Page 7 - Science in Africa

Professor Kelly Chibale Professor Catherine Ngila

Finding Using

causative nano-tech

agents of for water

disease treatment

elly Chibale is a full professor of Organic Chemistry at the rof Catherine Jane Ngila received her BEd(Sci) and MSc in
University of Cape Town (UCT) in South Africa. Chemistry from Kenyatta University, Kenya in 1986 and 1992,
K He is also a full member of the UCT Institute of Infectious Prespectively.
Disease and Molecular Medicine (IDM), a tier 1 South African research She obtained her PhD from the University of New South Wales,
chair in drug discovery, founding director of the South African Medical Sydney, Australia.
Research Council Drug Discovery and Development Research Unit at UCT Her teaching and research career started in 1989 when she was
and the founder and director of the UCT Drug Discovery and employed as a tutorial fellow at Kenyatta University, where she was
Development Centre (H3D). promoted to lecturer in 1996.
His current work is investigating the medicinal chemistry programme She also worked at the University of Botswana as a
against the causative agents of malaria, tuberculosis and helminth lecturer/senior lecturer (1998 to 2006), and at the University of
infections on one hand, and cardiovascular disease on the other. KwaZulu-Natal, Durban, South Africa, as a senior lecturer (2006 to
The objective of the programme is to: 2011) before joining the University of Johannesburg as a full
. develop target-directed inhibitors; professor of analytical/environmental chemistry in April 2011.
. progress hits from target- and phenotypic whole cell-based high- She has taught various courses at various levels, from first year
throughput screening campaigns to deliver leads suitable for optimisation general chemistry to master’s classes in analytical, environmental
and ultimately candidate selection; and industrial chemistry. Currently, she is training students in
. generate diversity in complex natural products through semi-synthesis chemical engineering in modelling mass balance in wastewater
and use of biotransformation; treatment plants.
. employ biotransformation in the generation and characterisation of Professor Ngila is the immediate former head of the applied
pharmacologically active and potentially toxic reactive metabolites of chemistry department at the University of Johannesburg (April 2011
drugs and drug leads; and to June 2016).
. repurpose/reposition and rescue clinical compounds. In 2015, she was acting director of the water node of the
Professor Chibale’s earlier work has included asymmetric synthesis Nanotechnology Innovation Centre of Excellence, a project funded
utilising sulphur and organolanthanide chemistry as well as the total by the department of science and technology through the mining
synthesis of natural and designed biologically relevant molecules. industry research institute, Mintek.
He obtained his PhD in Synthetic Organic Chemistry from the University She also oversees the activities of the Nanotechnology and Water
of Cambridge in the UK (1992). This was followed by postdoctoral stints at Institute, one of the University of Johannesburg’s flagships. In 2014,
the University of Liverpool in the UK (1992 to 1994) and at the Scripps Professor Ngila was nominated to attend leadership training and
Research Institute in the US (1994 to 1996). He was a Sandler Sabbatical was awarded a certificate of leadership by the Gordon Institute of
Fellow at the University of California San Francisco (2002), a US Fulbright Business Studies at the University of Pretoria.
Senior Research Scholar at the University of Pennsylvania School of She is a member of the task team of the ad hoc senate committee
Medicine (2008) and a visiting professor at Pfizer in the UK (2008). for promoting staff and student access.
SCIENCE IN AFRICA 7