Cathartic June 2009 draft - Faculty of Health Sciences

TheCATHARTIC
ALUMNI MAGAZINE
Contents
|
FACULTY OF HEALTH SCIENCES
Practicing medicine on the Roof of
Africa ___________________________ 2
Red Cross War Memorial Hospital unveils
new state-of-the-art Operating Theatre
Complex _________________________ 8
Taking health to the community ____ 11
Call to aid med students in Zim _____ 19
Zimbabwe and Gaza in the spotlight _ 20
Table Mountain ablaze ____________ 20
Faculty News
Inaugural lectures __________ 17
Publications
Come wind, come weather __________ 4
Trespass__________________________ 4
Reunions and Alumni News
A letter … and a website … from the
trenches _________________________ 5
Alumni concert rocks the Baxter _____ 6
Travels then … and now ____________ 7
Okreglicki first South African home in
Marathon des Sables _______________13
In Memoriam ____________________ 14
Reunions 2008 ___________________ 23
Med 10-ers come up with the goods ___ 1
In Memoriam ____________________ 14
Where are they now?
News of old friends and colleagues ___ 24
2009
Challenging times at FHS
Features
Master and student trade places ______ 5
The Animal Unit establishes a new
embryo transfer laboratory __________ 6
Faculty mourns death of student______ 8
RAG —Where in the World? ________ 9
IIDMM earns top marks in international
review __________________________ 12
Women in Science honours_________ 12
Winning formula for Sports Science _ 15
Beautiful music in the Clinical Skills
Lab ____________________________ 16
Two new deputy deans take up the
reins ___________________________ 18
90th anniversary celebrations of the
Department of Medicine ___________ 19
|
Dean, Professor Marian Jacobs.
As 2009 draws to a close, it gives me great
pleasure to write the opening words of the
latest issue of the Cathartic.
Once again, the Faculty has faced—
and overcome—many challenges this year;
from taking to the streets with doctors and
medical support staff to fight for the
Occupation Specific Dispensation (OSD),
to providing emotional support for
members of the student body following the
tragic murder of one of our first-year
students.
We have celebrated with academic
staff who have been awarded significant
grants by both South African and
international funding agencies, and
congratulated a record number of PhD
graduates, among others.
Several of our academics have been
elected to positions with prestigious
professional bodies, ranging from Professor
Graham Louw of the Department of
Human Biology being appointed president
of the Anatomical Society of Southern
Africa, to Professor Janet Seggie of the
Department of Medicine being the first
woman to be elected as the Arthur Landau
Lecturer by the Fellows and Councillors of
the College of Physicians of South Africa.
Professor Gary Maartens of the Division
of Clinical Pharmacology was also elected
president of the newly formed College of
Clinical Pharmacologists.
Our current students, at both
undergraduate and postgraduate level,
continue to make us proud, with
impressive achievements in both their
academic endeavours, and in their
personal capacities, through their interests
and in the sporting arena.
Their compassion and empathy has
also ensured a high level of charitable
involvement, from their continued work
at SHAWCO, to raising funds for school
equipment in under-resourced schools,
and support for the people of Zimbabwe
at the height of the political and social
unrest in that country this year.
Research remains a priority in the
Faculty and we have seen several of our
pivotal research projects taking some
remarkable steps forward—an example of
this is the first clinical tests of South
African-developed HIV vaccines.
The Faculty of Health Sciences
welcomed two new deputy Deans to the
management team, following the
announcement of the imminent
retirement of deputy Dean, Prof Kit
Vaughan, as he takes up a new challenge
in partnership with the University. A
decision was taken to split the two major
elements of his role and appoint two parttime deputy Deans—giving these
experienced academics the opportunity to
continue to pursue their areas of academic
endeavour, while making this important
contribution to Faculty life. Prof Sue
Kidson has been appointed deputy Dean
for Postgraduate Affairs, and Prof Gregory
Hussey has taken on the portfolio of
deputy Dean for Research. I am sure you
join me in wishing them every success in
their new roles.
As I am sure you will have found
during your years of study, the Faculty of
Health Sciences is a family, and as such,
we continue to come together to celebrate
achievements and band together in
difficult times, and 2009 has been no
different.
I wish you well over the festive season
and everything of the best for 2010.
TheCATHARTIC
FEATURE
Practicing medicine on the
roof of Africa
Working in rural Lesotho at the
Maluti Adventist Hospital has given
Dr Wilbert Hurlow (MBChB 1970)
and his wife, Lyn, a life of
fulfilment and adventure …
By Melanie Jackson
Above: the sleepy little hamlet
where the hospital is located.
Left: Dr Wil Hurlow (far
right) with his wife Lyn
(second right) and two students doing electives at the
hospital—(far left) Nonthuthuko Mvundla and (second
left) Jo-Ann Kammies.
Situated in the foothills of the Maluti
Mountains, just around the corner from
Ficksburg, but over the Lesotho border in the
village of Mapoteng, the Maluti Adventist
Hospital provides care for more than 7 000
admissions each year, sees to the safe arrival of
more than 1 900 babies annually, and performs
more than 3 500 operations. Maluti has had 16
UCT doctors, many UCT/Groote Schuur nurses
and many UCT medical students over the years.
Indeed, its current Director, Dr Wilbert
Hurlow, is a 1970 MBChB graduate of the
University of Cape Town, and his wife, Lyn, is a
physiotherapist who graduated in the class of
1969. Keeping it all in the family, their sons,
Colin and Glenn, are also UCT graduates from
the Faculty of Commerce.
But Maluti Hospital’s links with UCT go
much further back than that—right back to the
beginning, in fact! The hospital was established
in 1951 by Dr Francis Slate, a graduate of the
class of 1947, and was followed by Dr Warren
Staples who graduated in the class of 1949.
Dr Hurlow proudly tells me that
the heritage of excellent patient care as taught
at UCT/Groote Schuur is being passed on to
doctors from all over the Southern Africa region
in that Maluti is a training site for registrars
who do their academic work for Family
Medicine with the Bloemfontein Medical
School.When I congratulate him, he smiles
deprecatingly, and his wife, Lyn, who has been
quiet up to now, quickly interjects: “He’s
modest, but it was his dream, and now he has
achieved it!”
With a little prompting, Dr Hurlow
2
explains how he came to spend 26 years at this
mission hospital. Following graduation, he
completed an internship at Groote Schuur
Hospital in surgery and gynaecology, and this
was followed by five years at Maluti Hospital,
from 1972 to 1977. He then joined the Faculty
as a lecturer in the Anatomy Department, while
studying for a primary in surgery. From there,
he was drafted into the army and thereafter
completed six months at Livingstone Hospital.
And then it was back to Maluti Hospital
from 1982 to 1984. The years 1985 to 1990
were spent in the Surgery Department at UCT,
followed by 3 years at Conradie Hospital. Back
to Maluti in 1994, to take up the
superintendent’s post again. (He had been in
charge from 1974 to 1977 as well as for the
period '82 to '84.)
TheCATHARTIC
Dr Hurlow is not comfortable talking
about himself, and before long, the
conversation returns to Maluti Adventist
Hospital. He explains that it is one of eight
mission hospitals in Lesotho, and in addition to
the admissions and maternity cases, there are
some 240 000 outpatient attendances a year,
which take place at both the hospital and
outlying facilities. The hospital and its
outreach programmes support a community
well in excess of 100,000 people living in the
264 villages in its health service area but many
patients come from many other parts of the
country as well. It is the hospital of choice for
many people—situated only 30kms from
Ficksburg in the Free State and 70kms north of
Lesotho’s capital, Maseru, and its health
service area covers a significant portion of this
small country.
Like all sub-Saharan countries, Lesotho is
facing a high HIV/Aids infection rate, and a
great deal of the work undertaken in the
hospital relates both directly and indirectly to
the pandemic. A note on the hospital’s website
explains that the first case of HIV was
diagnosed on February 14, 1991, some 18 years
ago. Of a population of a little more than 1.8
million in 2008, UNAIDS estimates that
approximately 270 000 people are living with
HIV, giving a prevalence rate in adults aged 15
to 49 of 23.2%. In addition, UNAIDS estimates
that there are 110 000 Aids orphans up to the
age of 17 in the country.
Outreach programmes in the hospital include a
Wellness Centre that provides the following
services: Community Education, voluntary
counselling and testing, life-skills training,
community home-based care, orphans and
vulnerable children and income generating
activities.
The hospital is also home to the Maluti
School of Nursing, which was established in
1958. It has graduated approximately 500
registered nurses, more than 200 nurse
assistants, and in excess of 350 registered
midwives. The school welcomes applicants
from throughout Africa and has graduated
students from South Africa, Swaziland,
Malawi, Zimbabwe, Zambia, Namibia, as well
as Zaire, Ethiopia, Sierra Leone, Rwanda,
Kenya and Sudan.
On the medical front, the hospital accepts
registrars from Malawi, Madagascar, Zambia,
Zimbabwe, and, of course, Lesotho.
Dr Hurlow is visibly pleased when he tells
me that the first Malawian registrar
completed his studies in 2008 and is graduating
this year!
The hosting of registrars from Lesotho is
made possible through sponsorship with
Boston University. The Lesotho Boston Health
Alliance facilitates the presence of three
registrars at Maluti Hospital, and these doctors
are being trained with the intention that they
stay in the country to serve the communities
that they grew up in.
UCT graduates who have worked at Maluti Adventist Hospital
In addition to Dr Wil Hurlow, and his wife
Lyn, not to mention the hospital’s first two
heads, the following UCT graduates have
made the Maluti Adventist Hospital home
at one time or another:
Robert Buckley, Robert Holbrook,
Herbert Clifford, Keith Gunston, Mike
Cooper, Walter Birkenstock, Leslie
Ramages, David Glass, Allan Handysides,
3
Andre Birkenstock, Lincoln Solomon,
David Allan and John Werner.
Dr Hurlow is quick to add that they are
always looking to increase their numbers of
UCT Maluti Alumni and would welcome
visitors and volunteers!
Please contact the hospital at
[email protected] if you can help or would
just like to reconnect!
TheCATHARTIC
Alumni office update
Dear Medical Alumni,
Welcome to Cathartic 2009. We trust
that you will find the e-zine informative
and enjoyable. Please remember that this is
your publication, so we urge you to send us
interesting stories for future editions.
A new department within the Faculty
has been created – that of Development,
Communication, Alumni and Marketing.
Headed up by Melanie Jackson, with Joan
Tuff as the Alumni and Bequest Officer, this
office is situated within the Dean’s Suite at
Medical School. When you are in Cape
Town, why not pop in and say hello to us?
We would love to meet you and show you
around the Faculty.
The Heritage Society, UCT’s bequest
society, that includes all faculties within the
University, has now been relaunched with
the former Vice-Chancellor, Dr Stuart
Saunders, as patron.
The old Barnard Fuller Society, which
was formed at the time of the ‘Looking on
into the Future’ fundraising campaign in
1995, has now been absorbed into the
Heritage Society. Apart from holding
smaller functions at medical school, new
members will be invited to the larger
Heritage Society events. As you are aware,
State funds only cover the basic needs of the
University hence, like every great
university in the world, UCT cannot thrive
and grow to meet its future challenges
without the generous support of its alumni
and friends. Should you require additional
information, please contact Joan Tuff.
Upcoming
reunion events
2009 UCT MBChB reunions
Class of 1994: 20—22 November 2009
Class of 1969: 27—29 November 2009
Class of 1959: 4—6 December 2009
Class of 1984: 11—13 December 2009
Most of the reunion activities are held in and
around the Faculty of Health Sciences, and it
is a great way to reconnect with classmates.
For further information, please contact Joan
Tuff on 021 406 6686 or [email protected].
Class of 1949 celebrates 60th
Melanie Jackson and Joan Tuff.
There is a tear-out form within the
publication. We urge you to fill it in and
let us have your news.
The information will be collated and
may well be featured in a future edition of
Cathartic!
Please forward the magazine to your
former classmates who may have lost
contact with UCT. They can contact Joan
Tuff to ensure that we have their contact
details.
Until next time!
Melanie and Joan
There will be a 60th class reunion of the
Class of 1949 on 15 November 2009.
It takes the form of a luncheon at noon
at Suikerbossie Restaurant in Hout Bay.
The convenors can be contacted as
follows:
Morris Bruk 021 438 8775, or
[email protected].
Ernest Kaplan (telephone and fax)
021 434 5102.
Gerald Budow 021 434 6940 or
[email protected].
Book Review: Come wind, come weather
Book Review: Trespass
Come Wind, Come Weather – Book Review by
Dave Beattie (in Sailing SA)
By Brookes (MBChB 1950) & Jeanne Heywood
(MA Arts 1966). This delightful
publication is proof positive that
local can, indeed, be ‘lekker’.
Frequently local publications fall
short of even half-decent
standards when it comes to
quality of presentation and/or
writing. But, of course, there are
exceptions, and Brookes and
Jeanne Heywood’s account of
four years of sailing adventures in
the Atlantic, Caribbean and
Mediterranean is one of them.
It is refreshingly
unpretentious, very entertaining and always
interesting. Above all it is beautifully written
and ought to be a benchmark for other aspiring
sailing/travel writers in South Africa.
A retired academic couple, the Heywoods
describe a seemingly pre-ordained sailing route
from their first meetings as teenagers, to the day
Dawn Garisch’s (MBChB 1981) new novel,
Trespass, published in SA by Kwela Books,
tells the story of Phyllis, a middle-aged woman
in the 1950s, who finds work as a matron at a
boys’ boarding school in Cape Town.
