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6th Scientific Merit Awards

Silver Awards

Professor Novel Chegou is a scientist at the South African Medical Research Council’s Center for TB Research, Division of Molecular Biology and Human Genetics, at Stellenbosch University. He is an Associate Professor and co-leads the diagnostic biomarker research efforts of the Immunology Research Group. He began his training as a Medical Laboratory Scientist in Cameroon. Prof Chegou’s research work mainly focuses on the discovery of biomarkers for the diagnosis of TB disease, and monitoring of the response to treatment. He is particularly interested in the development of simple field-friendly point-of-care diagnostics for the rapid diagnosis of TB, as well as monitoring of the response to treatment in resource-constrained settings. His work over the years has earned him many accolades, including the "Emerging Research Talent" Young Researcher Award by UNESCO-Merck Africa Research Summit, in Geneva, Switzerland. Most recently, he was named a finalist in the 2019 National Science and Technology Forum  Awards in the category: TW Kambule-NSTF Awards.

Professor Yahya Choonara is a Pharmacist by profession and holds various positions including Chair and Head of the Department of Pharmacy and Pharmacology at Wits University. He is also a Principal Researcher at the Wits Advanced Drug Delivery Platform and Co-Director of the Syndicate, Wits Health Consortium. Early in his career, he was a recipient of the SAMRC’s research funding as a Postgraduate Researcher and Postdoc and as a Principal Investigator on the Self-Initiated Research grant. Choonara’s research interests and expertise covers, among others, areas of Pharmaceutics; Drug delivery, targeting and bio-availability; Nanomedicine; Biomaterials; and Molecular pharmaceutics. Due to his notable experience and extensive research, he is no stranger to the red carpet – he has won several prestigious awards. In 2019 he received the TW Kambule - National Science and Technology Forum Award and the Top Intellectual Property Creator. He also received the National Award for Best Research Publication in Pharmaceutics at the 33rd Annual Conference of the Academy of Pharmaceutical Sciences of South Africa and Wits Innovators Forum International and Prolific Inventor Awards.

Professor Craig Kinnear joined the South African Medical Research Council in 2006 as a Junior Scientist. His hardwork and dedication saw him grow through the ranks. Today he occupies the position of Specialist Scientist at the SAMRC’s Centre for TB Research.  In addition, he is currently the Head of the SAMRC Genomics Centre. Professor Kinnear obtained his PhD at Stellenbosch University in 2007, which focused on identifying novel genetic predisposing factors involved in the pathogenesis of obsessive-compulsive disorder and schizophrenia. Some of his research interests include Human Genetics; Primary Immuno-deficiency Disorders; Host Pre-disposition to TB; Cardiovascular Genetics; Parkinson’s Disease and Neurodevelopment. He is a recipient of research grants from the National Health Laboratory Service, the National Research Foundation and the U.S. NIH.

A Pathologist and Clinical Microbiologist by profession, Professor Nazir Ismail is a man who wears different hats. He heads the Centre for TB at the National Institute for Communicable Diseases (NICD) and the WHO Supranational TB Reference Laboratory, South Africa. He is also a Councillor at the College of Medicine South Africa. He is a Professor in the Department of Medical Microbiology at the University of Pretoria and also an Honorary Professor in the Department of Internal Medicine at Wits University. Professor Ismail also sits on several Independent Review Panels and Collaborating Centres at the South African Medical Research Council including the SHIP programme. In addition, he is a recipient of the joint SA-UK-MRC Newton Fund. His extensive research in TB, Microbiology, Molecular Epidemiology and Transmission and Public Health Epidemiology have earned him roles and memberships in various professional bodies. He is a member of the National Clinical Advisory Committee; the South African TB Think Tank Steering Committee; the TB South Africa Project, World Health Organisation TB Task Force; Critical Path to TB Drug Regimens, Washington – Surveillance Workgroup and the Aurum Scientific Advisory Committee.

Gold Awards

Professor Lynette Denny is a Director of the South African Medical Research Council’s Gynaecological Cancer Research Centre – a SAMRC Extramural Research Unit based at the University of Cape Town.  She is also Head of Department of the Obstetrics and Gynaecology at the UCT / Groote Schuur Hospital. Throughout her career, she has devoted her energies to reducing the risk of cervical cancer in low resource settings, both in terms of her clinical and research work. Her work has been published widely on this subject thus proving to be influential worldwide.  In recognition of her remarkable work on cervical cancer prevention among disadvantaged communities and general focus on gynaecological cancer management, Prof Denny’s work has previously been acknowledged through several prestigious local and international awards, including the South African Medical Association Award for Extra-Ordinary Service to Medicine and the Global Humanitarian Award by the International Gynaecologic Cancer Society. She is also winner of the International Agency for Research on Cancer Medal of Honour Award.

Professor Robert Pattinson has been the Director of the SAMRC/University of Pretoria Maternal and Infant Health Care Strategies Research Unit since 1998. This is one of the oldest Extramural Research Units of the South African Medical Research Council. He is also an Emeritus Professor at the University of Pretoria where he previously served as Clinical Head of the Department of Obstetrics and Gynaecology. He serves on the National Committee for the Confidential Enquiries into Maternal Deaths for which he edits all the reports and served on the National Perinatal Morbidity and Mortality Committee in South Africa. As a qualified Obstetrician and Gynaecologist, Prof Pattinson has a strong research focus in areas of maternal, fetal and infant health. He led the team that developed and scaled-up the Essential Steps into Obstetric Emergencies programme - the programme has been scaled-up into all districts in South Africa. Pattinson is a member of the Academy of Science of South Africa (ASSAf); winner of the Discovery Health Excellence Award and a Fellow Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists. Prof Pattinson attributes most of his professional growth to the SAMRC – his association with the organisation dates back to 1987, when he first received the SAMRC Post Graduate Bursary which he says was a defining moment for his career.

