Life Fellow of UCT and a Fellow of the Royal Society of South Africa. In 2010 became the founding Director of the UCT Drug Discovery and Development Centre (H3-D). Research has been in the field of drug discovery and has been underpinned by (Hit to Lead and Lead Optimization) medicinal chemistry.  Funding sources include TIA, MRC, NRF, Medicines for Malaria Venture (MMV) and the Gates Foundation.

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DENNY, Prof Lynette

Main areas of expertise
Cervical cancer, cervical disease in HIV-infected women, endometrial and ovarian cancer, sexual violence against women, anti-retroviral medication to prevent HIV transmission in survivors of sexual assault, human papillomavirus infection, HPV Vaccination both prophylactic and therapeutic.

Positions held
Head of Department of Obstetrics and Gynaecology, Faculty Health Sciences, UCT; Principal Investigator Khayelitsha Cervical Screening Project. 

Biosketch
I joined the IIDMM at its inception in 2004. The Khayelitsha Cervical Cancer Screening Project (KCCSP) began in 1995 working out of a specially adapted caravan. We set up a very rich collaboration with colleagues in Pathology and Epidemiology at Columbia University and University of Cape Town. Our first two major studies included 6 000 women recruited from Khayelitsha and we evaluated alternative approaches to cytology for the prevention of cervical cancer in low resource settings in cross sectional studies. The first study of 3000 women formed the basis of my PhD thesis. We were funded by the Gates Foundation through Engender Health which was part of an alliance called Alliance for Cervical Cancer Prevention which involved 4 other international organisations. In 2000 we embarked on a large randomised trial, the first of its kind internationally, where we compared HPV DNA testing with Visual Inspection with Acetic Acid to a control group. I have served on the Executive Committee of the International Gynaecology Cancer Society and am currently the President Elect of the organisation. I was co-chair of the FIGO Gynaecology Cancer Committee and since February 2011 have become the Chair of the Committee. I am the secretary treasurer of AORTIC (African Organisation for Research and Training in Cancer) and was instrumental in reviving the organisation and have organised 4 international conferences for the organisation.

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GRAY, Prof Clive

Main areas of expertise
Immunopathogenesis of HIV, survival and differentiation of antigen-specific memory CD4 and CD8 T cells, vaccine-induced immunity.

Positions held
HOD Division of Immunology, UCT; Visiting Professor, South African National Bioinformatics Institute, University of the Western Cape; Visiting Professor, Department of Immunology, Duke University, North Carolina, USA

Biosketch

MSc, PhD; Postdoctoral Fellow 1995, Center for AIDS Research, Stanford University, USA; Research Fellow, Nuffield Department of Surgery, Oxford University 1989 - 1990; Research Officer, Transplantation Research Unit, Department of Surgery Research, Witwatersrand Medical School , Johannesburg 1985 - 1992; Lecturer, Department of Experimental and Clinical Pharmacology, University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg 1993 - 1995; Chief Specialist Scientist and Head of Department of HIV Immunology, AIDS Research Unit, National Institute for Communicable Diseases, Johannesburg 1998 – 2010; Chair and Head of the Division of Immunology at the University of Cape Town, 2011. Published numerous papers on identifying T cell responses to HIV in early and acute infection. Clive Gray's particular interest lies in understanding the immunopathogenesis of HIV and what constitutes survival and differentiation of antigen-specific memory CD4 and CD8 T cells and what would be required with vaccine-induced immunity. Clive played a formative role in the South African AIDS Vaccine Initiative (SAAVI) and has been part of the SAAVI development team for the DNA and MVA candidate vaccines that have now completed clinical trials in the US and South Africa. He was the Principal Investigator for the HIV Vaccine Trials Network (HVTN) immunology laboratory in Southern Africa for the past 10 years, where he was responsible for measuring vaccine immunogenicity in clinical trials in the region. 2004 recipient, Elizabeth Glaser AIDS Pediatric Fund International Leadership Award, a 3-year grant to fund the Immunopaedia project in South Africa.

