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Biography
I obtained my BSc (Agric), BSc (Agric) (Hons) and MSc degrees cum laude with specialization in Microbiology from the University of Pretoria (UP) in the early 1990s. In 1998 I obtained my PhD which focused on the taxonomy and phylogeny of the genus Pedobacter, an aerobic Gram-negative heparinase producing bacteria, using molecular biology tools. During 1999-2002 I completed postdoctoral fellowships at UP and the University of the Witwatersrand focusing on proteomics of a dairy-associated Bacillus cereus biofilm. I then joined the Department of Veterinary Tropical Diseases (DVTD), Faculty of Veterinary Science, UP in 2003 as a Research officer, was appointed as senior lecturer in 2007, and promoted to Associate Professor in 2012, and Full Professor in 2016. As of 1 July 2019, I have been appointed as Deputy Dean: Research and Postgraduate Studies in the Faculty of Veterinary Science, UP.
Since joining the Faculty of Veterinary Science, I have established myself as an expert in the field of veterinary molecular parasitology. My research focus on tick-borne pathogen discovery, genetic characterization of novel tick-borne haemoparasites to identify new species or variants in various domestic and wild animals, and molecular diagnostic assay development for the detection of these parasites of veterinary and/or public health importance. To date my research findings have contributed significantly to the increased knowledge and understanding of tick-borne haemoparasites in domestic animals and wildlife in Africa. Over time, I also developed a special interest in zoonotic infections transmitted from wildlife reservoir species to humans and/or domestic animals at the human/livestock/wildlife interface in rural South Africa. My research has a strong public health relevance and integrates cutting-edge molecular technologies (including next generation sequencing, metagenomics approaches and microbiome data analysis) as well as applied research.
I was awarded a C1 NRF rating in 2023. My research impact, based on Hirsch index is 31 (Google Scholar with 2658 citations). Of relevance is that these indexes remain the same when self-citations are excluded. Since the inception of my career I have published 82 papers in leading high-impact international peer-reviewed journals and I also contributed to three book chapters in 2017.
A highlight was being awarded the joint-winner of the Faculty of Veterinary Science “Researcher of the Year” award in 2011; I have since remained among the Top 10 (2012, 2017-2023) or Top 20 (2014-016) researchers in the Faculty. In 2019, I was also nominated by the UP Department of Research and Innovation for the Department of Science and Technology (DST) 2019 South African Women in Science Awards (SAWiSA) under the category Distinguished Woman Researchers.
I have 15 years of experience in postgraduate student supervision and training and have successfully supervised and/or co-supervised 7 postdoctoral fellows, 15 PhD, 33 MSc and 4 Honours students. I currently supervise 2 postdoctoral fellows, 2 PhD and 1 MSc student and I am co-supervisor of 2 PhD and 3 MSc students. I was also nominated for the UP Exceptional Supervisors award in 2016.
I have been very successful in securing significant national and international research funding; as principal investigator I obtained funding for my own research in excess of R17.1 million (2008-2021). This includes Technology Innovation Agency (TIA) Tshwane Animal Health Cluster funding (R2.98 million) for a project “Molecular characterization of vaccine candidates from Anaplasma marginale strains in South Africa” in collaboration with Dr Nicola Collins (DVTD, UP) and Prof Kelly Brayton (WSU) (2013-2017); as well as USA National Institutes of Health (NIH) funding ($625,000) in the International Research in Infectious Diseases programme in collaboration with WSU for a project “Zoonotic tick-borne pathogens contribute to acute febrile illness in rural South Africa” (2019-2024).
I am regularly requested to review scientific papers involving veterinary molecular parasitology research, with most emphasize on tick-borne diseases. I was invited to serve as a guest associate editor “Veterinary Infectious Diseases” for the international journal Frontiers in Veterinary Science (IF 3.412) on the topic “An Overview of Current Knowledge on Ticks and Tick-borne Diseases” (2019-2021); guest associate editor “Infectious Agents and Disease” for Frontiers in Microbiology (IF 5.64) on “Coinfections of Lyme Disease and Other Tick-Borne Diseases” (2020-2021); and, guest editor for Microorganisms (IF 4.926) on a special Issue on “Molecular Detection and Genotypic Analysis of Tick-borne Pathogens” (2021-2022).
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Works (50 of 93)
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