Haunted by the shame she brought on herself
and her family – by falling pregnant by her
cousin and giving birth to a child at sixteen –
Phyllis channels her longing into a life of
service.
When a woman arrives to enrol her young
son, Phyllis believes her to be the baby she
gave up for adoption as an adolescent. In
comforting Michael, who is being bullied,
Phyllis finds an escape from her untenable
circumstances, even though she knows what
she’s doing is wrong.
Dawn Garisch has published one novel,
three youth novels as well as poetry, has had a
short play and a short film produced, and has
written for both newspaper and television.
Dawn runs workshops on creativity. She has
two grown sons and lives in Cape Town.
-Melanie Jackson
Brookes decided they needed to go blue water
sailing; across an ocean. So, turning their Cape
Town home and garden into a boat builder’s
yard, they built a 40-footer they
called Adamastor, and eventually
set off to fulfil a dream.
They write of the ups and downs
of life aboard, of tranquil bays and
days, and of the violence of the
sea that can so easily turn that
dream into a disaster. The
presentation of their tale is quite
unusual. Most of the accounts and
observations are based on letters
to friends, and husband and wife,
skipper and mate, take turns at
delivering the narratives. That
lends a warm, personal touch, and by the book’s
end, the reader almost feels as though the
Heywoods have become old friends.
Armchair sailors, and those more seriously
contemplating taking the plunge, as did the
Heywoods so many years ago, will find much to
enjoy in their story. I certainly did.
4
TheCATHARTIC
UCT campus store
Prof Dimitri Novitsky and Prof Johan Brink at Graduation , December 2008.
Master and student trade places
Some 20 years ago, from 1983 to 1987, Johan
Brink was a student in the medical class of
Professor Dimitri Novitsky.
Until he left South Africa in 1987,
Novitsky, a protégé of one Professor Chris
Barnard, did groundbreaking research on the
hormonal and other physiological effects of
brain death on potential donor-organ
function. He came up with novel concepts of
how to manage and treat donors for optimal
donor-organ usage - not only for the heart,
but also for the kidney and liver.
He left in 1987 to help Barnard set up a
top heart-transplant unit in Oklahoma City
in the US. But recently, Brink and Novitsky
met up again when the latter wanted to settle
some unfinished business. About four or five
years ago, Novitsky, Professor of
Cardiothoracic Surgery at the University of
South Florida, asked Brink to supervise his
research towards a doctoral degree at UCT.
Brink, now associate professor in UCT's Chris
Barnard Division of Cardiothoracic Surgery, is
also surgeon-in-charge of the heart transplant
unit at Groote Schuur Hospital these days.
Novitsky had handed in an MD thesis
before he moved to the US, explains Brink, but
never got to the revisions the examiners had
proposed.
In December 2008, Brink was on hand to
watch Novitsky graduate with a doctorate in
health sciences. (Novitsky was meant to
graduate in June, but couldn't make the
ceremony.) It's a rarity, noted Brink, for a
student to help a mentor finish a degree.
- The Monday Paper
TheCATHARTIC
The Cathartic is published by the Faculty of Health Sciences at the
University of Cape Town.
Contributors:
Helen Théron, Tina Barsby, Joan Tuff, Melanie Jackson, Morgan Morris, Myolisi
Gophe, Katherine Traut, and Raymond Botha
Private Bag X3, Observatory, 7935 South Africa
Tel: +27 (0)21 406 6686 Fax: +27 (0)86 612 6390
There are many alumni for whom we do not have email addresses. Please forward this
publication to your former classmates who may have lost touch with UCT. They can
contact Joan Tuff to ensure we have their latest contact details so we can invite them to
events and send them all the latest news about their alma mater.
Email: [email protected]
5
UCT staff and students, as well as alumni and
visitors can easily access a range of textbooks,
stationery and official university apparel and
gifts under one roof - thanks to the UCT
Campus Store.
The official on-campus retail haven, the
store also offers miscellaneous products and is
modelled on the ivy-league campus store
concept.
The store is operated by the Atlas Group
of companies, an official distributor of UCT
apparel and gifts, who also brought the
university brand to the heart of Rondebosch.
The store has also display cabinets at the
International Academic Programmes Office
and the Faculty of Health Sciences.
It has three divisions: apparel and gifts,
textbooks and stationery.
The store, which is open from 08h00 to
17h00 on Mondays to Fridays, and from
09h00 to 13h00 on Saturdays, also launched a
website: www.atlas-group.co.za, to allow
clients to shop online.
Orders can also be made via email:
[email protected].
A letter … and a website
… from the trenches
Dear Editor
I graduated from UCT in 1970 with the
MBChB degree, and obtained the MMed
(Path) degree in 1976. Since then, I have
been working in the USA. Over the last few
years, influenced by what I have experienced
at different points and places in my career as a
pathologist, I commenced some personal
writing.
I have entitled the piece "Patience Lost Lines from a Hospital Trench”. The work has
nothing to do with any hospital or person in
particular, but expresses my consolidated
personal point of view after being in the USA
for many years and having worked and taught
in institutions here and, of course, at UCT.
Even though the writing is from the United
States, I imagine that some of my reflections
will resonate with those held by academicians
in South Africa as well. The site is at
www.yourbiopsyandmore.com.
Sincerely,
Lucien E. Nochomovitz, MBChB, MMed
(Path)
TheCATHARTIC
Alumni Concert rocks the Baxter
VC pays a visit to
the windy city
The audience in the Baxter Theatre were in
for a treat on August 13 as some of South
Africa’s most renowned musicians – and
products of the South African College of Music
(SACM) – lit up the stage at the annual UCT
Alumni Concert. Now in its third year, the
concert celebrates SACM graduates and, at the
same time, aims to raise funds for music
bursaries.
Award-winning soprano Pretty Yende gave
a taste of her talent. UCT graduate, Nina
Schumann, associate professor in piano at the
University of Stellenbosch and her husband,
Louis Magalhães, delivered a world-class
performance.
Jimmy Dludlu, a regular on the South
African music circuit, jazzed up the evening, as
did popular singer Melanie Scholtz, who
lectured in jazz vocal studies at UCT from 2004
to 2005.
Rounding off the evening was the everpopular UCT Big Band, directed by Mike
Campbell. “And they all did this for free,” said
deputy vice-chancellor Professor Thandabantu
Nhlapo. “We really appreciate the fact that our
former students wish to keep up their
relationship with UCT. They consider that the
university was central in opening doors to their
careers and this is their way of giving back.”
Nhlapo said that the Department of
Alumni and Development (DAD) was seriously
considering the issue of sponsorship for future
concerts. “This would then unlock the
potential of the concert to generate funds to
turn the bursaries idea into a reality.”
He also expressed his deep satisfaction that
the concert had returned to the Baxter (last
year it took place on upper campus). “It’s the
four-cornered collaboration of the SACM, the
Baxter, UCT’s DAD and the performers that
really does it for us.”
Nhlapo gave special thanks to Associate
Professor Mike Campbell, Professor Kamal
Khan and Gillian Lindner, all of the SACM, as
well as Dr Jim McNamara’s team at DAD:
Lungile Jacobs, Jasmine Erasmus, Monde
Mjebeza, Alex Plaatjies, Anita Wildeman and
Thulani Madinginye, for their energy in
organising the concert and making it a success.
- Monday Paper
Wellcome Trust
funds consortium
The Animal Unit establishes a new
embryo transfer laboratory
UCT will play a pivotal role in the Southern
African Consortium for Research Excellence
(SACORE), one of seven new international
consortia formed by the Wellcome Trust's African
Institutions Initiatives to develop local
institutional capacity and health research.
Underpinned by £30 million (R420 million) in
funding from the trust, this initiative includes
more than 50 institutions from 18 African
countries, and hopes to get African universities
more involved in African health research
endeavours.
Home to some of the poorest countries in the
world (the bottom-ranked 25 countries are in
Africa), the continent carries a high burden of
disease, particularly HIV, TB and malaria.
The seven consortia will be led by African
institutions, with partners in Europe, the US and
Australia. Their task will be to build a critical mass
of sustainable local research capacity by
strengthening universities and research
institutions and developing vital networks.
The Wellcome Trust has also awarded R11
million to Honorary Associate Professor Stephen
Lawn to continue his HIV research at UCT, in
conjunction with the London School of Tropical
Medicine and Hygiene and the IIDMM's
Desmond Tutu Centre for HIV Research.
A prize fellowship was awarded to Kerryn
van Veen to continue her work on pericardial
tuberculosis, linked to Professor Bongani Mayosi
(Department of Medicine) and Wilkinson's
research groups.
As just about any medical journal will tell you,
the laboratory mouse is the most commonly used
animal-research model today.
The UCT Animal Unit, for example, houses
up to 140 strains, totalling thousands of mice. The
logistics - space, costs - can cause a few concerns.
(The mice are kept under studiously-maintained,
specified-pathogen-free or SPF conditions, which
means specially designed cages, a prescribed diet,
which is not cheap, and distinctive bedding.)
Which is why over the past two years the
unit has slowly rolled out its own mouse-embryotransfer laboratory, the first of its kind in the
country. While embryo transfers are well established in the agricultural sector in South Africa,
it's quite novel in laboratory-animal science and
technology circles.
In this technique, embryos are flushed from
the fallopian tubes of the genetic mother (usually
one who carries natural pathogens) and implanted into a cleaner, lab-bred foster mother.
Embryo transfers have a number of advantages. It's a better alternative to natural breeding
for breeding a line of 'clean' mice (free of everyday mice pathogens, viruses or parasites); it's
cheaper to import embryos than live mice when
in search of a specific strain; and through cryopreservation a particular, perhaps rare, strain can be
stored until needed.
Until recently, however, the Animal Unit
had little expertise in this field - they could harvest the embryos well enough, but no more than
that - and too little spare time to acquire the skills,
6
UCT's strategic role as a global player, the state
of higher education amid the recent financial
meltdown and the international university
ranking system were among the topics that Vice
-Chancellor Dr Max Price tabled in his visit to
Port Elizabeth, where he addressed UCT alumni
on 14 July.
This talk was part of the Alumni Relations
office's effort to introduce UCT alumni to
Price's strategic goals - and his vision of UCT as
an Afropolitan university and a global player in
higher education.
"UCT as a global player positions us as an
entity that knows more of our continent than
any university - and we become the hub on the
South that speaks to Africa and the rest of the
world,'' he said.
He said UCT had to face its challenges head
on, make the university a destination of choice
for students, postdoctoral research fellows, staff,
and researchers. The institution also had to
retain experienced academics and meet the
country's social and developmental needs.
explains manager Hiram Arendse. But slowly, the
varied and growing requests from researchers
suggested that it was a niche the unit would soon
have to fill.
"Even though embryo transfers are done
routinely around the world, for us it was new
technology," Arendse says.
They weren't short of reading material on the
subject, but that has its limitations, explains fellow
laboratory-animal technologist Jakobus Visser.
"You can learn techniques in books," he says, "but
the books don't describe the finer details of the
work - how do you position the mouse, for example."
But the addition of Hylton Buntting from the
Division of Immunology created the muchneeded capacity.
Buntting had done embryo transfers in larger
animals like cattle and sheep, but had trouble
down-scaling his technique to mice. After some
50 attempts, he had yet to manage a successful
implant.
Two weeks with experienced technicians at
the Lyons labs of the National Centre for Scientific Research (CNRS) in France changed all that,
however.
The trip has obviously paid off, and Buntting
has managed three successful implants in his 13
attempts since his return, meaning three new
litters. It's still early days, though, he cautions.
"In this kind of work, you can get it right
once, and the next time you battle again. So it's a
matter of repetition and practice."
TheCATHARTIC
Octogenarian is a Master
in Ancient Cultures
Norman Levy (MBChB 1952) is not your
average retiree – while others have settled for
mornings spent on the golf course and
leisurely afternoon strolls, he was hard at work
studying towards a Master of Philosophy in
Ancient Cultures. And not only did he
graduate from the University of Stellenbosch
at the age of 81, he did so Cum Laude!
The chair of the Somerset Hospital board,
Dr Levy explained that he enrolled for the two
-year distance course to “keep his mind sharp”.
He wryly admits that when he visited the
library at the University of Stellenbosch, he
was often mistaken for a professor and when
asked whether he will continue his studies, he
cryptically replied “knowledge is useful”. We
await his next achievement!
Right: He is photographed with his wife,
Myra Taylor (MBChB 1954) after the
graduation. He is wearing the gown of the
Royal College of General Practice of the
United Kingdom, of which he is a Fellow.
Travels then … and now
In 1969 I was working as a Senior House officer in the Department of
O&G at Harare General Hospital in Salisbury, Rhodesia, with two of
my classmates from Medical School, Dave Zacks and Mike Saunders.
In August the three of us camped around Europe in a two-man tent,
starting in Greece and ending in the UK.
Here, we started our specialist training, Dave in Radiology, me in
Surgery in Edinburgh and Mike in Obstetrics and Gynaecology in
Dublin.
This year, 40 years later, I attended a Workshop on
Interventional Endoscopy in Denver, Colorado - and having got that
far, I realised that it would not cost much more to get a round-the–
world ticket. First stop after Denver was Victoria on Vancouver
Island, where Dave is now spending less time as a senior partner in a
radiological practice and more time at the Royal Victoria Golf Club.