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HANEKOM, Prof Willem
South African Tuberculosis Vaccine Initiative (SATVI)

Main areas of expertise
Tuberculosis, Vaccinology, Human Immunology, Clinical Trials, Paediatric Infectious Diseases

Positions held
Director, South African Tuberculosis Vaccine Initiative (SATVI), Professor, School of Child and Adolescent Health, University of Cape Town; Co-director of Clinical Infectious Diseases Research Initiative (CIDRI)

Biosketch
Willem Hanekom trained in pediatrics in Cape Town, and in pediatric infectious diseases at Northwestern University in Chicago. He then completed a postdoc in Gilla Kaplan's lab at the Rockefeller University in New York City. He returned to South African in 2005 to lead the immunology effort of the South African Tuberculosis Vaccine Initiative (SATVI). He is currently Director of this group, based at the University of Cape Town, where he is Professor and also Co-Director of the Wellcome Trust-funded Clinical Infectious Disease Research Initiative.

Willem's group tests new TB vaccines in humans. The main focus of complementary research is correlates of risk of TB disease, and correlates of protection against TB, as well as mechanisms underlying these observations.

Willem has authored >80 publications, and has been successful in generating competitive research funding from the NIH, EDCTP and Gates Foundation, among others. He is actively involved in training postgraduate students, and has won various research and teaching awards. He is past president of the South African Immunological Society, and current president of the Federation of African Immunological Societies. He is a regular reviewer for international funding agencies, and for scientific journals. He serves on multiple World Health Organisation-affiliated and other international advisory committees in TB vaccine development and translational immunology.

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HATHERILL, Assoc Prof Mark

Main areas of expertise
Paediatric TB vaccine trials; diagnostic endpoints for childhood TB

Positions held
Associate Professor, South African Tuberculosis Vaccine Initiative (SATVI)

Biosketch
MBChB, DCH, MRCP, FCPaed, MMed, MD. Mark Hatherill is a Senior Clinical Researcher at the South African Tuberculosis Vaccine Initiative. He trained in paediatrics and paediatric intensive care in South Africa (Red Cross Children’s Hospital), the UK (Guy’s Hospital), and Australia (The Children’s Hospital, Westmead). His clinical research interests have focused on childhood infectious diseases and pathophysiology of critical illness. His current research focuses on refining diagnostic criteria for tuberculosis as a vaccine trial end-point and he holds an NIH grant to study diagnostic yield of sputum induction. Ongoing collaborations include a multi-centre TB drug trial (RIFAQUIN) with InterTB (St. George’s Hospital, London).

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HUSSEY, Prof Greg
Vaccines for Africa (VACFA)

Main areas of expertise
Vaccinology, Clinical Trials, Tuberculosis, Paediatric Infectious Diseases

Positions held
Director, Vaccines for Africa, Consultant, South African TB Vaccine Initiative.

Biosketch
Gregory Hussey is the Director of the Vaccines for Africa (VACFA) Initiative. For the past two years he served as Deputy Dean responsible for research in the Faculty of Health Sciences at the University of Cape Town (UCT). He also held the position of Director of the Institute of Infectious Disease and Molecular Medicine at UCT, from 2004 until the end of 2010. He qualified as a medical practitioner at UCT, has had postgraduate training in paediatrics and public health at UCT and infectious diseases at the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, and is registered as a sub-specialist in paediatric infectious diseases.

He has been a part-time World Health Organization (WHO) consultant for the past 15 years in infectious diseases and vaccines. He currently serves on a number of international committees including the WHO Global Advisory Committee on Vaccine Safety, The Foundation for Vaccine Research and the Aeras TB Vaccine Advisory Committee. He has also served on a number of international conference coordinating committees and International Data Safety Monitoring Committees for new paediatric vaccines. He is a member of a number of important national scientific advisory committees including the National Advisory Group on Immunisation and the Board of National Health Laboratory Services.  

