CONTACT DETAILS Debbie Bradshaw, DPhil (Biomathematics) Unit Director & Co-Head: WHO Collaborating Centre for the Family of International Classifications Tel: +27 21 938 0944 E-mail: debbie.bradshaw@mrc.ac.za Prof. Bradshaw trained as a biostatistician and completed her doctorate at Oxford University. During her career as a researcher, she has developed expertise in epidemiology and demography. She has published extensively and led the first national burden of disease study. She is committed to improving the use of data for decision making and has provided technical support to the National Department of Health and the World Health Organisation. Her main research interests are mortality profiles, health transition and inequalities in health. She co-heads the South African WHO-FIC and is an honorary Professor in the School of Public Health and Family Medicine at the University of Cape Town. Richard Matzopoulos, PhD (Public Health) Deputy Director Tel: +27 21 938 0305 E-mail: richard.matzopoulos@mrc.ac.za Dr Matzopoulos trained as an injury epidemiologist. His research centres on measuring the health and social burden of violence and injury, and evaluating interventions and policies that target upstream determinants. Based at the University of Cape Town s School of Public Health and Family Medicine, where he co-ordinates its Violence and Injury Research Programme, he advises the Western Cape Government on alcohol harm reduction, and interpersonal violence and injury prevention and surveillance. He is a focal point for the international Violence Prevention Alliance and serves on the Steering Committee of the International Collaborative Effort on Injury Statistics and Methods. Victoria Pillay-Van Wyk, MPH (Epidemiology and Biostatistics), PhD (Paediatrics) Deputy Director Tel: +27 21 938 0928 E-mail: victoria.pillay-vanwyk@mrc.ac.za Dr Pillay-van Wyk is an infectious disease epidemiologist, with formal training in evidence-based healthcare. She worked as a Research Fellow at the Red Cross War Memorial Children s Hospital for three years, where she completed her doctoral studies on paediatric diarrhoea. She was a research specialist at the Human Sciences Research Council where she was the epidemiologist/biostatistician and the Co-Project Director for the South African National HIV prevalence, HIV incidence, Behaviour and Communication Survey in 2005 and 2008, respectively. She is currently working on the Second South African National Burden of Disease Study, the Second South African Comparative Risk Assessment Study, and the 2016 South African Demographic and Health Survey. Oluwatoyin Awotiwon, MScMedSc (Clinical Epidemiology) Tel: +27 21 938 0961 E-mail: oluwatoyin.awotiwon@mrc.ac.za Dr Awotiwon is an MBBS graduate of the College of Medicine, University of Lagos. On completion of her internship and community service, she worked in private practice. She completed her Master s in Clinical Epidemiology at Stellenbosch University and was a recipient of the Rector s Award for Outstanding Achievement. She is currently working on the Second South African Comparative Risk Assessment Study. Her current interests are research synthesis and clinical coding.