The last stop was Devonport on the north coast of Tasmania
where Mike, having left Harare in Zimbabwe five years ago, is still
doing Obstetrics and Gynaecology locums in between travelling to
the UK to visit their son and daughter - and grandchildren. Thirty
kilometres along the coast in Burnie I met up with another classmate,
Mike Foote, also having left Zimbabwe and also doing Obstetrics and
Gynaecology.
- Sydney Cullis (MBChB 1967)
Sampling Ouzo in Greece (this may account for the state of the photograph!).
Liz and Dave Zacks with Catherine Cullis at Spinnakers, Victoria, British Columbia.
The intrepid campers at breakfast.
7
TheCATHARTIC
Faculty mourns death of student
On Friday, 2 October 2009, hundreds of UCT
staff and students and members of the
community joined a protest march, following
the killing of first-year medical student
Pakiso Benny Moqobane on 28 September
2009.
This memorial march was in honour of
Benny, and especially for the Faculty of
Health Sciences to express their sadness as a
campus community over this terrible event
and claim back the safety and security of the
neighbourhood and streets of Observatory.
The pre-march was addressed by the
Vice-Chancellor Dr Max Price and he stated
that he was angry: angry at the lack of
freedom to walk between digs, the library
and the university; at the gratuitous violence
pervasive in South African society; with the
government and the police for inadequate
protection of the country's citizens; and at
the entrenched drug culture in the Western
Cape.
Thereafter the Dean of the Faculty of
Health Sciences, Professor Marion Jacobs
read out the rules for the march.
The march started at 11:45am on Friday,
in the parking area of the Barnard Fuller
building, on the Faculty of Health Sciences
campus in Anzio Road. Some carried flowers;
others held placards calling for the
protection of students - and for peace and
safety. Along the route, a floral tributes were
laid in William Road, and a statement of
concern was delivered by Professor Marian
Jacobs. "We are deeply distressed by the
untimely, unacceptable death of first-year
Staff and students gather at the site of the shooting during the march.
medical student, Pakiso Benny Moqobane.
We are also concerned about the backdrop to
the theft of this young life, for in our
community around our faculty, the spiraling
crime and violence has had a widespread
effect on our students, staff and the very
community that we serve as healthcare
providers.
"This should never have happened;
Pakiso should today be preparing for a career
in health service to the community as a
doctor. Instead, we are mourning the loss of
a young man who had so much potential.
This tragedy has sparked outrage and horror.
Through our actions today we convey our
condemnation of this cruel act.
"We call upon the South African Police
Services, the university and broader
community to commit to reclaiming the
security of our community and making this a
safe place to learn, to work and to be."
Immediately after the march, everyone
returned to the Health Sciences campus,
where a memorial gathering was held to
celebrate Benny's life.
- Lameez Mohd
Red Cross War Memorial Children’s Hospital unveils
state-of-the-art Operating Theatre Complex
On Wednesday, 16 September 2009, the doors of
the new Operating Theatre Complex at the Red
Cross War Memorial Children’s Hospital were
opened for business, heralding a new chapter in
the lifesaving history of this acclaimed paediatric
facility.
According to a spokesman for the Children’s
Hospital Trust, the fundraising arm of the
hospital: “The new state-of-the-art facility
includes eight fully equipped operating theatres;
three fully digitalised. The new digital installation
is the first of its kind and sophistication in subSaharan Africa and is technically on par with the
most advanced installations in the US, Europe,
Asia, Middle East and Australia.”
The Complex was built and equipped at a
cost of R125-million and the new digital
operating theatres together with a modern digital
lecture facility will form part of a
multidisciplinary training hub that will assist
other African nations to develop and improve
their paediatric surgical skills. The potential
provision of a new Clinical Skills Training Centre
is under investigation. The new Complex also
includes a new dedicated Cardiac Catheterisation
Laboratory, a Central Processing Department, an
Anaesthetic Suite and a Pain Management Unit.
For the first time since the Hospital was built
in 1956, each operating theatre is designated to a
sub-speciality; Emergency & Septic Orthopaedics,
Burns, Neurosurgery & Spinal Orthopaedics
(digitalised), General Endoscopic (digitalised),
Urology & Plastics (digitalised), Cardiac,
Ophthalmology (Eye) and an Ear, Nose and Throat
(ENT) & Scopes Theatre.
“Surgeons are now positioned at the forefront
of new developments in the surgery of children,
particularly with respect to minimally invasive or
'keyhole' surgery. Every speciality has the
privilege and responsibility to be leaders in their
8
respective fields.
“The superb audio visual equipment installed
in three of the new theatres will mean that we
can share what we do with our colleagues in
South Africa, Africa and around the world. We
are able to both teach and learn so that we can
improve care for children requiring surgery,” says
Professor Alastair Millar, Charles FM Saint
Professor of Paediatric Surgery: The Red Cross
War Memorial Children’s Hospital.
The fundraising campaign kicked off in 2005
with a R4million pledge from an international
philanthropic organisation, The ELMA
Foundation. This was followed by funding from
donors including Raymond Ackerman, Adcock
Ingram Holdings Ltd, Engen Petroleum, The
Harry Crossley Foundation, The Atlantic
Philanthropies, Dutch Postcode Lotteries, the
Walton Leycester Family Trust, Knorr-Bremse
Global Care, Netcare and Edcon.
TheCATHARTIC
RAG — Where in the World?
A gigantic Spongebob Squarepants was the
showpiece of this year's annual RAG Floats
Parade (left), which took place in Adderley
Street in Cape Town on 28 March.
Twelve floats took part in the parade,
which also included a "Where's Wally" float,
dancing men in diapers and a marching band.
The RAG floats procession is an
established Cape Town event, dating back to
1925.
As the parade rolls through the city
streets, passers-by throw spare change at the
floats and student "panhandlers".
It was originally known as Hospital RAG
(Remember and Give), and all funds raised
went to Groote Schuur Hospital.
These days, the funds, which can amount
to anything between R5 000 and R12 000, are
then passed on by RAG to UCT's Students'
Health and Welfare Centres Organisation
(SHAWCO).
The theme of this year's parade was
"Where in the World…?" and featured floats
from UCT residences and societies.
Students selling SAX Appeal 2009.
Scenes from Orientation 2009
Girls top the MBChB results 2008
Dr Tricia Pickard learns that she is the top MBChB student of 2008.
Dr Tricia Pickard, second left, was one of the big winners when the Faculty of
Health Sciences made its 2008 undergraduate awards. Pickard picked up the
Barnard Fuller Prize as the best MBChB graduate, the Mary Robertson Prize for
Excellence, and the University Gold Medal in Medicine.
Other multiple-award winners were Clare Surridge (four) and Dr Jocelyn Hellig
(five), including the SA Academy of Family Practice Prize and the Kathy Chubb
Memorial for her work in paediatrics and surgery.
Top: The Surgical Society flexes its muscles to attract membership.
Bottom: The Ballroom and Latin Society uses their not-inconsiderable feminine
wiles to attract members.
9
TheCATHARTIC
SA-developed HIV vaccines
go into testing phase
Two HIV vaccines developed by UCT's
Institute of Infectious Disease and Molecular
Medicine (IIDMM) have begun clinical testing
at Crossroads in Cape Town, and in Soweto,
Johannesburg.
The trial, called SAAVI 102/HVTN 073,
is a milestone for South Africa. The country
is one of the few developing nations, and the
first in Africa, to have developed an HIV
vaccine and put it forward for human clinical
trials.
The vaccines are the culmination of eight
years of research and development involving
scientists across South Africa and globally.
Through joint funding from the South
African AIDS Vaccine Initiative (SAAVI) and
the US National Institute of Allergy and
Infectious Diseases (NIAID), the trial is being
conducted jointly with the HIV Vaccine
Trials Network and NIAID, part of the US
National Institutes of Health.
The vaccine designs are based on HIV
subtype C, the dominant strain circulating in
Southern Africa.
The US arm of the trial has 12
participants, while the South African arm
plans to recruit 36 participants at its two
sites.
"Reaching this important milestone of
translating our discoveries in the laboratory
to testing in humans would not have been
possible without the support of a large team
of people from UCT, together with national
and international collaborations," says
Professor Anna-Lise Williamson, leader of the
vaccine development team and joint staff
member of the IIDMM and the National
Health Laboratory Services (NHLS).
"An effective vaccine against HIV/AIDS
remains a top global health priority, and it is
our hope that the evaluation of these vaccines
in clinical trial will provide some important
answers that will bring us closer to this goal."
Launched in 2005, the IIDMM is focused
on infectious diseases, particularly those that
threaten sub-Saharan Africa, such as HIV/
AIDS and tuberculosis.
College of
Physicians’
honour for
Prof Seggie
Professor Janet Seggie of UCT's Department of
Medicine is the first woman to be elected as the
Arthur Landau Lecturer by the Fellows and
Councillors of the College of Physicians of
South Africa.
This is the highest honour that specialist
physicians can bestow on a colleague in South
Africa.
Prof Seggie will be required to deliver a
lecture at all the medical schools in the country
over the next six months. Her lecture, titled
Educating Doctors for Africa: a captivating
"alchemy", will focus on South Africa's recent
MBChB curriculum renewal processes.
"It's a special honour to receive this
prestigious award from my peers," said Prof.
Seggie. "Arthur Landau was a very special
physician and teacher, who took an interest in
all of us as we undertook our specialist training
as registrars at Groote Schuur Hospital."
The annual travelling lectureship is
awarded in honour of Dr Landau, a former
president of the College.
The Faculty of Health Sciences is justifiably
proud of Prof Seggie’s achievement and we look
forward to hearing of her successes as she
presents her lecture around the country.
- Chris McEvoy
UCT mission statement review
UCT's 13-year-old mission statement is under
review following a Council decision to align it
with the international, national and higher
education contexts, which have undergone
significant change since the mission was first
developed.
The Mission Review Task Team is chaired
by Professor Francis Petersen, dean of the
Faculty of Engineering & the Built
Environment. The framework to develop the
new mission was presented to all faculty
boards, the PASS Forum, the Institutional
Forum, the Students' Representative Council
and various unions.
Two revised statements have now been
drafted and are up for discussion. These are
based on broad details captured under four
discussion points that were developed after
multiple discussions were held across the
campus; namely UCT's research-led identity,
its graduates, its role in society, and its
values.
The current mission statement was drawn
up by a working group of the University
Transformation Forum in the mid-1990s, and
was affirmed and adopted at a special
University Assembly on 24 April 1996. The
statement speaks of UCT's ambitions to be an
outstanding teaching and research university,
to educate for life and to address the
challenges facing South African society.
In a recent statement, Price noted that
UCT needs a "crisper, more forward-looking
mission to distinguish us from our
competitors".
"We are now at a stage where the broader
discussions and reflections are being distilled,
and we wish to end with a mission statement
that is, ideally, no longer than a paragraph or
two," said Price. "This is not an easy process."
Mission statement draft example 1
Our mission is to be a world-class
university, driven and informed by a search
for new knowledge, with a commitment to
10
excellence in teaching and learning, research
and social responsiveness and underpinned
with a value system characterised by a social
conscience and contributing to the challenges
facing society through an African context.
In pursuit of its mission, the University of
Cape Town will provide an environment to
students and staff for intellectual debate,
international exposure and a solid educational
experience, thus developing graduates with
critical comparative thinking and global skills.
Mission statement draft example 2
To be a leading university internationally
and in Africa, which offers excellent teaching
and learning through pursuing critical and
relevant research and by making meaningful
contributions to society.
We seek to provide a safe and nurturing
environment in which staff and students are
free to think critically, develop their full
potential and create and lead better societies.
- Monday Paper
TheCATHARTIC
Taking health to the community
A symbiotic relationship between
SHAWCO (the Students' Health and
Welfare Centres Organisation) and the
health sciences faculty is providing
clinical-skills training for scores of
medical students. Through a combination of strengths and resources, this
partnership ensures invaluable training
for future doctors, and essential services to those in the heart of poor
communities.
Nestled within the bustling CBD
off Bonga Drive, Khayelitsha, the Site
B Community Health Centre provides essential
health care to thousands of residents on the
Cape Flats. It is within the walls of this hospital
that UCT's medical students get their first real
exposure to community clinics.
Under the hands-on guidance of Dr Biddy
Buchanan-Lee and her two assistants, Ezzy Zozi
and Khanyisa Ntwana, fourth-year students
manage patients with chronic diseases such as
diabetes and hypertension, make casts in the
plaster of paris room, learn the process behind X
-rays, assist in HIV clinics and provide support
in the Trauma Centre.
'Serve and Learn' is Buchanan-Lee's motto,
invented "oh, some years ago". With a BSc from
UCT (she did her medical training at Cambridge
and Newcastle University), she's worked in
Khayelitsha for 12 years - and she's a "big fan" of
community service. Although Khayelitsha falls
under Tygerberg's jurisdiction technically, Buchanan-Lee has remained committed to hosting
a UCT learning platform in Site B as she believes
that this is the coalface: where real service and
real learning can take place.
"It's essential to train them [the students] in
the sort of environment they have to work in,"
she says.
Students are taught to look for what they
can change to help patients, to ensure that each
patient they see leaves the clinic with their
condition fully investigated, with knowledge
about their medical condition and a future plan
of management.
Students also learn to manage with limited
resources.
"You have to think laterally out here, every
day," says Buchanan-Lee.