His main research interest has been in the field of vaccine preventable diseases, including TB, has published extensively on this subject and is the holder of research grants from a number of international agencies. In 2001 he started the South African TB Vaccine Initiative; their mission is to contribute to the development of new TB vaccines. He is also founder of VACFA (www.vacfa.com), is actively involved in a number of vaccinology initiatives in Africa, and is the convenor of the Annual week long African Vaccinology course.

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JACOBS, Assoc Prof Muazzam
Experimental Tuberculosis and Immunology Research Group

Main areas of expertise
Immunology of Infectious Disease, Tumor Necrosis Factor, tuberculosis, small animal models, evaluation of anti-tuberculosis drug leads and drug delivery systems.

Positions held
NHLS Medical Scientist

Biosketch
Assoc Prof. Muazzam Jacobs is the Group Leader of the Experimental Tuberculosis and Immunology Research Group, based within the Institute of Infectious Disease and Molecular Medicine and is a joint appointment of the University of Cape Town and the NHLS. His research focus is on understanding host pathogen interaction and associated immune mechanisms that bring about protection against tuberculosis infection. He has acted as lead investigator for the University of Cape Town on international NIH- and EU-FP funded projects and have existing scientific relationships and ongoing projects with investigators in the USA and Europe.

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KATZ, Prof Arieh
Receptor Biology Group

Main areas of expertise
G protein-coupled receptors , GnRH, Kisspeptin, Cervical cancer, Kaposi sarcoma

Positions held
Co-Director, MRC/UCT Research Group for Receptor Biology

Biosketch
Arieh Katz received his Ph.D. at the Weizmann Institute of Science, Israel in 1990. Thereafter, he moved to California Institute of Technology, U.S.A. for post-doctoral training in the laboratory of Professor Melvin I. Simon. There, he spent 4 years working on the identification and characterization of G-protein subunits which activate phosphoinositide specific phospholipase C (PI-PLC) and showed that the Gβγ subunits, as well as, certain Gα subunits activate PI-PLC. In 1995, Arieh Katz moved to the Department of Chemical Pathology at University of Cape Town to join the research group of Professor R.P. Millar. There, he got involved in studying the GnRH receptor which is a G protein-coupled receptor that signals via PI-PLC. In 1997 Arieh Katz was awarded a Wellcome Trust Senior Research Fellowship in Medical Science which enabled him to set up his own research group and in the Division of Medical Biochemistry. Since 1998 Arieh Katz is a Co-Director of the UCT/MRC Receptor Biology Research Group.

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KIDSON, Prof Susan
Cell and Developmental Biology Group

Main areas of expertise
Molecular basis of eye development; models for inherited and acquired forms of glaucoma: skin pigmentation; embryonic stem cells; skin stem cells

Positions held
Acting Dean, Faculty Health Sciences, University of Cape Town
Principal Investigator, Cell and Developmental Biology Group.

Biosketch
PhD. Head of Department of Human Biology; 9 PhD and 13 MSc students graduated; 5 PhD and 6 MSc students in progress, 2 post-doctoral students; 38 papers; molecular basis of eye development; models for inherited and acquired forms of glaucoma: skin pigmentation; embryonic stem cells; skin stem cells; collaborations: Dr B Hogan, N Duke University, USA: Prof G Todd, Dermatology UCT, Dr J O'Raian, UCT.

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MARTIN, Dr Darren
Computational Biology Group

Main areas of expertise
Bioinformatics, virus evolution, genetic recombination

Positions held
Senior lecturer in the computational biology group

Biosketch
I joined IIDMM as a full member in June 2009. My research centres around studying the role that genetic recombination plays during virus evolution. After I obtained my PhD at UCT in 2001I have been actively persuing this line of research thanks to generous grants from the Harry Oppenheimer foundation, Sydney Brenner and the Wellcome Trust. In June 2010 I was appointed as a senior lecturer in the computational biology group at the IIDMM.

