Research focus: Non-communicable diseases with a particular interest in understanding the interplay between obesity, diabetes, and pregnancy complications to improve maternal and child health outcomes.

Current research/role focus: My research integrates pre-clinical and clinical science to understand the underlying mechanisms of obesity, gestational diabetes, and related metabolic disorders, including breast cancer. We investigate the molecular and epigenetic mechanisms that drive these conditions, focusing on identifying prognostic biomarkers for early detection and personalised treatment strategies.

Biography: Carmen Pheiffer is the Director and a Chief Specialist Scientist within the Non-communicable Disease Research Unit (NCDRU). She is an Associate Professor in the Department of Obstetrics and Gynaecology at the University of Pretoria. Carmen completed her BSc, BSc (Hons), MSc in Chemical Pathology and Master’s in Public Health (Epidemiology) degrees at the University of Cape Town, and PhD in Medical Biochemistry at Stellenbosch University. She is registered as a Medical Biological Scientist with the Health Professions Council of South Africa and serves on various advisory committees, including the National Health Research Committee (NHRC), Department of Health; NRF Rating Specialist Committee for Health Sciences; Vice-President of the South African Society of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology (SASBMB), the University of Pretoria Diabetes Research Centre, and the SAMRC Scientific Review Committee. Carmen has worked in international laboratories including GlaxoSmithKline R&D (Stevenage, UK), Public Health Research Institute (Newark, USA) and Vall d'Hebron Research Institute (Barcelona, Spain).