Such is her belief in this experience that,
when her teaching space came under threat in
2008, instead of just packing it all up, she dug in
her heels, took her own advice, and got creative ...
Health care on the move
On Wednesday nights, just a few roads
down in Town 2 Khayelitsha, a massive truck
with a red cross makes its way to the Zibonele
Clinic. This is one of SHAWCO's mobile clinics,
which has been serving the people of Khayelitsha since it had an active watch-tower and a
Below: Members of the SHAWCO
and health sciences teams include
(front, from left) students Nieleshen
Govender, Leah Naidoo and
Raphaella Stander. (Back, from left)
Manager of HIV unit, Dr Shaheed
Mathee, Mrs Notshe, Dr Biddy
Buchanan-Lee, Frank Molteno,
interpreters Ezzy Zozi and Khanyisa
Ntwana, and SHAWCO Health
Mentor Wendy Lewin.
(From left)
Interpreter Ezzy
Zozi, health sciences
student Raphaella
Stander, senior
lecturer Dr Biddy
Buchanan-Lee, and
interpreter Khanyisa
Ntwana at work in
the SHAWCO
mobile clinic being
used for clinical skills
training in
Khayelitsha Site B.
small population of 10 000. For 66 years now,
SHAWCO Health students from UCT have
provided essential clinical services to various
disadvantaged communities across the Cape
Metropole. Zibonele is just one of the six weekly
evening clinics currently run by SHAWCO
Health students, with an additional monthly
paediatric clinic on Saturday mornings. In 2008,
around 500 students treated over 4 200 patients
in the Cape communities. The clinics are run
after hours: the students work in the hospitals
during the daytime.
"We have been very fortunate to have
received generous sponsorship from GrandWest
CSI," says Thandi de Wit, SHAWCO Health's
President for 2009. "They funded the building of
a new state-of-the-art clinic, as well as the refurbishment of our two longest-surviving
trucks. While we certainly make good use of
them after hours, it seemed a waste for them to
be standing empty and unused for long periods
during the day. So, when UCT approached us
with a request to help solve a space problem, we
were only too happy to help in any way we
could."
And so began a new partnership between
SHAWCO and UCT.
Big Mama is a boon
The solution to Buchanan-Lee's space problem was "Big Mama" - SHAWCO's newest (and
biggest) clinic. The hospital management has
been most accommodating and supportive allowing her to occupy a large area within the
hospital parking area. With four separate consultation rooms, Big Mama has been a boon to
11
the CHC. It's a win-win-win situation in which
SHAWCO's big mobile clinics, used by their
volunteers to provide medical services by night,
double up as sites for the assessment and management of patients with chronic diseases by
day.
Now, not only is there no space crisis, but
Buchanan-Lee has been able to make rooms
available to Dr Shaheed Mathee, who uses the
space to run an HIV clinic and, in the process,
provide further training for the students.
Big Mama's older, yet smaller 'brother' has
since been deployed to provide much-needed
teaching space for the sixth-year Family Medicine programme at Hanover Park CHC, while
the third mobile, having been used by Dr Shahieda Adams for research into TB in Delft, will
soon find a new parking place outside Mitchell's
Plain CHC - also for the sixth-year Family
Medicine Programme.
"We are thrilled with this arrangement,"
says De Wit. "SHAWCO Health has always
been about improving the health of our communities in any way we can. We are excited about
what meaningful partnerships such as this one
can do for our communities."
Buchanan-Lee adds: "We in Khayelitsha
share a vision with SHAWCO. We both care
deeply about the community... If it were not for
the generosity of SHAWCO we would have
difficulty in remaining in Khayelitsha and providing this service, and our students would not
have the experience of working in circumstances close to what awaits them when they do
their community service."
FEATURES
TheCATHARTIC
IIDMM earns top marks in international review
From 2 to 4 November 2008, the Institute of
Infectious Disease and Molecular Medicine, the
largest research institute at UCT, which has
been in operation for the past five years,
underwent a major scientific review by the
International Scientific Advisory Committee
(ISAC), chaired by Professor Valerie Mizrahi,
Director of the MRC/NHLS/WITS Molecular
Mycobacteriology Research Unit.
The ISAC noted that:
•
•
•
•
the IIDMM has shown considerable
growth and development during the
period under review;
the research conducted at the IIDMM is
internationally competitive;
the publication record of the institute is
very impressive and has shown steady
growth since 2003;
this record is particularly noteworthy
when bench-marked against the FHS,
UCT as a whole and comparable
institutions in South Africa.
•
ISAC also noted that members of the unit
have been successful in securing highly
competitive international grant funding
both for clinical and laboratory research
and that the research is cutting-edge in a
number of areas.
The IIDMM was complimented on the
emergence of considerable strengths at the
laboratory/clinical/community interface, which
has positioned the IIDMM as a leading site
globally for TB-HIV research, the bridging across
the Faculties of Science and Health Sciences, as
Ivan Toms
memorial lecture
Deputy Minister of Health, Molefe Sefularo,
was the guest speaker at the inaugural Ivan
Toms Memorial Lecture, which was hosted
by the Faculty of Health Sciences on
Wednesday, 11 March.
Dr Sefularo explained that “Due to his
(Toms’) pioneering work, the Western Cape,
owing to the overwhelming influence of the
Cape Metro, can boast of what is nearly the
best public primary health care system in the
country.” He went on to describe some defining incidents in both Ivan Toms’ life and
how that impacted on the health care sector,
both in the Western Cape and nationally.
In particular, Dr Sefularo supported a
proposed documentary on the life of Toms,
an activist, UCT graduate and, at the time of
his death in March 2008, director of health
at the City of Cape Town.
evidenced by research in HIV/HPV vaccinology
and the Drug Discovery Signature Theme, and the
extensive collaborative research networks that
have been established at national, regional and
international levels.
Significant challenges identified included
attracting, retaining and rewarding staff, accessing
long-term funding for resources, equipment and
staff, increasing funding support from the
University and ensuring that strategic research
areas like bioinformatics and structural biology are
not neglected. The ISAC also suggested that
changes be made to the management structure and
membership criteria.
“The IIDMM intends to sustain an
environment of high calibre research and
productivity that will attract international
researchers and secure a future for Africa’s
promising new generation of scientists, from an
integrated basic science, clinical and public health
perspective,” concluded Prof Greg Hussey,
Director of the IIDMM.
Women in Science honours
Congratulations to Andrea Rother for
Communication Strategies," was shortlisted
winning the second prize in a prestigious
out of 258 abstracts received. The 10 finalists
Women in Science Competition
in the Women in Science section
for African researchers, which was
were invited to present their
organised by a consortium of
papers at the finalists’ event in
science and development agencies,
Addis Ababa last week. Following
including CTA, ATPS, AGRA,
her presentation, she was
FARA, NEPAD and RUFORUM.
awarded second prize - in a very
The competition sought to
competitive process. The awards
identify, recognise and reward the
were made at the AU meeting of
hard work and excellence of
Agricultural ministers on Friday
young professionals and women
and were handed over by Ms
scientists who are engaged in
Njabulo Nduli, director general of
innovative and pioneering
Agriculture for South Africa.
research and communicating the
This is a great honour and a
outputs (knowledge, technologies,
fantastic achievement. It reflects
approaches) to improve
lots of hard work on Andrea's part
agricultural productivity and the
in building links in Africa and
Andrea Rother at the
livelihoods of rural communities.
should encourage us all to keep
competition finals, which
Andrea’s paper, dealing with
pursing social responsiveness,
were held in Ethiopia.
"Pesticide Risk Reduction
particularly in engaging with
Strategies for Vulnerable African
African issues, in our work.
Populations through Regulatory Capacity
Well done, Andrea!
Building and Gender Appropriate Risk
- Leslie London
12
TheCATHARTIC
Okreglicki first South African home in
Marathon des Sables (MBChB 1983)
It is reputed to be the toughest footrace in the
world, tough because of the terrain, the sand,
the heat, and additionally gruelling because
one has to be self-sufficient.
Despite this the marathon in the Saharan
desert is oversubscribed, with waiting lists for
the next three years.
In a bitingly cold wind, we set off on the
Day 1 stage of 33km, and within 3km we were
in the towering Saharan dunes. The night was
cold and windy with no protection from the
Berber tents.
Day 2, a 36km circular route, did not cross
mountainous dunes, but even tougher terrain:
vast stretches of rolling sand dunes and
apparently flat plains of gravel that turned out
to be like dry meringue with each foot
crushing through the crust. This sand and soft
running was enormously energy-sapping.
Day 3 and 4, the long stage to make up for
the shortened event, was made the longest
single stage in the history of the MdS, with a
distance of 91km. A generous cut-off allowed
the slower participants to stretch this stage into
Day 4, which was a rest day for the faster
competitors. This leg had much variation in
terrain: dunes, plains, mud and hills, but also a
strong, dehydrating headwind for 50km, with
heat and dust-storms.
The next 40km was my favourite section: a
climb up a gorge with magnificent vistas just
Below: 807 runners set out,
carrying their food, clothing and
gear, all but water and shelter,
during the Marathon des Sables.
Above: Cardiologist Prof 'AO' Okreglicki, one of 770
runners who completed the five-day, 202-km Marathon
des Sables in the Sahara desert.
before sunset, and then dunes and the vast
Saharan plains strewn with rocks, all made
magical by moonlight, and a course marked by
luminescent sticks. I had a good day, finishing
in 13.5 hrs and improving my daily position to
77th.
The final stage, Day 5, was a classic
standard marathon but with more hills,
mountains and even a river crossing. From the
last flat-topped mountain, the finishing line
could be seen 4km away. The finish brought
jubilation and the intense satisfaction of
achievement.
This MdS is much more than just the run.
It is a rite of passage, a test of one's
preparation, mind and endurance, all with the
magic and 'romance' of the Sahara.
The event was won, for the second time,
by Moroccan Mohamad Ahansal, in 16hrs
27min.
For me this was a 'life's bookmarking'
experience, fulfilling my goal plus achieving
awareness for the Prevent Arrhythmic Cardiac
Events organisation for which I ran.
Would I do it again?
I would love to.
Raj Ramesar’s research in colon cancer wins Pifer Award
Finding the genetic defect that causes colon
cancer in two large South African families was
enough to prompt Professor Raj Ramesar to
consider terminating his sabbatical in Chicago
in 1994.
"I knew how much the simple blood test
that I subsequently designed would mean to
those at risk."
Ramesar, of the Department of Clinical
Laboratory Sciences, recently received the
prestigious Alan Pifer Award, which recognises
his breakthrough research on the disease and
particularly how this work contributes to the
welfare of South Africa's most disadvantaged
communities in the Northern and Western
Cape Provinces.
The award is named after the former
president of the Carnegie Corporation of New
York.
Accepting the award, Ramesar said the
honour belonged to the team of surgeons and
nurses, now led by Professor Paul Goldberg of
the Division of Gastroenterology, who had
painstakingly furthered this pioneering work.
Singling out Sister Ursula Algar as an
Vice-Chancellor, Dr Max Price with Prof Raj Ramesar and Prof Kit Vaughan (right) at the award ceremony.
example, Ramesar said: "She seamlessly steps
between surgical nursing and field operations in
genetics, tracing families and ensuring that
those identified, through our laboratory, to be
at high risk, have access to clinical
13
surveillance."
He also dedicated the award to the families
and communities affected by colon cancer,
particularly those the team has worked with in
rural areas.
FEATURES
TheCATHARTIC
The Faculty remembers ...
Dr Richard Lindsay—the “accidental doctor”
Dr Richard (“Dick”) Lindsay, a general
practitioner whose career path was
determined by his experiences in the
Western Desert of Egypt more than 65
years ago, has died in his adopted country
of Australia. He was 88 years old.
Lindsay was born in Paris in 1920, the
first child of an English accountant and a
French seamstress. His family lived in
London, Singapore and Bucharest before
settling in Cape Town in 1929.
His father died a few months later after
contracting blackwater fever in a mining
camp in Zimbabwe, leaving his wife and
four children stranded in Cape Town.
Lindsay matriculated from St Joseph’s
College, Rondebosch, in 1936 and
commenced work as a clerk with the
Standard Bank. Upon the outbreak of the
Second World War, he enlisted with the
South African Medical Corps.
He was assigned to a field hygiene unit
attached to the Natal Mounted Rifles, a
Durban-based regiment that saw action
against Italian and German forces in Kenya,
Somaliland, Abyssinia, Libya and Egypt
between 1940 and 1942.
Returning to South Africa in early
1943, Lindsay was posted as a medical
orderly at the massive prisoner-of-war
camp at Zonderwater outside Pretoria.
With a population of more than 63,000
captured Italian and German soldiers, the
facility was the largest single POW camp in
Dick Lindsay and his mother, Marie, on graduation day, 1950.
any Allied territory.
During the relative peace and quiet,
returned serviceman was extremely unlikely to
Lindsay successfully applied for a returned
complete first year and would be offered little
serviceman’s enrolment to the University of
assistance to do so.
Cape Town. Upon viewing Lindsay’s secondLindsay defied the odds and graduated as a
class matriculation grades achieved seven years
Bachelor of Medicine and Bachelor of Surgery
previously, the dean indicated that the
in June 1950. He gained work as an intern and
Graduate murdered at home
Loss for UCT and SA Rugby
Dr Francois Majoos may have
been best known to his students as
a respected lecturer, but in South
African rugby circles, he was
something of an expert in sports
medicine, having served on the
Medical Committee of SARFU and
had been the team doctor for
several national rugby squads.