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MEINTJES, Assoc Prof Graeme

Main areas of expertise
HIV-associated tuberculosis
Tuberculosis-associated immune reconstitution inflammatory syndrome (TB-IRIS)
Cryptococcal meningitis

Positions held
Associate Professor, Department of Medicine, University of Cape Town; Principal Investigator, Clinical Infectious Diseases Research Initiative (CIDRI); Honorary Clinical Lecturer, Imperial College London

Biosketch
MBChB(UCT) MRCP(Glasgow) FCP(SA) DipHIVMan(SA) PhD(UCT). Graeme Meintjes is an Associate Professor of Medicine and an adult Infectious Diseases Physician based at the University of Cape Town in the Institute of Infectious Disease and Molecular Medicine. He obtained his PhD in 2011 for a thesis that focused on the diagnosis, treatment and immunopathogenesis of paradoxical tuberculosis-associated immune reconstitution inflammatory syndrome (TB-IRIS). He was the lead investigator on a randomized controlled trial of prednisone for the treatment of paradoxical TB-IRIS. His other research interests include the complications of antiretroviral therapy and cryptococcal meningitis. He has collaborated with researchers from St Georges Hospital, London, on trials aimed at improving initial treatment of cryptococcal meningitis since 2005, and is currently the site PI of the NIAID-funded Cryptococcal Optimal ART Timing (COAT) trial at GF Jooste Hospital in Cape Town. He was a Wellcome Trust training fellow from 2007 until 2011, and has been awarded a 5-year Wellcome Trust Intermediate Fellowship in Public Health and Tropical Medicine in 2012. He is currently undertaking a Masters in Public Health through Johns Hopkins University. He jointly established the Infectious Diseases Unit at GF Jooste Hospital in Cape Town in 2004. Since 2010 he has been an Honorary Clinical Lecturer, Department of Medicine, Imperial College London, and since 2004 a Senior Clinical Consultant for the Aid for AIDS managed care group.

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MEISSNER, Prof Peter

Main areas of expertise
Porphyrins, porphyrias, liver disease

Positions held
HOD Division of Medical Biochemistry, UCT; Co-director, MRC/UCT Liver Research Centre; Fellow, University of Cape Town

Biosketch
BSc(Med)(Hons); PhD(Med); Wellcome International Senior Research Fellow 1998-2002. "Home-grown" medical scientist apart from a postdoc period in the USA; internationally recognised as an "expert" in the porphyria field. Research mandate and interests have broadened to include many other aspects of liver disease.

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MIZRAHI, Prof Valerie
MRC/NHLS/UCT Molecular Mycobacteriology Research Unit

Main areas of expertise
Mycobacterial physiology and metabolism of particular relevance to TB drug resistance and drug discovery, including DNA repair and replication, central carbon metabolism, co-factor biosynthesis and function.

Positions held
Director, Institute of Infectious Disease and Molecular Medicine; Director, MRC/NHLS/UCT Molecular Mycobacteriology Research Unit which constitutes the UCT node of the DST/NRF Centre of Excellence for Biomedical TB Research (CBTBR).

Biosketch
I joined UCT as the Director of the Institute of Infectious Disease and Molecular Medicine in January 2011. My research interests are in areas of mycobacterial physiology and metabolism of particular relevance to TB drug resistance and drug discovery. I launched the Molecular Biology Unit at the South African Institute for Medical Research when I returned to South Africa in 1989, and subsequently established and led the Molecular Mycobacteriology Research Unit (MMRU) which was jointly funded by the South African Medical Research Council, the National Health Laboratory Service and University of the Witwatersrand from 2000-2010. From 2004-2010, I served as the co-director of the Centre of Excellence for Biomedical TB Research (CBTBR) which is jointly funded by the Department of Science and Technology and the National Research Foundation. In addition to my current role as institute director, I have continued as head of the MMRU which is now based at UCT and, in partnership with Wits and Stellenbosch Universities, forms the UCT node of the CBTBR. I have been an International Research Scholar of the HHMI since 2000 and currently serve on the Scientific Advisory Boards of the TB Alliance, K-RITH and SACEMA, on the Council of Scientific Advisors of the ICGEB and on the Board of Directors of K-RITH.