Annibale Cois, PhD (Epidemiology) (Part-time) Tel: +27 21 938 0304 E-mail: annibale.cois@mrc.ac.za Dr Cois has changed fields into epidemiology. He did his PhD on the trends in hypertension in South Africa, using national survey data. He is currently working on the Second South African Comparative Risk Assessment Study. His current modelling the impact of risk factors for non-communicable diseases and their impact on mortality and hopes to develop a Baysian model. Ali Dhansay, FCPaed (Paediatrics) Medical Director Tel: +27 21 938 0625 E-mail: ali.dhansay@mrc.ac.za After qualifying as a medical practitioner at the University of Cape Town, Prof Dhansay obtained specialist degrees in Paediatrics at Stellenbosch University and the Colleges of Medicine. His research career started in 1986 when awarded an MRC post-specialisation research scholarship. He has played a major role in introducing clinical expertise, mentorship, and support to various projects, including SAHNHANES and SADHS 2016. His main research interests are child health and public health nutrition; and he has a special interest in research integrity, ethics and human rights. Noluntu Funani - M Med (Pharmacology), Dip Monitoring & Evaluation Methods Project Manager Tel: +27 12 339 8607 Email: noluntu.funani@mrc.ac.za Ms Funani trained as a biomedical scientist and completed her Master s degree in Pharmacology at the University of Cape Town. Since then she has developed expertise in monitoring and evaluation and project management. She is currently working on the South Africa Demographic and Health Survey 2016 (SADHS 2016), Evolving risk factors for cancers in African Populations (ERICA-SA) and the National Cause-of-Death Validation Study (COD-Validate). Pam Groenewald, MB ChB MPH Specialist Scientist (Part-time) Tel: +27 21 938 0955 E-mail: pamela.groenewald@mrc.ac.za Dr Groenewald trained in medicine at Stellenbosch University and after a few years of practicing clinical medicine she worked in the pharmacology department at UCT for a few years where she became interested in the management of drug-resistant TB. In 1991, she joined the TB unit of SAMRC and worked in drug-resistant TB surveillance. She subsequently completed a MPhil (Public Health) at UWC. Since 2001 she has worked part-time in the Burden of Disease Research Unit setting up a local mortality surveillance system in the Western Cape as well as training doctors in medical certification of cause of death. She is also working on the National Burden of Disease and Comparative risk assessment studies with a focus on the smoking attributable burden. She is currently co-pi on the CDC-funded National Cause-of-death validation study.
Lyn Hanmer, PhD (Information Systems) Specialist Scientist & Co-Head: WHO Collaborating Centre for the Family of International Classifications Tel: +27 21 938 0959 E-mail: lyn.hanmer@mrc.ac.za Dr Hanmer trained as a biomedical engineer and has extensive experience in the development, management and evaluation of hospital information systems; and the development and implementation of curricula in Health Informatics. She co-heads the WHO-FIC which is based in the Unit, and is committed to promoting the effective implementation of clinical coding systems in low-resource settings. She is leading a large-scale project to review the availability and quality of clinical data in routine hospital records. Her current interests include evaluation of health information systems and clinical coding to support health services. Ngcwalisa Jama, M Soc Sc (Research Pscychology) Project Manager Tel: +27 21 938 0318 E-mail: ngcwalisa.jama@mrc.ac.za Ms Jama completed her Masters degree in Research Psychology at the University of KwaZulu Natal, having done her Honours degree in Psychology at the Nelson Mandel Metropolitan University. She has worked at the Desmond Tutu HIV foundation as a socio-behavioural scientist with research management responsibilities. Prior to this, she was a researcher and co-investigator in The KwaZulu-Natal Breastfeeding and Support (KIBS) cohort study project at the Centre for Rural Health in the school of Public Heath, University of KwaZulu Natal. She will be assisting Dr Nicol with the management of the Enhancing Linkage to HIV care study that is being conducted in the uthukela District in KwaZulu Natal. Her research interest are Health Systems Strengthening and Qualitative methodology. Jané Joubert, PhD (Demography & Epidemiology) Specialist Scientist Tel: +27 21 938 0951 E-mail: jane.joubert@mrc.ac.za Dr Joubert s research career commenced in 1985-1989 as a part-time research-assistant at Stellenbosch University and the CSIR. During 1990-1997, she worked as a full-time research scientist at the HSRC on a number of primary data collection projects, including the national Cancer Situation Analysis and Prison Health-Care Services. Joining the SAMRC in 1997, her research includes Demographic Ageing, and leading the first sub-study on Disease Burden in Older Persons and Informal/Home Caregiving. As part of her Endeavour-sponsored doctorate at the University of Queensland, Australia, she led the country s first mortality-data linkage study, using official and Agincourt HDSS data, paving the way for the current CDC-funded National Cause-of-death Validation Study as co-pi. She is also a co-pi on the Treasury-funded Flagship Project, quantifying health loss from diseases, injuries and risk factors. Thembisa Makowa, BA Hons (Social Behaviour Studies in HIV/AIDS) Project Co-ordinator Tel: 0838955824 E-mail: thembisa.makowa@mrc.ac.za Ms Makowa is an experienced project co-ordinator who completed her undergraduate degree through UKZN and her post graduate degree in Social Behavioural Studies in HIV/AIDS through the University of South Africa. She co-ordinated the provincial (Free State) data collection of the 2011 YRBS and in 2014 joined the Africa Centre for Health Population Studies where she was a Fieldwork Co-ordinator for the Treatment as Prevention (TasP) Trial. She joins BODRU as co-ordinator of the CDC-funded Enhancing linkage to HIV care study that is being conducted in the uthukela District in KwaZulu Natal. She is being hosted in the HST office in Ladysmith.