Professor Caroline Tiemessen is a virologist and researcher. She is Head of Cell Biology Research Laboratory in the Centre for HIV and STIs in the National Institute for Communicable Diseases in South Africa and a Research Professor at WITS University. Her research interests include the study of HIV vaccines and HIV cure (paediatric and adult) with a focus on natural resistance models which include maternal-infant HIV-1 transmission for studying protective immunity to HIV-1, and the study of long term non-progressors and elite controllers to understand natural attenuation of disease progression. A more recent and major focus of her research efforts is in the field of paediatric HIV cure – this encompasses studies of the viral reservoir and host biomarkers in the context of very early ARV treatment of infants as part of the LEOPARD clinical trial being conducted in Johannesburg, and detailed exploration of the recent case of the HIV-infected South African child in long-term remission without antiretrovirals. In 2013, she was awarded the DST/NRF HIV Vaccine Translational Research Chair in the Faculty of Health Sciences at WITS University, and in the same year, she was elected a member ASSAf. Most recently, she received the 2018 Congress of Business and Economics Innovation Award for performing (together with other researchers), the world’s first living donor liver transplant from an HIV positive parent to her HIV negative child.

Platinum Awards

Professor Keertan Dheda is Head of both the Centre for Lung Infection and Immunity – UCT Lung Institute and the Division of Pulmonology at the University of Cape Town. Dheda has a long-standing relationship with the South African medical Research Council having received the SAMRC career development award in 2007 and he has also been the principal investigator on several multi-million-rand grants awarded by the SAMRC. He is no stranger to the SAMRC Scientific Merit Awards – in 2013 he was the winner of the Gold Scientific Achievement award. To add the cherry on top, he recently got appointed as Director of SAMRC/UCT Centre for the Study of Antimicrobial Resistance Research Unit - one of the SAMRC’s new seven Extramural Research Units launched early this year. An NRF A - Rated scientist, Dheda’s his contribution to science is described within the context of two of his major research focus areas: Diagnosis of TB and Molecular epidemiology and management of drug-resistant TB. He has published over 280 manuscripts in PubMed-listed international peer reviewed journals, with over 40 of them being citation classics (more than 100 citations) including 4 first or senior author original publications in The Lancet. Over the years, his work has never gone unrecognized - he has been the recipient of several prestigious awards including the International Union Against Tuberculosis and Lung Disease Scientific Award; the 2018 European Union-funded EDCTP Scientific Leadership Award and South African Clinician Society Scientific Health Excellence Award, to mention a few. He serves on several national and international academic and advisory bodies and editorial board of journals such as the American Journal of Respiratory and Critical Medicine and Lancet Respiratory Diseases amongst others. He holds 5 patents related to new TB control technologies. Some of his many international recognition includes being Professor of Mycobacteriology at the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine in the UK; a Visiting Professor at University College London, and he is the immediate past president of the South African Thoracic Society.

Presidents Award

Professor Debbie Bradshaw has recently retired as Unit Director of the South African Medical Research Council’s Burden of Disease Research Unit. Bradshaw served the organisation for 41 years where she started as a Junior Statistician in the Institute for Bio-statistics. She later moved to the Centre for Epidemiology in Southern Africa and started developing a research programme investigating mortality trends – this grew into a research unit which we today know as the Burden of Disease Research Unit, which is focuses on describing the burden of disease and improving information on the health status in the country. Trained as a biostatistician, she became an epidemiologist who has built her career around understanding mortality patterns and describing population health. Bradshaw first completed her BSc in Mathematics, then proceeding her PhD studies with Oxford University in the Department of Bio-mathematics. She is an Honorary Professor at University of Cape Town in the Department of Public Health and Family Medicine. In order to continue conducting high quality and groundbreaking research, Bradshaw has been very instrumental in securing funding – she has been awarded grants, including but limited to, the
  • SAMRC Flagship Project: 2nd South African Comparative Risk Factor
  • Newton NCD: Evolving Risk Factors for Cancers in African Populations
  • Pepfar funded CDC Co-operative Agreement with SAMRC: National cause-of-death validation project (NCOD Validate), and
  • The Pepfar funded CDC Co-operative Agreement with SAMRC: Enhancing linkage to care for HIV in South Africa

Prof Ephraim Thibedi Mokgokong is a former Vice Chancellor and Principal of the Medical University of South Africa (MEDUNSA) and a distinguished Gynaecologist and Obstetrician whose name resonates with many health professionals in South Africa. Prof Mokgokong’s journey began in 1954 when he enrolled for a BSc in Chemistry and Zoology at the University College of Fort Hare and proceeded all the way to get his PhD at the University of Natal investigating the Clinical and Biochemical features of pregnant Diabetics. Since then he has received several Honorary Doctorates from various universities including the University of Potchefstroom; University of Venda and University of Pretoria. For many years, he maintained his footprint in public health – both in academia and the public sector and this undoubtedly made him a force to be reckoned with, leading to the many roles he was assigned to. He was Vice President of the Medical and Dental Council and member of the National Cancer Association of South Africa where he was chairperson of its Education Committee. He also served on the board of the South African Blood Transfusion Service and that of the Council of The South African National Blood Service. He was also appointed by the late Honorable Dr Walter Sisulu to the South African Research and Development Trust. Even after retirement, he still makes a contribution to public health. Apart from running his Private Practice at Legae Mediclinic In Mabopane, he does part-time sessions at the Department of Obstetrics and Gynaecology of Polokwane. He remains a mentor to many young and upcoming health professionals and runs outreach workshops in the Capricon Region of the Limpopo Province.

6th Scientific Merit Awards
6th Scientific Merit Awards
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