He obtained his MBChB at
UCT in 1973 and went on to
qualify as a specialist physician
with an interest in rheumatology
in 1987. Dr Majoos, who had been
then registrar at Groote Schuur and
Wynberg Hospitals in Cape Town, and
Frere Hospital, East London.
He continued northwards, being
appointed assistant anaesthetist at
Kimberley Hospital and resident
anaesthetist at Johannesburg General
Hospital before spending three years as
resident doctor with a copper mine at
Mufulira, Zambia.
In June 1956, Lindsay decided to emigrate
to Australia. He found work at Sale,
Victoria, and then at the Daw Park
Repatriation Hospital, Adelaide, South
Australia. In 1958, he married Maureen
Preece, a nurse at Calvary Hospital in
Adelaide.
The couple relocated to Sydney, New
South Wales. After stints with a number
of regional practices in Bulli, Macksville,
and Narromine, he eventually settled in
Coonabarabran in the state’s central west
in 1963 . He served as a general
practitioner, as well as providing surgery,
anaesthetic and obstetric services at the
local hospital, until his retirement in
1987.
In his latter years, Lindsay indulged his
life-long passion for restoring (read
dismantling) classic Mercedes, Buick and
Ford automobiles. He died peacefully at
Coonabarabran District Hospital on 16
November, 2008, in the company of his
wife of 50 years, six children and 18
grandchildren.
Lindsay – who often described himself as
an “accidental doctor” – was forever grateful
that South Africa gave him the gift of
education. One of his final wishes was to pass
on his regards to the surviving members of the
UCT Class of 1950.
South Africa lost a talented
young doctor on 17 March 2009,
when MBChB class of 1998
graduate, Dr Edward Mathebula,
was shot by robbers while
watching television in his home
in Honeydew, Johannesburg.
Dr Mathebula worked in the
Department of Medicine at Chris
Hani-Baragwanath Hospital, and
Charlotte Maxeke Johannesburg
Academic Hospital. He was
studying at Wits University.
He had previously spent five
years working as a physician in
disgnosed with motor neurone
disease, passed away in the early
hours of Saturday, 2 May. The
same day, the Vodacom Stormers
paid tribute to him by observing a
moment’s silence before the start
of the game.
He will be sorely missed by
his colleagues, undergraduate and
post-graduate students, and, of
course, by his patients. The
Faculty extends its deepest
sympathy to his wife, Edna, and
sons, Emlyn and Dylan.
14
the UK and was described as a
hardworking practitioner with
extensive medical knowledge that
he applied in a professional
manner.
Prof Jeffrey Wing of
Johannesburg Hospital said: “It’s
tragic to lose someone so
committed and talented. He was
so committed and an excellent
doctor who set an example for his
colleagues.” (Quoted in
News24.com)
Dr Mathebula leaves two
daughters, aged six and nine.
TheCATHARTIC
A UCT colleague remembers
the “Suburban Shaman”
Cecil often visited the Division of Family
Medicine when in Cape Town. A family
practitioner at heart, he took a keen interest in
the development of family medicine at UCT,
always willing to offer support and keen to
explore opportunities for teaching and research
at his Alma Mater. When we
last met we discussed
identifying opportunities to
collaborate on HIV-related
research and planned to
explore this further. Sadly,
this was not to be.
I attended one of Cecil's
highly-rated courses on
Cross Cultural Primary Care
in London in 2002 where I
and others had the benefit of
the breadth and depth of his
knowledge on culture, health
and illness.
At the South African
launch of his book Suburban
Shaman in July 2004 at a
well known bookstore in the southern suburbs
Cecil was asked to read a few of his favourite
passages. I was surprised at the degree of
shyness he displayed in response to the
attention and accolades. Although he studied
and spent time with peoples of many different
cultures, it seems he was nevertheless a private
person.
During his sabbatical in Cape Town in 2007,
Cecil joined me during a morning session with
final year family medicine students at a
community clinic where he sat in on
consultations. As expected, he offered many
interesting insights when we reflected
together on the patient encounters for the
morning - as well as a fair number of ideas for
research.
Toward the end of his sabbatical he came
to see me in my office and
reflected on the profound
impact being home for an
extended period had had on
him then even though he
had been back many times
over the years. While a very
experienced anthropologist
observer, he was being
confronted with the
challenge of observing his
own responses to the many
contradictions he
encountered in the country
of his birth in transition. I
felt very privileged that
Cecil felt free to share this
with me. He planned to
write about it; I don't know
whether he did. It seems now that this may
have been soon after he was diagnosed with a
terminal disease, adding to the intensity of
the experience.
I will miss Cecil's visits, insights and
passion for understanding the patient's
context in order to understand the patient.
Thankfully the results of his research and
reflections and their importance for health
care teaching and practice are recorded in his
books. The relevance of his work will stand
the test of time.
- Dr Graham Bresick (MBChB, 1980)
Harvard paed prof passes away
Dr. I. David Todres (MBChB 1958)
died of lymphoma on 26 September
2008 at his home in Newton, USA.
He was 73.
During his career, spanning 37
years, Dr Todres received many
invitations from former patients to
attend milestones in their lives –
from bar mitzvahs, to confirmations
and marriages. Were it not for his
dedication, those children may not
have lived to celebrate these events
with family and friends.
His commitment to the ethics
and issues surrounding dying
children resulted in his international recognition
as an expert in paediatric ethics and had been
chief of the Paediatric Bioethics Unit at
Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH) for
Children since 1998. He was also a professor of
paediatrics at Harvard
Medical School.
Dr. Todres graduated from
UCT and went to England
to study anesthesia . In
1967, Dr. Todres spent four
years at Montefiore
Hospital (New York City),
where he was director of
paediatric anesthesia and
director of the Pediatric
Medical /Surgical Intensive
Care Units. In 1971, he
began his career at MGH, as
co-director and later
director of MGH's Newborn Paediatric Intensive
Care Units from 1971 to 1998.
Dr. Todres leaves his wife, Judith Sharlin,
four children, Jonathan, Hillel, Rachelle and
Nadia and a grandson.
15
Aircraft crash
claims life
Members of the medical fraternity of
Zimbabwe were shocked to hear of the death
of well-respected neurologist, Dr Jens Mielke
(47), when his light aircraft crashed on takeoff from Harare Airport on 12 March 2009.
Born in Germany, he arrived in
Zimbabwe at the age of 12, and became a
permanent resident. He completed his
MBChB at UCT, graduating in 1984. Upon
his return to Zimbabwe, he became registrar
in internal medicine at the Harare and
Parirenyatwa hospitals.
He undertook specialist training in the
UK, in internal medicine and neurology, and
obtained the MRCP in 1992. Once again, he
returned to Zimbabwe and lectured at the
University of Zimbabe’s Medical School and
was a specialist physician at Parirenyatwa
Hospital. In 2000, he was appointed senior
lecturer and in 2002, associate professor. He
formalised his interest in bio-ethics with an
MHSc in bio-ethics at the University of
Toronto. He was elected FRCP (London) in
2007.
His interest in epilepsy went beyond that
of the direct effect of the disease, and focused
on knowledge and attitudes of teachers
towards epilepsy in Zimbabwe and he
worked tirelessly, often under trying
circumstances, to improve the lives of people
with neurological conditions.
He leaves a wife, Sheila, a daughter and
two sons.
Respected HIV
clinician dies
The HIV community in South Africa is
mourning the loss of Dr Steve Andrews (39).
A graduate of the MBChB class of 1993,
he had been working in the field of HIV since
1995 and had been involved in the design and
implementation of many HIV interventions in
the public and private sectors.
Dr Andrews ran a part-time private
practice in Brooklyn, Cape Town, and was a
consultant to various public and private HIV
programmes. He had also worked at the
Médecins sans Frontières HIV Programme in
Khayelitsha.
According to media reports, Treatment
Action Campaign (TAC) founder, Zachie
Achmat, said that Dr Andrew’s death was
tragic and untimely.
“Steve supported TAC against drug
companies, fought with government and he
was a great doctor and friend … He treated
countless patients with HIV,” he added.
TheCATHARTIC
Left: UCT Vice-Chancellor,
Dr Max Price, jamming with
the band.
Below: The Dean, Prof
Marian Jacobs, and the Head
of the Department of
Medicine, Prof Bongani
Mayosi, take to the dance
floor to the strains of
“Autumn Leaves”.
Beautiful music in the
Clinical Skills Lab
The Vice-Chancellor, Dr. Max Price, joined
the UCT jazz band and stole the show at
the launch of the Clinical Skills Laboratory
in Groote Schuur Hospital on Tuesday,
June 5, 2009. A little known fact is that he
is an accomplished saxophonist!
Guests made this discovery during the
cocktail function after the formalities,
when he picked up a saxophone belonging
to medical student, Grant Thomas, who
provided the entertainment, and joined in.
Dr Price was one of the key note
speakers at this event and he spoke
eloquently of the need for clinical skills
training for students in the Faculty,
particularly in the pre-clinical years, where
access to patients was limited - for good
reason. “We need skill laboratories and
should have been doing this a long time
ago,” Dr Price said.
Dr Saadiq Kariem, CEO of Groote
Schuur Hospital and UCT Alumnus
(MBChB 1992), was the other speaker for
the evening and he explained that when he
was approached by UCT to convert this
space into a clinical skills laboratory, he
found it difficult to imagine, as the space
had not been utilised for such a long time.
He, however, expressed his delight that
such an appropriate and important use
could be found, and that the laboratory had
found a home in the Old Main Building of
Groote Schuur Hospital.
With Dr Price setting the tone by
joining the band, the Dean of the Faculty
could do nothing less than invite Prof
Bongani Mayosi, Head of the Department
of Medicine, onto an impromptu dance
floor to accompany the strains of the VC’s
saxophone playing ‘Autumn Leaves’.
In spite of the light heartedness of the
event, it marks an important milestone in
the ongoing development of the
undergraduate curriculum in the Faculty of
Health Sciences and lays a foundation for
the implementation of similar facilities.
All of the speakers expressed their
thanks to the project team who made the
Clinical Skills Laboratory a reality. Their
hard work and dedication will continue to
pay off for many years to come.
- Lameez Mohd
16
Winning
formula
for Sports
Science
The UCT/MRC Research Unit for Exercise
Science and Sports Medicine (ESSM) and the
Sports Science Institute of South Africa (SSISA)
were officially inaugurated as a FIFA Medical
Centre of Excellence at a function on 24
February.
The world football governing body selects
institutions for accreditation based on clinical,
educational and research expertise, practical
involvement in the healthcare of teams and
active commitment to preventing injuries. All
centres must undergo a comprehensive
application process based on exacting standards.
The centre is one of only two FIFAaccredited centres on the continent, and one of
10 across the world.
The inauguration ceremony was opened by
Discovery Health Chair of ESSM Professor Tim
Noakes, and attended by FIFA Chief medical
officer Professor Jiri Dvorak, director of the
centre Professor Martin Schwellnus, and SSISA
managing director Morné du Plessis.
"FIFA is committed to improving standards
of care in football worldwide, including injury
prevention as a priority, complemented by
accurate diagnosis, treatment and
rehabilitation," said Dvorak. "They also educate
and train the next generation of practitioners
and scientists committed to football medicine."
"The relationship between UCT, the ESSM/
SSISA and its medical service providers is a
unique model that combines education with
current research, applied through medical
service practitioners," said Du Plessis.
Schwellnus highlighted the unit's
achievements in research, education and
clinical service, and said that these core
activities would form the basis of the centre's
future work in football.
By creating a worldwide network of
accredited medical centres, FIFA aims to ensure
that players and teams on all continents have
somewhere to go for expert care in football
medicine.
The Centre for Exercise Science and Sports
Medicine at the University of the
Witwatersrand in Johannesburg was the first
FIFA Medical Centre of Excellence to be
inaugurated in Africa.
- Monday Paper
TheCATHARTIC
Professors inaugurated in 2009
The Faculty of Health Sciences hosted several inaugural lectures in 2009. The lectures
celebrate the appointment of Professors in the Faculty.
FEBRUARY
Professor Karen Barnes
Title: “A quest without borders: Improving malaria treatment in policy and practice
Karen Barnes completed her MBChB in 1988 and her specialisation as a Clinical Pharmacologist in 2004, both at
the University of Cape Town (UCT). She was employed at UCT as a senior lecturer in 1995, and progressed via
ad hominem promotions to associate professor in 2004 and full professor in 2008. Her research interests are
mainly the comprehensive evaluation of malaria treatment policy changes in Southern Africa and improving
antimalarial dosing regimens for vulnerable populations.
Barnes’ work in malaria started when she was appointed as a member of the national Malaria Advisory Group.
She subsequently joined the Regional Malaria Control Commission, the Worldwide Antimalarial Resistance
Network, and a number of World Health Organisation committees that guide malaria treatment policy.
MARCH
Professor Vanessa Burch
Title: Health Care Today
Prof Burch graduated with an MBChB degree cum laude from the University of the Witwatersrand in 1988 after which
she specialised in Medicine and Rheumatology at the University of Cape Town. In 1997 Prof Burch completed an MMed
degree and received the Phyllis Knocker-Bradlow Award of the Colleges of Medicine of South Africa for ongoing
contributions to medicine in South Africa.
Since 2002 she has worked as a physician, teacher and researcher in Internal Medicine (as Head of the Department at GF
Jooste Hospital) and Rheumatology. In 2004 she was awarded the Distinguished Teacher’s Award of the University of Cape
Town. In March 2008, she was appointed Professor and Chair of Clinical Medicine at UCT and Groote Schuur Hospital.