Linda Mbuthini, Bsc (Health Promotion) Senior Research Technologist Burden of Disease Research Unit, PO Box 19070, Tygerberg 7505 Tel: +2721 938 0874 E-mail: linda.mbuthini@mrc.ac.za Mr Mbuthini trained in health promotion and has worked on TB/HIV programmes, community development projects and assisted on a number of research studies. His interests include cancer surveillance, registration and data quality. He is currently responsible for generating cancer incidence data and providing support in maintaining the quality and validity of the data generated. Nadine Nannan, MSc (Molecular biology), PhD (Demography) Tel: +27 21 938 0953 E-mail: nadine.nannan@mrc.ac.za After training in molecular biology and working a few years, Dr Nannan completed a Masters in medical demography at the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine in 1995. Since then she has worked extensively in population health research, particularly in child health. A focal point of her research has been the mapping out of different data sources and appropriate methods of analysis for monitoring childhood mortality in an HIV and AIDS environment. Her interests are the analysis of census and survey data, child mortality differentials and using mortality profiles to assess inequalities in health. Akhona Ncinitwa, BSc Hons (Geography) Senior Research Technologist Tel: 021 938 0859 Email: akhona.ncinitwa@mrc.ac.za Ms Ncinitwa trained in environmental studies at Walter Sisulu University. She has worked as an intern in non-communicable diseases of lifestyle assisting in many projects. She is currently working on a population-based cancer registry project, generating cancer incidence data and providing support in maintaining the quality and validity of the data collected. Her main interests are cancer surveillance and epidemiology. Ian Neethling, MSc (Physiological Sciences) Tel: +27 21 938 0957 E-mail: ian.neethling@mrc.ac.za Mr Neethling obtained a Masters in Physiological Sciences from the University of Stellenbosch. He worked on the National Injury Surveillance System and later the Western Cape local mortality surveillance system. He is currently registered for a PhD in Public Health. His interests are in the use of burden of disease information for healthcare decision making.