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MULDER, Assoc Prof Nicola
Computational Biology Group

Main areas of expertise
Bioinformatics of infectious diseases from the perspectives of the host and pathogen's biological systems.

Positions held
Associate Professor, Head of UCT Computational Biology Group; President of the African Society for Bioinformatics and Computational Biology

Biosketch
Assoc Prof Mulder is the Head of the Computational Biology Group at UCT, which forms the centre of bioinformatics activities at the university. After her PhD in Medical Microbiology, she spent 8 years at the European Bioinformatics Institute in Cambridge, moving into the area of Bioinformatics. At the EBI she was a Team Leader, responsible for development of one of the most heavily used Bioinformatics resources at the Institute. At UCT A/Prof Mulder works in the area of bioinformatics of infectious diseases, looking at the systems biology of the host and pathogens and interactions between them. Her group also provides bioinformatics support to researchers at UCT and other universities in the country. A/Prof Mulder is actively involved in bioinformatics training and capacity development on the continent.

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PARKER, Prof M Iqbal
MRC/UCT Oesophageal Cancer Research Group

Main areas of expertise
Oesophageal cancer, tumour metastasis, drug development

Positions held
Director of ICGEB Cape Town Component, Director of MRC/UCT Oesophageal Cancer Research Group; Member of ASSAF; Fellow of TWAS and IAS; Member of the Executive Committee of IUBMB

Biosketch
PhD; 8 MSc and 20 PhD Students graduated; 2 MSc and 4 PhD Students in progress; 72 papers; (i) Transcriptional regulation of procollagen gene expression, (ii) Molecular genetic changes in breast and oesophageal cancer. Collaborations: Kings College (London); University of Stellenbosch (South Africa); Promec (MRC); University of Pisa (Italy); University of Helsinki (Finland); Gezira University (Sudan).

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PASSMORE, Assoc Prof Jo-Ann
Mucosal Immunology Laboratory

Main areas of expertise
HIV/HPV Mucosal Immunology; genital tract, innate immunity, cytokine biomarkers, genital tract immune activation

Positions held
Head, Mucosal Immunology Laboratory in the Division of Medical Virology

Biosketch
Jo-Ann Passmore obtained her PhD from the University of Cape Town in 1999 in Clinical Immunology. She has been mentored through the MRC (South Africa) Career Development Program (2003-2006), Fogarty AITRP (2004) and the Wellcome Trust with an Intermediate Fellowship in Infectious Diseases (2006-2008). Jo-Ann Passmore's research has focused on studying genital tract adaptive and innate immune responses associated with protection from or susceptibility to sexually transmitted viral diseases including HPV and HIV. She has published 31 papers in international peer reviewed journals on immunity to HIV and HP; has graduated 3 PhD and 3 MSc students from her laboratory; and been principal investigator on numerous grants. Jo-Ann Passmore presently leads a team of 3 Post-Doctoral Fellows, 2 PhD, 1 MMed and 3 MSc students at UCT focusing on HIV and HPV immunity at the female genital tract; and is project leader for the CAPRISA Mucosal Immunology Laboratory at the University of Kwa-Zulu Natal (2011-) heading a group of 3 Post-Doctoral Fellows and 1 PhD student on studies focusing on development and testing of microbicides to prevent HIV infection.

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RAMESAR, Prof Rajkumar
MRC Human Genetics Research Unit

Main areas of expertise
Genetic predisposition to cancer; eye or neuropsychiatric diseases.

Positions held
Professor and Head: Division of Human Genetics
Director: MRC Human Genetics Research Unit

Biosketch
Professor Raj Ramesar is Head of the Division of Human Genetics and Director of the MRC Human Genetics Research Unit at the University of Cape Town and its Allied Hospitals. His work involves translating sophisticated molecular genetic research for application to rural and indigenous communities. Ramesar was recently awarded the UCT Vice-Chancellor's Alan Pfifer Award (2009) for his research in this regard. His current interest is in investigating the genetics of complex chronic disorders, and weaving genomic information with that of human origins, diversity and health. He currently serves on the Executive of the African Society for Human Genetics, the International Federation of Human Genetic Societies, and on the editorial board of several international journals.