Currently Prof Burch is engaged in international collaborative studies that aim to evaluate the development of clinical
reasoning skills in undergraduate medical students.
MAY
Professor Lucy Gilson
Title: Providers, Patients and Power: Why Trusting Relationships Matter Within Health Systems
Lucy Gilson has a background in development studies, health economics and health policy, and works in the field of
health policy and systems research. She has a BA in Politics, Philosophy and Economics (Oxon), an MA in Development Economics (East Anglia) and was awarded her PhD, entitled ‘Value for money?: The efficiency of primary care
units in Tanzania’ by the University of London.
Currently, Lucy holds the appointment of professor both at the University of Cape Town and the London School of
Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, UK. She moved to UCT in 2007 from The University of the Witwatersrand, where she
had been Deputy Director of the Centre for Health Policy for several years.
JUNE
Professor Paul Potter
Title: Allergy in South Africa
Paul Potter graduated with a MBChB in 1974 from the University of Cape Town after which he specialised in Paediatrics,
obtaining the Medal for the best student in the Fellowship examinations of the College of Medicine of South Africa in
1982 and obtained a BSc (Hons) Immunology degree in 1983. Following an 18-month postgraduate fellowship in
molecular biology and allergy at the National Institutes of Health Bethesda, USA, he was awarded a doctorate in Medicine
by the University of the Cape Town in 1991.
Paul Potter is currently the Director of the Allergology, Diagnostic and Clinical Research Unit (ADCRU) of the Faculty of
Health Sciences of the University of Cape Town, and Head of the Allergology Clinics in the Department of Medicine at
Groote Schuur Hospital. He is a past president of the Allergy Society of South Africa and Founding Editor of the South
African Journal of Current Allergy and Clinical Immunology.
17
TheCATHARTIC
JULY
Professor Jennifer Jelsma
Title: The quality of life may be more important than life itself—but how do we quantify it?
Jennifer Jelsma completed her BSc Physiotherapy degree at Stellenbosch University in 1971, her MPhil in 1998 at the
University of Zimbabwe and her PhD at the Catholic University of Leuven in 2001. She lectured at the Universities of
Stellenbosch and Zimbabwe, at which she was awarded the Distinguished Teachers Award in 1998. Since 2001, she has
been a lecturer at UCT and progressed via ad hominem promotions to associate professor in 2005 and full professor in 2008.
Her research interests are mainly in the area of quantifying the impact of disability on functioning and health-related
quality of life. She is currently involved in the next round of burden of disease estimation with the Institute of Health
Metrics and Evaluation in Seattle.
Her other main area of work is paediatric neurology and she has combined this with her interest in understanding function by
examining the impact of such factors as disability, HIV and institutionalisation on the quality of life and functioning of children.
JULY
Professor Colin Cook
Title: Vision 20/20—The right to sight
Colin Cook was appointed to the Morris Mauerberger Chair of Opthalmology in January 2007. He completed his
undergraduate MBChB training at the at the University of Cape Town in 1977 and his postgraduate ophthalmology
training at UCT in 1987.
From 1996 to 2004, he worked with an international NGO in Kwa-Zulu Natal—Christoffel Blindenmission (CBM).
During this period, he served as CMB’s regional medical advisor, responsible for the oversight of blindness
prevention programmes supported by the CBM in southern Africa and in 2005, he was appointed CBM’s global
senior medical advisor.
His general interest is in community eye health and his specific clinical and research interest is glaucoma as an
important cause of blindness in Africa.
SEPTEMBER
Professor Colleen Adnams
Title: Intellectual disability in South Africa: Quo Vadis?
Colleen Adnams completed a BSc. degree at the University of Kwa-Zulu Natal, Pietermaritzburg, and BSc Hons. Medical
Biochemistry, MBChB and specialist qualification in Paediatrics, F.C.Paed (SA), at the University of Cape Town. After
gaining post specialisation experience in Community Child Health and Developmental Paediatrics, she joined the UCT
School of Child and Adolescent Health and Red Cross War Memorial Children’s Hospital as Head of the Child
Developmental Service, a position she held from 1994 to 2007. In December 2007, she was promoted to the Vera Grover
Chair and Professor of Intellectual Disability, Department of Psychiatry and Mental Health. This is the only chair of
intellectual disability in Africa.
Prof Adnams heads the Department’s Division of Intellectual Disability and is lead clinician of Intellectual Disability
Services for the Western Cape Associated Psychiatry Hospitals. In this emerging health field, she has initiated the MPhil in
Intellectual Disability Mental Health, to commence at UCT in 2010.
German delegation learns about TB vaccines at SATVI
Deputy Vice-Chancellor, Prof Crain Soudien was
on hand to welcome a delegation from Lower
Saxony (Niedersachsen), Germany, consisting of
politicians and businessmen. The visit was hosted
by the South African Tuberculosis Vaccine
Initiative (SATVI) and took place in the IIDMM.
The visit was led by the Niedersachsen Minister of
Economics, Labour and Transport, Jorg Bode and
was part of a broader visit to strengthen ties and
explore areas of potential collaboration in South
Africa.
The vital contribution of private sector investment
in research at the University of Cape Town was
highlighted and the programme included
presentations by SATVI co-director, Dr Hassan
Mahomed and Prof Frank Brombacher, head of the
Immunology Unit.
Tom Scriba, Senior Laboratory Researcher at SATVI gives an overview of the extensive work undertaken by
SATVI in the area of vaccine development.
18
FacultyNEWS
TheCATHARTIC
Call to aid med students in Zim
During February 2009, a report was released by
Physicians for Human Rights, an international
health NGO, presenting hard evidence of the
devastating situation in Zimbabwe and
confirming the complete collapse of the
healthcare system in that country.
UCT, and particularly the Health Sciences
Faculty heeded the call for action and have
initiated a number of responses to Zimbabwe’s
plight, starting with an editorial sent to Cape
Town newspapers, cosigned by the ViceChancellor and the Dean, to collecting nonperishable food to be sent to
Zimbabwe with the Gift of the Givers
organisation, and hosting a meeting of
the Committee of Medical Deans of
Health Sciences faculties across the
country.
The Committee released a
statement expressing their grave
concerns over the impact of the
Zimbabwean crisis on academic health
sciences, calling on the global
community to “support all efforts to
secure the training platform for health
sciences in Zimbabwe”. In addition, as
an emergency response, the Committee of
Medical Deans requested that medical schools in
South Africa and the Southern African region
accommodate affected medical students in their
final year of study. This call was made in the face
of serious resource constraints faced by
institutions in the region, and the Committee
undertook to support efforts to procure financial
and organisational resources for this purpose.
Above: the Committee of Medical Deans. Left: Prof Gonda Perez and Gawa
Sayed of Gift of the Givers. The Faculty collected food to be sent with aid
missions to Zimbabwe.
The Faculty also had a
visit from Prof Midion
Chidzonga, the Dean
of the Faculty of
Health Sciences of the
University of
Zimbabwe, who was
able to give insight
into the current situation, both in the Faculty
of Health Sciences and in the country.
“It’s depressing,” he said. “That’s the best
way to describe it. All of our clinical teaching
activities have shut down. It’s impossible to
continue teaching – the costs for transporting
staff and students are too high.”
Prof Chidzonga estimated that under ideal
conditions, it will take six months to a year for
the situation to the normalise in higher
education, but he is quick to emphasise that
everything is dependent on circumstances in the
country. But despite all of the challenges, he
remains optimistic about Zimbabwe.
“If you are the dean, you are supposed to
lead and you leave, how can there be change?”
He asked.
His message to the Faculty took the form of
a plea for assistance. “If UCT can admit as many
students as possible to complete their studies,
and facilitating staff exchanges, it would be
wonderful.”
Editor’s Note: Since this article was written,
the University of Zimbabwe has reopened its
Faculty of Health Sciences and it would seem
that the situation is beginning to normalise.
90th anniversary
celebrations of the
UCT Department of
Medicine
RSN raises money for charity ...
The Department of Medicine will be 90
years old in 2010. The occasion will be
marked by means of a 90th Anniversary
Forum, a 90th Anniversary Dinner in
Jameson Hall, and the launch of a new
Fund for the Future of the Department
of Medicine.
A three-day Physicians Conference will
follow at the Cape Town International
Convention Centre from Friday 19 to
Sunday 21 February 2010.
Further information & enquiries:
The Rural Support Network (RSN) held a raffle to purchase stationery for rural high school learners, toys for
rural paediatric wards in the Eastern Cape and additional beds for hospitals in the Eastern Cape. Members of
RSN drew the winning tickets on 30 April 2009 and took time to pose for a photo with Faculty Academic
Administration Manager Brenda Klingenberg, : Itumeleng Ntatamala, Mlekeleli Gambu, Brenda Klingenberg,
Lwando Mpotulo, and Pauline Nkondo.
19
Belinda Chapman,
UCT Conference Management Centre.
[email protected]
Tel: +27 (0) 21 406 6407
TheCATHARTIC
Hoffenberg honoured at launch
The recognition of a struggle stalwart who has
long been associated with the University of Cape
Town took centre stage at the launch of the SubSaharan African Centre for Chronic Disease
Control, which was held in the Groote Schuur
Old Main Building on Wednesday, 4 November
2009.
The launch of the Centre coincided with the
naming of the Bill Hoffenberg Conference Room,
which was the venue for the launch. Prof
Bongani Mayosi, Head of the Department of
Medicine and one of the founders of the Centre,
welcomed guests to the opening and went on to
welcome Dr Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma, the
current Minister of Home Affairs, former
minister of Health and Foreign Affairs, who
spoke warmly of her personal experience of Sir
Raymond “Bill” Hoffenberg, as a medical student
in exile in Birmingham in the United Kingdom.
“I had the privilege of being in his ward
every day. He was a very kind professor and was
an excellent clinician and excellent teacher,” she
said.
Bill Hoffenberg, a graduate of the University
of Cape Town, who had also served on the
academic staff of the Faculty, was described as an
Dr Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma, reflects on the life and
work of Bill Hoffenberg, who was a mentor to her as a
young medical student in exile in the United Kingdom.
endocrinologist of international repute, who was
forced to leave South Africa in 1968 as he had
received a banning order issued by the apartheid
government. He went on to an illustrious
professional career in the United Kingdom,
which included being appointed president of the
Royal College of Clinicians, and culminated in a
knighthood in 1984. He died in April 2007 and
in 2008 was posthumously awarded the Order of
the Baobab in Silver by then-president Thabo
Mbeki.
Dr Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma unveiled a
photograph of Bill Hoffenberg during the
Two new deputy deans
take up the reins
The Dean Team recently welcomed Prof
Gregory Hussey and Prof Sue Kidson to their
new roles as part-time deputy deans in the
Faculty of Health Sciences.
Prof Hussey has the challenging portfolio of
Research and Prof Kidson, equally so, that of
Postgraduate Affairs.
evening’s proceedings that has pride of place in
the conference room .
Prof Dinky Levitt explained the events
leading to the establishment of the Centre for
Chronic Diseases. The mission of the Centre is to
“bring together experts in public health, clinical
medicine, epidemiology, lifestyle modification,
economics, health behaviour, implementation
research and health service management. ”
Prof Craig Househam, the Head of the
Department of Health in the Western Cape, also
paid tribute to Bill Hoffenberg and explained
that:
“There is little doubt that the burden of
disease from non-communicable [illnesses] on
the African continent and in South Africa in
particular, has shown and has continued to
demonstrate the potential for a sustained rise. On
this basis, a significant investment in the
healthcare system and in particular the primary
healthcare system is justified. \
He concluded by saying: “It is clear the work
envisaged by the Sub-Saharan African Centre for
Chronic Disease Control will be of great
importance to the Western Cape Province,
Southern Africa and the broader continent.”
Med 10-ers come
up with the goods
Sydney Cullis (MBChB 1967) handing over a
cheque for R44 000 from the 2008 Medical 10 to
Victoria Hospital staffers, Clint Cupido
(MBChB1999) and Peter Raubenheimer.
This year’s Medical 10 fun run/walk will take
place on Sunday, 6th December at the Western Province Cricket Club Sports Complex off
Keurboom Road, Newlands. It is a 10km run
around Rondebosch Common and Keurboom
Park and this year there will, for the first
time, be a designated category for walkers. It
is one of the few handicap events staged in
the Cape, with half a minute extra allowed for
each year of age over 40. Entry forms will be
available in October from Life Healthcare
hospitals in the Western Cape - Kingsbury,
Claremont,Vincent Palotti, and West Coast or at www.lifehealthcare.co.za. Enquiries to
Mathilda Mallinson 021 402 1502 or
[email protected]
Both of the new deputy deans will continue to
work in their respective areas, and will
contribute to the Dean’s Team on a part-time
basis. Prof Hussey will continue in his role of
Director of the Institute of Infectious Disease
and Molecular Medicine (IIDMM). Prof Kidson
will continue her work in the Department of
Human Biology.
20
TheCATHARTIC
Zimbabwe and Gaza in the spotlight
In commemoration of Human
Rights Day, which also marks the
40th anniversary of the Sharpville
Massacre (21 March 1969), the
Faculty of Health Sciences hosted
two local consultants to Physicians
for Human Rights, one of them a
member of the Faculty.