Edward Nicol, PhD (Public Health) Specialist Scientist Tel: +27 21 938 0956 E-mail: edward.nicol@mrc.ac.za Trained in demography, Dr Nicol has developed expertise in evaluating and strengthening routine health information systems, and has published in the field of maternal, neonatal, and child health (MNCH) programmes. He is a member of the World Health Organization (WHO) Strategic Advisory Group of Experts (SAGE) Working Group on Quality and Use of Global Immunization and Surveillance Data, and is an Extraordinary Lecturer at the Stellenbosch University s Health Systems and Public Health Division. He is currently the Principal Investigator (PI) on the Evaluation of availability and quality of morbidity data in routine health information systems in hospitals in National Health Insurance pilot districts (MbHIS-QUAL) study; and co-pi on the CDC-funded Enhancing linkage to HIV care in South Africa study. His interests include mortality and morbidity analysis, evaluation of maternal, neonatal and child health programmes; and health information systems, in terms of data quality, accuracy and information use. Beatrice Nojilana, MPH (Public Health) Tel: +27 21 938 0948 E-mail: beatrice.nojilana@mrc.ac.za Ms Nojilana trained in Clinical Medicine and Statistics and completed her Masters in Public Health at the University of the Western Cape. During her career, she has developed an expertise in coding and evaluating of cause-of-death information. Her current interests are in burden of disease, with a particular interest in epidemiology of non-communicable diseases and evaluating policy approaches to the prevention and control of non-communicable diseases. Megan Prinsloo, MPH (Epidemiology) Tel: +27 21 938 0952 E-mail: megan.prinsloo@mrc.ac.za Ms Prinsloo originally trained in Clinical Pathology. She joined the SAMRC in 2000, where she worked with colleagues to expand the National Injury Mortality Surveillance System. After obtaining her Master s in Public Health, she developed expertise in injury surveillance and epidemiology. She is currently completing her PhD in Public Health, which focuses on urban-rural differences for injuries and violence in South Africa.. Nika Raphaely, MPH (Health Policy and management), MFPH (Public Health Medicine Specialist) Specialist Scientist (Part-time) Tel: +27 12 339 8508 E-mail: nika.raphaely@mrc.ac.za Dr Raphaely returned to South Africa in 2014 as PI on the SAMRC s CDC-funded Enhancing linkage to HIV care in South Africa study. After a BA (hons, First Class) in History at Cambridge, she completed a BMBCh and internship in Oxford, registered as a medical practitioner with the Health Professions Council of South Africa in 2002, spent time during and after her MPH at the Centre for Health Policy, University of the Witwatersrand (Wits) School of Public Health, then worked between the UK and South Africa for 7 years. During this period she completed Public Health Medicine Specialist training at Oxford, led several projects for Public Health England and the Health Protection Agency at local, regional and national levels, and developed interests in health policy analysis, vaccines, infectious disease surveillance and control, and key populations including migrants and prisoners. Her work in South Africa has included projects with the SAMRC Health Systems and Gender & Health Research Units, Wits School of Public Health, National Health Laboratory Service & National Institute for Communicable Diseases, PEPFAR Implementing Partners, and Medical Officer posts in the Charlotte Maxexe Johannesburg Academic and Chris Hani Baragwanath Academic Hospitals. In July 2017, she reduced her SAMRC role to part-time and remains co-pi for the Enhancing Linkage to HIV Care in South Africa study, through which she is deepening a research focus on strengthening health systems through mixed methods, combining qualitative implementation research with triangulating multiple sources of routine data to develop local and national capacity in monitoring and surveillance. She is commencing a PhD and was appointed in 2016 as Honorary Lecturer at the Wits School of Public Health.
Rifqah Roomaney, MPH (Epidemiology and Biostatistics) Tel: +27 21 938 0233 E-mail: rifqah.roomaney@mrc.ac.za Ms Roomaney completed her Master s in Public Health at the University of Cape Town. Since then, she has worked on a large-scale national health survey and on various projects related to health system strengthening through improving data quality. She is currently working on the Second South African Comparative Risk Assessment Study. Her interests include burden of disease methodology, co-morbidities, environmental and infectious disease epidemiology. Freddy Sitas, DPhil (Epidemiology) Chief Specialist Scientist Tel: +61 405 093 353 E-mail: freddy.sitas@gmail.com Associate Professor Sitas is an experienced cancer and chronic disease epidemiologist. He led the South African National Cancer Registry between 1991 and 2002, set up