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RYBICKI, Prof Ed
Subunit Vaccines Group

Main areas of expertise
vaccine biotechnology - novel human papillomavirus and HIV-1 subtype C vaccines made via baculovirus expression in insect cells, and in plants via transient and transgenic expression; diversity studies and vaccine development for beak and feather disease virus of parrots; the diversity and molecular biology of maize streak virus host-virus interactions.

Positions held
Professor in Microbiology, Molecular and Cell Biology Department, Faculty of Science, University of Cape Town
Fellow of the University of Cape Town
Fellow of the Royal Society of Southern Africa
Member of the Academy of Science of South Africa

Biosketch
Ed qualified in Virology at UCT in 1984. He taught Virology and Vaccine Biotechnology and Immunology until 2009, and is now seconded to UCT's Research Office as Research Liaison to the Research Portal Project until 2013.  His main research interests are presently in the area of vaccine biotechnology, and in developing both the baculovirus-insect cell and plant expression systems as expression platforms for a wider range of proteins. Other interests include diversity studies and vaccine development for beak and feather disease virus of parrots, the diversity and molecular biology of host-virus interactions for maize streak virus, and engineering maize and other crop plants for virus resistance.

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STURROCK, Prof Ed
Zinc Metalloprotease Group

Main areas of expertise
Protein biochemistry, protease inhibitor design, enzyme structure-function relationships, ectodomain shedding of angiotensin-converting enzyme.

Positions held
Prof Medical Biochemistry, University of Cape Town;
Fellow and Vice President, Royal Society of South Africa.

Biosketch
PhD, 1994, on the synthesis and metabolism of bilirubin. Went on to do a postdoctoral fellowship at Harvard Medical School where he started his research on angiotensin converting enzyme (ACE), a protein that plays a key role in blood pressure regulation. In 2003 he was awarded a Wellcome Trust International Senior Research Fellowship for his work on ACE. His research interests include: structure-function aspects of ACE; design and synthesis of novel domain-selective ACE inhibitors; and the processing of the membrane-anchored proteins. He has published over 70 peer-reviewed papers and 4 patents, and has trained more than 25 students at PhD and MSc levels. Together with colleagues in the US and UK, he founded a spin-off company AngioDesign Inc in 2003.

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WILKINSON, Hon Prof Robert John

Biosketch
MA PhD DTM&H FRCP, Director Clinical Infectious Diseases research initiative ( www.cidri.uct.ac.za ). Wellcome Trust Senior Fellow in Clinical Tropical Medicine, MRC Programme Leader, National Institute for Medical Research London and Professor in Infectious Diseases, Imperial College London. Seconded to the Institute until September 2014. Major research interest is tuberculosis and the effect of HIV infection on this disease. Investigations include the role of Interferon gamma release assays in the diagnosis of HIV- associated tuberculosis; the immune effects of preventive therapies against tuberculosis (HAART, IPT and vitamin D); The HIV-TB immune reconstitution inflammatory syndrome; and the clinical consequences of strain variation within M. tuberculosis.

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WILLIAMSON, Prof Anna-Lise
HIV Vaccine Development Group and
Human Papillomavirus Research Group

Main areas of expertise
HIV, papillomavirus, vaccines

Positions held
Chair in Vaccinology 2008 (South African Research Chairs Initiative); Director of UCT Vaccine Research Group GLP Facility; Head of WHO HPV Labnet lab for the Africa Region; Joint Head of UCT/NICD/NHLS Molecular Epidemiology Laboratory; Member of the South African HPV Advisory Board.