Prof David Sanders, the
Director of the School of Family
Health and Public Medicine at the
University of the Western Cape
and Prof Sebastian van As, the
Head of the Trauma Unit at the
School of Child and Adolescent
Health in the Faculty reported
back on their experiences in
Zimbabwe and Gaza recently, as
members of Physicians for Human
Rights task teams sent to the
respective countries to assess the
current situation.
Prof Sanders spoke first, and
spoke eloquently of the suffering of
the people of Zimbabwe following
the complete breakdown of the
health system in Zimbabwe.
One of the most telling signs of
the appalling conditions in
Zimbabwe was the treatment of
the team sent in to undertake the
assessment. They were described in
Zimbabwean media as : “Four
bogus physicians … on a spying
mission … exposed! They
breached their mission and held
Prof David Sanders, (left) of the University of the
Western Cape and Prof Sebastian van As (below),
meetings with … opposition
political leaders … on issues
pertaining to security in
Zimbabwe.”
Their report was released in
December 2008, and offered
damning evidence of gross human
rights abuses.
Problems highlighted included
the complete breakdown of the
public health system—from a
critical shortage of manpower,
drugs, and consumables, to a lack
of water and electricity, resulting
in a limited number of
Zimbabweans with access to
private healthcare as a result of
having to pay for treatment in US
dollars, because professionals in
private practice would not accept
payment in Zimbabwean dollars.
Prof Sebastian van As was
asked to join a team of five experts
early in 2009 to investigate the
medical human rights situation for
Palestinians in Gaza following the
most recent armed conflict in that
region. Among their tasks was to
assess the general medical
situation, investigate attacks on
medical institutions and
ambulances, denial of medical care
of the injured, and the use of illegal
weapons, particularly against
civilians. What they found was
horrifying. Patients were not being
allowed out of Gaza for medical
treatment and without this
treatment, several patients died.
Ambulance drivers were regularly
under fire and weapons such as
phosphorus and flechette bombs
had been utilized during the
conflict, resulting in horrific
injuries. Many of the weapons used
were designated “anti-personnel”,
which resulted in many soft tissue
injuries and amputations, and
many of the people affected were
civilians. The team reported similar
problems with nutrition and access
to basic facilities such as electricity
and clean water. Prof van As
explained that many injuries,
specifically those of children, were
“indirect victims”, such as the little
girl who was badly burned when
she ran to find her mother during a
helicopter attacks and knocked
over a paraffin stove in the dark.
The Gaza report was released
on Monday, 6 April 2009.
Table Mountain ablaze
The photo on the left was taken from one of the level 6 windows of Falmouth
Building on 18 March, as helicopters battled the blaze on the slopes of Devil’s
Peak. The fire broke out on Tuesday, 17 March, above Rhodes Memorial and
took almost two days to bring under control. Two homeless people died as a
result of the blaze. Approximately 500 hectares of park land were burned in the
fire. The photo below (taken by Melanie Jackson) shows a rescue helicopter
making its way to the top of
Devil’s Peak with its load of
water. The helicopters refilled
their “buckets” from the
reservoir on the Upper
Campus of UCT. According to
news reports, there were no
other injuries, although the
wildebeest in the park were
very alarmed by the
helicopters, if not the fire!
Members of the Faculty took
food to the Roeland St Fire
Station in appreciation of
their sterling efforts.
21
TheCATHARTIC
SNIPPETS
Prof Kit Vaughan.
A+ for Prof Kit
Vaughan
Congratulations are in order as Prof Kit
Vaughan has been re-awarded an A-rating by
the National Research Foundation.
Prof Vaughan received a letter from the
Foundation on 27 January, confirming that he
has been placed in the A category at level A2,
and that the rating is valid until the end of
2014.
The A category is defined by the
Foundation as: “Researchers who are
unequivocally recognized by their peers as
leading international scholars in their field for
the high quality and impact of their recent
research outputs.”
Students raise R12 000
Final-year MBChB students at UCT have
raised R12 000 for a charity that looks after
HIV-positive and other children in need.
A cheque was handed to Thembacare
on 2 December. The charity has two main
establishments in the Western Cape, one in
Bridgetown, Athlone, and the other in
Grabouw. The donation will be used to buy
cots for the paediatric unit they are
currently renovating.
Senior alum concert
The Development and Alumni Department
hosted a music concert and tea for senior
alumni at the Baxter Theatre on 29 April.
Vice-Chancellor Dr Max Price announced that this was the first of many
events aimed at UCT's senior alumni.
Eric Bateman earns an A rating
Professor Eric Bateman's "significant"
contribution to asthma management has earned
him an A2-rating from the National Research
Foundation.
Professor of Respiratory Medicine at UCT
and chairperson of the Global Initiative for
Asthma (GINA), Bateman has played a leading
role in changing the objectives of asthma
treatment, which were not clearly defined, and
definitions that were not patient-friendly. This
was while he was chairing GINA's Science
Committee and serving as an executive
committee member of the Global Alliance
Against Chronic Respiratory Diseases, a World
Health Organisation Alliance.
He has published ground-breaking papers
encouraging the concept of asthma control and
has demonstrated that this could be achieved in
most patients. This resulted in major revisions
of both national and global guidelines.
Bateman, the founder of the UCT Lung
Institute and head of the Division of
Pulmonology in the Department of Medicine,
was delighted about this first rating.
"Achieving a scientific rating is difficult for
a practising clinician," he explained.
"I have spent most of my working career
Prof Eric Bateman.
running a large clinical service with all the
clinical and teaching responsibilities, including
a considerable component of after-hours work."
Bateman said the rating also recognises the
efforts of his department and colleagues, and
believes that South Africa remains a country of
opportunity for innovative research.
Prof Maartens is first president of
College of Clinical Pharmacologists
Professor Gary Maartens
(MBChB 1980) of the
Division of Clinical
Pharmacology has been
elected president of the
newly formed College of
Clinical
Pharmacologists.
Also on the council
is his colleague,
Associate Professor Marc
Blockman.
Maartens said UCT
had been instrumental in
getting clinical
pharmacology accepted
Prof Gary Maartens of the Division of Clinical Pharmacology in the Department
as a speciality by both the of Medicine is president of the new College of Clinical Pharmacologists.
Colleges of Medicine of
"Clinical pharmacology is recognised as a
South Africa (CMSA) and the Health
discipline requiring expansion in the national
Professions Council of South Africa.
modernisation of tertiary services processes.
The process took three years, as they
"At UCT we've been training clinical
sought consensus from the pharmacology
pharmacologists for over 10 years. Getting the
departments at South Africa's medical schools.
discipline accepted as a speciality makes it
"Our goal is to promote the discipline
easier for academic hospitals and provinces to
nationally," said Maartens, "but the immediate
create specialist posts."
goal is to set up the exams in order to register
The CMSA is the national body that sets up
specialists in the field."
and runs exams for trainees specialising in
He believes the development is a crucial
medicine.
step in the development of the discipline.
22
TheCATHARTIC
More PhDs for the Faculty of Health Sciences ...
The Faculty of Health Sciences rounded off a good year with another impressive crop of PhD’s at the December graduation ceremony.
Landon Myer—a master bridging the
gap between master and student
It's not often a lecturer finds himself in the
same class as some of his students. As a fellow
student, that is.
Associate Professor Landon Myer, an
epidemiologist in the School of Public Health &
Family Medicine, was among scores of MBChB
students who graduated last week.
At 34 he's about 10 years older than the
class average. But age and experience have
given him an interesting vantage point, he says,
the students' enthusiasm reminding him how
easy it is to become "closed-minded" and jaded
as a researcher and academic.
"It was fun and I developed some close
friendships," he said.
While coping with the demands of medical
studies, Myer worked as a part-time teacher
and researcher in the school.
His research there focuses on the roles of
infectious diseases (including HIV/AIDS, TB
and sexually transmitted infections) in shaping
individual and population health in southern
Africa.
"I'm particularly interested in how the HIV
epidemic influences other areas of population
health, including women's reproductive health
and mental health."
In investigating these topics, Myer's
Landon Myer.
research incorporates biological mechanisms,
individual behaviours and exposures, as well as
structural socioeconomic and health service
conditions.
With his work grounded in the 'macro'
23
elements of public health, the MBChB shifted
his focus back to the health of the individual.
It's an important balance, he says.
Myer also teaches in the Master's in Public
Health programme on epidemiological
methods, infectious diseases epidemiology and
social epidemiology. Within the programme he
convenes courses on advanced epidemiology
and clinical research.
He's enjoyed a somewhat convoluted
academic path. A South African-American (he
was raised in the States), his first interest was in
botany (his office in the Falmouth Building is
shared with numerous potted plants). In the
mid 1990s he completed an MA in social
anthropology at UCT and then became
interested in the social aspects of HIV.
He went to work at the Medical Research
Council in KwaZulu-Natal and from there he
left for the States, where he completed his PhD
in epidemiology at Columbia.
With a brand new medical qualification to
add to his credentials, Myer pays tribute to the
faculty and school's flexibility in making
possible his dual academic life, particularly
stalwarts like Rodney Ehrlich, Leslie London
and Jonny Myers, for their support.
"It couldn't happen anywhere else."
TheCATHARTIC
Reunions 2008
Above—Class of 1968: Lydia
Pienaar, Anne Peters, Angela
Peters, Leslie Berkowitz, Leo
Leader, Stephen Comay, John
McCutcheon (partly
obscured) Muriel Comay and
Margaret Hardman.
Left—the Class of 1958: (Left
to right) Dudley Davidson,
Tony Lekas, Ivan Kirk,
Shirley Fisher, Nic Hofmeyr,
Graham Fisher, Carol Kirk,
John Terblanche and Angela
du Preez.
24
TheCATHARTIC
Left: Members of the
Class of 1983 enjoy a
light lunch in the MAC
Club.
Below—Class of 1993:
Dave Pienaar, Martin
Forlee, Riaz Ismail,
Riyana Ismail,
Khairunisa Barday,
Zunaid Barday, Carol
Goedhals and Beth
Walsh.
25
TheCATHARTIC
Where are they now?
The Cathartic keeps in touch with all Faculty of Health Sciences Alumni through this publication,
the website and UCT News. This is an excellent way of finding out where old friends and colleagues
are and what they might be doing. Please complete the form at the end of this section so that we
can also keep track of your career and assist you to keep in touch with your alma mater.
1990’s
Border, William (MBChB
1993) is a Paediatric
Cardiologist from Atlanta,
USA. He was elected to
the Paediatric Council
Board of the American
Society of
Echocardiography and is
married with three
children. William enjoys
golf, running half
marathons and playing the
guitar.
Chapman, Nick (MBChB
1993) is a partner in a
General Practice at the
North Curry Health Centre,
from Somerset, England.
He is married to Sue with
three children and enjoys
tennis, kayaking and
photography as his
hobbies.
Davoren, Mark (MBChB
1991) is a Paediatrician
from Scarborough,
Queensland, Australia. He
is currently in a long-term
relationship and enjoys
reading, theatre, movies
and travel.
Duke, Gavin is a partner
in a diagnostic radiology
private practice from
Larchmont, USA. He is
also Chief Resident
(Radiology) at Cornell
University Medical Centre
in New York. Married to
Deborah, they have two
children.
Ismail, Riaz (MBChB
1993) is the Medical
Superintendent at 2
Military Hospital, in
Potts, Jenny (MBChB
1993) is in a private,
predominantly
Rheumatology, practice at
Greenacres Hospital in
Port Elizabeth. She is
married and has two
daughters.
Wynberg, Cape Town. He
is married with two sons
and enjoys photography,
having won many
photographic awards.
Louw, Jonathan (MBChB
1993) is the CEO of
Adcock Ingram Healthcare
Limited in Johannesburg.
He is also Vice President
of the Pharmaceutical
Industry Association of
South Africa. Amongst his
memorable moments
Jonathan includes leaving
South African in 1994 and
changing careers and
returning to South Africa in
1999.
Ramonate, None
(MBChB 1994) is a
gastroenterologist at the
Universitas Private
Hospital in Bloemfontein.
He is married with two
children and enjoys sport
and gardening.
Swart, Neil (MBChB
1993) is a general surgeon
from Cape Town. He is
married to Nicky with two
children and counts
amongst his memorable
moments, his first sports
car and Harley Davidson.
Machet, Paul (MBChB
1993) works at the
Women’s and Children’s
Hospital in Adelaide,
Australia where he is a full
-time general
paediatrician. He is
married to Minette (née
Orwin), whom he met
when he was a student,
and has a young son. Paul
loves watching rugby and
pottering around the
house and garden.
Taitz, Jonathan (MBChB
1993) is a specialist
paediatrician from Sidney,
Australia. Married to
Laura, he has two
children and his hobbies
include, cricket, rugby and
running. Jonathan has
completed twenty
marathons including the
Great Wall of China
Marathon.
Opie, Jessica (MBChB
1993) works in the field of
Pathology at Groote
Schuur Hospital and does
diagnostic work such as
bone marrow aspirates
and all haematology
laboratory tests. Married to
Hugh Hacking, they have
a son, Liam. Jessica is a
founding member of
KidsAID, a charity in
Sydney, Australia, to raise
funds for an AIDS
orphanage in Gugulethu.
Voges, Jurgen (BSc Phys
1993) is a rehabilitation
physiotherapist currently
developing a rehabilitation
centre in Rustenberg. He
is married to Reinhild with
three children – Jochen,
Anne and Sven. Jurgen
counts the fall of the Berlin
Wall in November 1989
and Nelson Mandela’s
26
release in 1990 as a few
of his memorable
moments. Hobbies include
horse riding, photography
and woodwork.