the Johannesburg Cancer Study in 1994, and advised the Ministry of Health to add questions on smoking on the death notification forms in 1997. He is currently based in Sydney, Australia. He is a consultant to the ERICA-SA project and is providing academic leadership in developing cancer epidemiology skills in the country. Nomfuneko Sithole, MPH (Public Health) Senior Research Technologist Tel: +27 21 938 0958 Email: nomfuneko.sithole@mrc.ac.za Ms Sithole has a background in human science (Anatomy and Physiology). She gained training in the cancer registration; principles and methods (CanReg Programme) used internationally by cancer registries and STATA Programme. She is currently working as the Data Manager of the Eastern Cape Population- Based Cancer Registry. Her interests are in cancer surveillance and project management. Stephanus Snyman, MbChB, MPhil (Health Education) Specialist Scientist (Part-time) Tel: 082 557 1056 Email: stefanus.snyman@mrc.ac.za Dr Snyman, a qualified medical doctor, has practiced in the field of occupational medicine and primary care. He has studied health education and contributed to the development of the module on being a change agent in communities at the University of Stellenbosch. He has a part-time position in the Burden of Disease Research Unit to co-ordinate the activities of the Sub-Saharan African Collaborating Centre of World Health Organization s Family of International Classifications Network (WHO-FIC). This includes the building of the WHO-FIC Network and to coordinate capacity building in terms of ICD-10, ICF and ICHI. Ntuthu Somdyala, MDS (Development Studies) Tel: +27 21 938 0954 E-mail: ntuthu.somdyala@mrc.ac.za Ms Somdyala is a health professional with more than 10 years experience in nursing education, administration and staff development. She joined SAMRC in 1998 to set up a population-based cancer registry project, which is generating cancer incidence data meeting international standards; and is currently managing and further developing cancer surveillance, epidemiology, prevention and control. She has a special interest in cervical cancer prevention and early detection, cancer survival studies and community outreach.
Eunice Turawa, MSc (Clinical Epidemiology) Scientist Tel: +27 21 938 0208 E-mail: eunice.turawa@mrc.ac.za Ms Turawa is a nurse with years of clinical experience including providing health education to communities and schools on immunisation and the prevention of communicable diseases. After completing her training in clinical epidemiology, she has undertaken systematic reviews through the Cochrane Centre and has provided tutorial, lectures and postgraduate support at Stellenbosch University. Her current interests include maternal and child health and critical appraisal of epidemiological studies. Andiswa Zitho, BA Hons (Development Studies) DST-NRF Research Intern Tel: +27 21 938 0283 E-mail: andiswa.zitho@mrc.ac.za Ms Zitho s interest is on the evaluation of health information systems. She completed her Masters degree in Development Studies at the Nelson Mandela University. Currently, she is working on a project titled MbHIS-EVAL: Evaluation of availability and quality of morbidity data in routine health information systems (RHISs) in hospitals. ADMINISTRATION Elize De Kock Chief Officer Tel: +27 21 938 0949 E-mail: elize.de.kock@mrc.ac.za Ms De Kock runs the front office for the Burden of Disease Research Unit. She is responsible for comprehensive office management of BODRU offices in Cape Town as well as Pretoria. Together with the administration team she does office administration; budget/financial management; project administration; JDE/supply Chain management; HR matters; research support; admin staff supervision; and, capacity development. Claudette Garnie Officer Tel: +27 21 938 0827 E-mail: claudette.garnie@mrc.ac.za Ms Garnie provides financial management and administrative support to BODRU. These functions include: Financial management and administrative support on several BODRU projects; general administrative and project support; and, supply-chain management functions using JDE.
Sulaiman Abrahams Bcom (ITM) Senior Research Technologist Tel: +27 21 938 0960 Email: sulaiman.abrahams@mrc.ac.za Sulaiman completed his BCom degree in Information Technology Management. Registered for the PgDip (IS) at University of Cape Town. Currently he is assisting the MbHIS-EVAL: Evaluation of availability and quality of morbidity data in routine health information systems (RHISs) in hospitals. Additionally provides support in Information, Logistics and Assets Management including Database Management for the BODRU outputs. Monique Fourie Officer Tel: +27 21 938 0940 Email: monique.fourie@mrc.ac.za Ms Fourie provides secretarial/administrative support to BODRU. She is currently in her first year of her BA degree studies. These functions include: General administrative and secretarial support; and, supply-chain management functions using JDE.