Biosketch
PhD (Wits, 1985), FRSSAf, MASSAf, Fellow of UCT; Ad hominem promotion to Professor (UCT) 2004; awarded a Chair in Vaccinology 2008 (South African Research Chairs Initiative); Director of UCT Vaccine Research Group GLP Facility; Head of WHO HPV Labnet lab for the Africa Region; Joint Head of UCT/NICD/NHLS Molecular Epidemiology Laboratory; Member of the South African HPV Advisory Board. She is a virologist on the joint staff of the Division of Medical Virology, Dept Clinical Laboratory Sciences, University of Cape Town and the National Health Laboratory Service. She is internationally recognized for both HIV vaccine and Human Papillomavirus expertise. She has headed the South Africa AIDS Vaccine Initiative funded vaccine development team since 2000. This team of people has been responsible for the development of two vaccines tested in Phase 1 clinical trials in the USA and South Africa. She has published more than 100 papers in peer reviewed journals and is actively engaged in training of post-graduate students. Fourteen PhDs and 15 Masters students graduated to date and in 2011 currently supervising 5 PhD and 4 MSc students.

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WILLIAMSON, Prof Carolyn
HIV Diversity and Pathogenesis Group

Main areas of expertise
HIV diversity and pathogenesis; HIV-1 vaccine development, microbicides

Positions held
Head of Division: Medical Virology, Clinical Laboratory Sciences, Faculty of Health Sciences, University of Cape Town; Lead PI, HIV Diversity and Pathogenesis Group; Member Executive Committee for Centre for AIDS Research in South Africa (CAPRISA); Member of SAB for Poliomyelitis Research Foundation; Member of Steering Committee of UK HIV/AIDS Vaccine Consortium

Biosketch
Professor Carolyn Williamson received her PhD in 1988 from the Department of Microbiology, University of Cape Town, where she worked on insect viruses as biological control agents of agricultural pests. Since then Carolyn has worked on viral diseases at the National Institute for Communicable Diseases, Johannesburg and then for the South African Institute for Medical Research, Cape Town. In 2000, she was appointed Associate Professor in the Department of Medical Microbiology, University of Cape Town and in 2009 was promoted to Professor in the Division of Medical Virology. Carolyn has been the head of the division of Medical Virology since April 2010. She leads the HIV Diversity and Pathogenesis Group which is involved in elucidating properties of recently transmitted virus, and understanding HIV evolution in response to cellular and antibody immune pressure. She was a principal investigator on the SAAVI DNA/MVA candidate HIV-1 vaccines which are now in early clinical trial. Carolyn participates in numerous multi-centre national and international studies including the Centre for AIDS Programme for Research in South Africa (CAPRISA), Centre for HIV AIDS Vaccine Immunology (CHAVI), Collaboration for AIDS Vaccine Discovery (CAVD), the HIV Vaccine Trials Network (HVTN), and the South Africa India Vaccine Research as part of the Technology Innovation Agency (TIA).

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WOOD, Prof Robin
Desmond Tutu HIV Centre

Main areas of expertise
Pathogenesis of tuberculosis and HIV infection

Positions held
Director, Desmond Tutu HIV Centre

Biosketch
My current position is Director of the Desmond Tutu HIV Research Centre (DTHC) at the Institute of Infectious Disease and Molecular Medicine, University of Cape Town, a member of the governing council of the International AIDS Society and a founding member of the Southern African HIV Clinicians Society. I have authored or co-authored 10 book chapters; published over 300 scientific and academic editor for PloS Medicine and a scientific reviewer for 25 prominent national and international peer-reviewed journals. I am currently a member of the scientific advisory board of the Global AIDS Prevention Model and TB/HIV modelling projects (CEPAC) at Harvard University, IPM (International partnership for microbicides and Pepfar President's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief. I hold the positions of Visiting Scientist, Harvard Medical School; Research Fellow, University of Stellenbosch; and TB/HIV Consultant, University of Witwatersrand. I am overall Principal Investigator of the Cape Town Clinical Trials Unit and Site Leader for the DTHC Clinical Research Site.

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