1980’s
Bester, Robert (MBChB
1984) is in family and
travel medicine where he
does pre and post travel
assessments including
vaccinations. From
Invercargill, New Zealand,
Robert is married to Dr
Jane Chalmers who works
in General Practice as well
as hospice and terminal
care. They have two
children.
Blakemore, Stephen
(MBChB 1983) is an
anaesthesiologist at the
Port Shepstone Regional
Hospital. Married to Janet,
with 3 children, Stephen
lives on the KwaZulu Natal
South Cost in St Michaelson-Sea.
Burns, Andrew (MBChB
1989) is a general and
infectious diseases
Physician in a provincial
New Zealand Hospital and
lives in Hastings with his
wife Robyn, three children,
two horses, two large dogs
and 4 700 apple trees!
Hobbies include fly-fishing,
surfing and horse riding.
Candy, Sally (MBChB
1983) works in the
Department of Radiology
at Groote Schuur Hospital.
She has two daughters
and her hobbies include
the Argentine Tango.
TheCATHARTIC
Darby, Dominique (née
Negus—MBChB 1983)
stopped practicing
medicine to care for her
husband when he was
diagnosed with a terminal
illness. In 2008, following
the death of her husband,
she took over his
engineering business in
Coventry, UK. She has
two children. She lost
touch with the Alumni
Office during this difficult
time and was not able to
attend her reunion.
Classmates who would
like to get in touch with
Dominique can contact the
Faculty Alumni Office.
Eglin, Linda (MBChB
1983) is in a solo primary
care practice in Los Gatos,
California. She is
unmarried and enjoys
marathon running,
backpacking, kayaking,
cycling and everything
outdoors.
Giger, Russell (MBChB
1986) is a general
practitioner from
Plattekloof, Cape town.
Married to Cindy (née
Sutton), with three boys,
he enjoys golf and cricket.
Goldin, Jonathan
(MBChB 1983) is ViceChairman in the
Department of Radiology
at the David Geffen
School of Medicine at the
University of California,
Los Angeles. He has three
‘Goldin’ girls in his life; his
wife, Amy and daughters
Sara and Hannah.
Jonathan enjoys watching
rugby.
Green, Geoff (MBChB
1983) who specialises in
stroke medicine and
geriatrics lives in
Remuera, Auckland, New
Zealand with his wife
Cathy Pikholz, (MBChB
1984). He is Clinical Head,
AT&R Unit at the
Middlemore Hospital and
has two children, Emma
and Naomi. He enjoys
swimming, diving, sailing
and guitar.
Van der Westhuizen,
Jeanne-Marie (MBCgB
1988) works in the
Emergency Department of
the public hospital in Sale,
Victoria, Australia. She
lives in Toowoomba and is
married to Mark Painter
(MBChB UCT 1979) with
three daughters.
Hedden, David (MBChB
1984) from Winnipeg,
Canada is assistant
professor in Orthopaedic
Surgery at the University
of Manitoba. Married to
Patricia, with three
children, he enjoys ice
hockey, running and
windsurfing.
Whitelock Jones, Linda
(MBChB 1986) works as a
General Surgeon in the
Burns Unit of the Dora
Nginza Hospital in Port
Elizabeth. She is married
to Guy Reid (MBChB
1992) and has two
children aged 11 and 7.
Linda won a landmark
case in defence of
patients’ rights in the Cape
High Court in March 2008
(Dr Jones vs Dept of
Health, Western Cape).
Hobbies include bird
watching, gardening and
tennis.
Jamieson, Claire
(MBChB 1983) has retired
from medical practice and
is now fruit farming in
Simondium, Western
Cape. She is married to
Rob Starke, a civil
engineer, and has two
daughters. She enjoys
horses, gardening, poultry
and travelling.
Page, Anthony (MBChB
1983) is a sports physician
from Christchurch, New
Zealand. He was team
doctor of the Crusaders
Super 14 rugby team in
2006 and enjoys ultra
marathon running, cycling
and snowboarding. Tony
won the Class Medal of
the Australasian College
of Sports Physicians in
2006 and is married with
two children.
1970’s
Feigenbaum, Annette
(MBChB 1978) is
Associate Professor in
Paediatrics and
Biochemical Genetics at
the Sickkids Hospital in
Toronto, Canada. She is
married to Norman Kort
(BSc Eng (Elec) UCT
1973) and enjoys travel
and reading.
Painter, Mark (MBChB
1979) is a Paediatrician at
the Toowoomba General
Hospital in Australia.
Married to Jeanne-Marie
van der Westhuizen
(MBChB UCT 1988), they
have three daughters.
They spent eight years in
Canada, returned to South
Africa for 9 years, before
moving on to Australia in
2007. Mark received a
Service Award from the
Beacon Bay branch of
Rotary in 2006.
Quested, Digby (MBChB
1983) is a consultant
Psychiatrist and Honorary
Senior Clinical lecturer at
Oxford University in the
United Kingdom. He is
married to Louise, (a
general practitioner), with
three daughters. Digby
plays the bass guitar in a
Beatles Tribute band and
enjoys singing and
composition. Other
hobbies include football
and tennis.
27
Sarembock, Ian (MBChB
1975, MD 1988) spent 19
years at the University of
Virginia as a Cardiologist
and Scientist and is now in
private cardiology practice
as Associate Director of
the Heart and Vascular
Centre, The Christ
Hospital in Cincinnati,
USA. He is married to
Ghita Cohen and has two
children, Craig and Kerri.
Ian enjoys reading,
workout and watching
sport.
1960’s
Gersh, Bernard (MBChB
1965) is a Cardologist and
Professor of Medicine as
well Vice-Chairman,
Academic Affairs, at the
Mayo Clinic College of
Medicine in Rochester,
Minnesota, USA. He is
married to Ann with 5
children and enjoys skiing,
wildlife, hiking, fly-fishing,
reading and travel. He has
been an Honorary
Professor of Medicine at
UCT since 2007.
Jeffery, Peter (MBChB
1968) is a retired Vascular
Surgeon from Cape Town.
Jeffrey was previously
Head of Vascular Surgery
at Groote Schuur Hospital.
He is a past President of
the Association of
Surgeons of South Africa.
Married to Marjorie, they
have a son and daughter
and one grandchild.
Hobbies include golf and
fly fishing.
Kean, Mike (MBChB
1963) is a semi-retired
obstetric anaesthetist from
London where he lives
with his wife, Carol. He
was Medical Director ,
Obstetric Anaesthesia at
the Portland Hospital from
1988-2004.They have four
daughters and five
grandchildren. He enjoys
TheCATHARTIC
music, gardening,
watching rugby and is a
member of the London
Wasps Rugby Football
Club.
Larsen, Jonathan
(MBChB 1962) is a partly
retired medical practitioner
from Howick in Kwa-Zulu
Natal where he lives with
his wife of 44 years,
Jacqueline. He is Fellow of
the Royal College of
Obstetricians and
Gynaecologists, has three
children and is blessed to
have seven grandchildren
living nearby!
Comay, Stephen
(MBChB 1968) is a
paediatrician from
Toronto, Canada. Married
to Muriel (née Goldblatt)
who is a retired Special
Education Teacher, he
has five grandchildren and
is the drummer in a 21
piece jazz band.
Hardman, Margaret
(MBChB 1968) works in
the field of HIV / TB /
Palliative care from White
River in Mpumalanga. She
has given presentations
on HIV/AIDS at several
national and international
conferences and was
instrumental in setting up
an AIDS rural clinic which
has been recognised as a
best practice. Married to
Harry Munnings, they
have four children and six
grandchildren.
Lalkhen, Abdul Kader
(MBChB 1968) is a
General Practitioner in
solo practice from
Lansdowne in the Cape.
He is married to Gelima, a
retired radiographer, with
three children.
Lazarus, Colin (MBChB
1968) is in private
paediatric practice and
also works at the East
London Hospital complex.
Married to Sheila (née
Rea) they have two
children. Their son, John,
is a urologist in Cape
Town and their daughter,
Jean, is a landscape
gardener in East London.
They have three
grandchildren. Colin is a
keen cyclist having done
road running for many
years.
engineer and they have
two sons and a daughter,
as well as five
grandchildren. Esther
enjoys gardening and
vegetable and fruit
growing as well as
travelling in Europe in their
mobile home. She is a
football season ticket
holder.
Leader, Leo (MBChB
1968) is a Senior Lecturer
in Obstetrics and
Gynaecology at the
University of New South
Wales and works at the
Royal Hospital for Women
in Sydney, Australia.
Married to Shirley with two
step- daughters, Leo has
three children from a
previous marriage. He
obtained an MD from the
University of New South
Wales and enjoys running,
cooking, music and opera.
Archer, Graham (MBChB
1955) is a retired general
surgeon and anaesthetist
from Bengeo, Hertford,
England. He is married to
his second wife, Barbara
and they have six children
between them. Two of his
children studied at UCT –
Christine (BA Geography
1991) and Paul BSc Elec
Eng 1993). Graham writes
that he is still very fit and
enjoys cycling.
1950’s
Krikler, Dennis (MBChB
1951, MD) is a
Cardiologist, and was
Editor of the British Heart
Journal from 1982-1991.
Dennis has won many
awards among which is
the Paul Dudley White
Medal for International
achievement in Cardiology
from the American Heart
Association in 1984). He is
married to Anne
Winterstein, a former
nurse at Groote Schuur
and has two children, both
educated in the UK. He is
a collector of art, mainly
Bloomsbury and 19-20th
South African artists.
Pienaar, Lydia (MBChB
1968) is a general
practitioner in a group
practice from Strand in the
Cape. She is widowed
and has two children and
two grandchildren.
Hobbies include hiking,
skiing and needlework.
Ramages, Leslie
(MBChB 1968) is an Ear,
Nose and Throat specialist
from Wynberg in the
Cape. He is a councillor of
the College of
Otolaryngology, senator of
the Colleges of Medicine
of South Africa and
Treasurer of the ENT
Society.
Mai, François (MBChB
1956) is a psychiatrist from
Ottawa, Canada. He is a
retired full professor from
the University of Ottawa
and author of the book
“Diagnosing Genius: The
Life and Death of
Beethoven”. Married to
Sarie, (née Roelofse), they
have four sons and nine
Watson-Jones, Esther
(MBChB 1968) is semiretired, having managed
the Anaesthetics
Department of the North
Tyneside Hospital in
England. Her husband,
Donald, is a structural
28
grandchildren. François
has started a new side to
his career – going on
stage with American
pianist, Justin Kolb, where
he recounts anecdotes
about Beethoven and
Justin will perform relevant
extracts of Beethoven’s
music.
Schapera, Herbert
(MBChB 1958) is a retired
family physician from
Cincinnati, USA. Amongst
Herb’s memorable
moments, he has worked
in all four dimensions of
medicine – that of practice,
teaching, research and
organisation. Hobbies
include travel, bridge,
cooking and snow skiing
and he is writing a book on
dieting.
Schochat, Gina (MBChB
1958) works in a family
practice in Toronto,
Canada. She has been
married to Vivian Rakoff
(Emeritus Professor of
Psychiatry) since 1959
and has three children and
four grandchildren.
Hobbies include silversmithing, cooking and
reading.
Segal, Alan (MBChB
1958) is a consultant
anaesthetist from Tel Aviv,
Israel having formerly
worked at Stockton-toTees University Hospital in
the United Kingdom.
Married to Janice, he is a
private pilot and enjoys
swimming, gymnastics,
travel and music.
Vosloo, Lodewyk
(Vossie) (MBChB 1958) is
a retired general
practitioner from George,
having previously worked
in Salisbury (Harare) from
1960-1963. Married to
Annaleen, he has four
children and eight
grandchildren.
TheCATHARTIC
Keeping in touch
Use this section to tell us more about yourself and what you’ve been doing since you left UCT for
inclusion in future publications. PLEASE USE BLOCK LETTERS.
Title, initials, first name: ______________________________________________________________________________________
Surname: __________________________________________________________________________________________________
Maiden Name: ______________________________________________________________________________________________
Address: ___________________________________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________ Post code: _________________________________________________
Telephone: Home ____________________________________ Fax: _________________________________________________
Telephone: Work ____________________________________ Fax: _________________________________________________
Email: __________________________________________________
When were you at UCT? (e.g. 1968-1973) ________________________________________________________________________
Degree(s) obtained: __________________________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Degree(s) obtained at other institutions (Please specify): ____________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Occupation: ________________________________________________________________________________________________
Special achievements/honours: ________________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Are you married? If so, to whom? _______________________________________________________________________________
Is he/she a UCT Alumnus? ____________________________________________________________________________________
If yes, what degree? ___________________________________ Year: __________________________________________________
Do you have children? If so, how many? ________________________________________________________________________
Did they study at UCT? If so, name/s and degree/s ________________________________________________________________
Year degree/s was/were obtained: _______________________________________________________________________________
Hobbies/special interests: _____________________________________________________________________________________
Any other news: ____________________________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Please return the completed questionnaire to Joan Tuff:
The Cathartic, UCT Faculty of Health Sciences, Alumni Office, Private Bag X3, Observatory, 7935 South Africa
Fax: +27 (0)21 447 8955
Email: [email protected]
This form is also available on the website at www. health.uct.ac.za/alumni and click on “Cathartic”
29