News

Dr Wu of Anatomical Pathology receives FRCP

​December 2015

Dr Tony Wu of the Division of Anatomical Pathology was successful in the recent Royal College of Pathologists examination in the United Kingdom. Dr Wu receives a Fellowship for the Royal College of Pathologists, London, United Kingdom (FRCPath).  This is an internationally recognised and highly prestigious qualification.

Congratulations Tony!  

Well done and thank you for flying the UCT/GSH-NHLS flag.

Ad Hominem promotions in Pathology

November 2015

The outcome of the Ad Hominem promotions are out, and we are pleased to let you know that the following members of Pathology were promoted:

Raj Ramesar & Collet Dandara	Congratulations to Collet Dandara who was promoted to Professor. Collet came to UCT in 2003 as a post-doc, and from 2007 to 2008 was at the University of Witwatersrand as a lecturer , after which he returned to UCT as a Senior Lecturer in the Division of Human Genetics in 2009. He was subsequently awarded Associate Professorship in 2012 through ad-hominem promotion and again full professorship in 2015. Collet has  an excellent post graduate student training record and is well appreciated by his students for dedication to his work.  He publishes extensively and is well cited. He is an international expert in pharmacogenetics, which has led him to become a member of the subsection on pharmacogenetics for the International Union of Pharmacology (IUPHAR), as well as a member of the International Scientific Advisory Committee for the Human Variome Project.  In 2015 Collet was a finalist of the NSTF-Billiton awards and is a Young Affiliate of the World Academy of Science (TWAS). Collet is currently the Chair of the Transformation and Equity Committee (TEC) in the Faculty of Health Sciences. Collet also convenes both the BSc(Med) (Hons) in Human Genetics and BSc(Med)(Hons) in Forensic Genetics.
Clive Gray & Muazzam Jacobs	Congratulations to Muazzam Jacobs who was promoted to Professor. Muazzam headed the division of immunology between 2008-2010, and has made an excellent contribution to post-graduate  teaching where he is well known as empathetic supervision, very committed to helping bridge knowledge gaps. He is internationally recognised for his research on TB, publishing in high impact journals - four of his articles have over 140 citations. He has been plenary speaker at some of the top conferences internationally. He is an active member of the transformation committee and recently obtained an DST/NRF postgraduate training programme grant for equity and redress.
Clive Gray & Bill Horsnell	Congratulations for William Horsnell for promotion to Associate Professor. Bill came to UCT in 2003 as a post-doc, and was appointed as a lecturer in 2008.  He has an excellent post graduate student training record and is well appreciated by his students for his love of science. He an international expert in parasitology/immunology and publishes in high impact journals, successfully competing for international funding and is frequently invited to present at international conferences.  He is involved in a range of social/agricultural outreach programmes and education activities and is the finance officer for South African Immunology Society.
Komala Pillay	Congratulations to Komala Pillay for promotion to Associate Professor. A/Professor Pillay specializes in paediatric cancer and is the only dedicated paediatric pathologists in the country and possibly the continent. She has a Fellowship from College of Medicine SA, and FRCPATH- histopathology from the Royal College of Pathologists, UK. She is highly regarded by her peers and colleagues nationally and internationally where she is praised for her diagnostic abilities. In research she is a national expert in paediatric cancer and paediatric histopathology and is frequently an invited speaker at conferences.  She is well recognised for her excellent contribution to teaching at UCT, nationally and internationally.
David Marais & George van der Watt	Congratulations to George van der Watt for promotion to Associate Professor. George is a principal pathologist heading the chemical pathology laboratory at Red Cross Children’s hospital.  He is a national expert in inherited metabolic disorders in paediatrics.  He has made a wide contribution to teaching both at undergraduate and postgraduate level. He has authored online electronic (open source) practical training manual used worldwide, and recommended by SA college of pathologists. He has contributed nationally to formulate a strategy for NHLS lab services aligned with the NHI, and was appointed as team leader for the implementation project.  He is frequently consulted in toxicological contamination of products.
Shaheen Mowla	Congratulations to Shaheen Mowla for promotion to Senior Lecturer (Haematology). Shaheen was awarded here PhD nine years ago in Molecular and Cell Biology under the supervision of Professor Sharon Prince, and subsequently established an independent, well-funded, research programme in Haematology.
David Marais & Fierdoz Omar	Congratulations to Fierdoz Omar for promotion to Senior Lecturer (Chemical Pathology). Fierdoz qualified with MBChB from Stellenbosch, and in 2009 qualified from UCT as a Chemical Pathologist. She has been acting director (6 years) of the Chemical Pathology Laboratory, is responsible for the Inherited Metabolic Disorders testing at Groote Schuur Hospital, has a productive research career and contributes to policy development in South Africa.  She is an enthusiastic contributor to undergraduate and post-graduate teaching, and heads the Clinical Pathology Training programme.