Eduard Roos, BSc (Zoology), PhD Candidate

I am an avid and curious lover of the natural world, since an early age, and completed my undergraduate studies in Zoology at the University of Pretoria. Here I had the opportunity to be part of the mentorship program in my final year, under the guidance of Prof Armanda Bastos, working on African swine fever under BSL-3 conditions. Next I moved to the University of the Free State (UFS) where I completed a BSc. Hons. Zoology at the Qwaqwa campus studying the phylogenetic relationships of haemoparasites in the local lizard population. My supervisors at UFS were Dr Johann van As and Prof Oriel Thekisoe.

I started my MSc. Molecular Biology at Stellenbosch University under the supervision of Prof Michele Miller and Dr Sven Parsons in 2015 and in 2016 upgraded the project to a PhD. The main focus of the project will be to search and identify different molecular diagnostic methods that are able to detect Mycobacterium bovis (Bovine TB) in Phacochoerus africanus (Common Warthog) as well as looking at the phylogenetic relationship of the bacteria.

Friederike Pohlin, MRCVS, MSc, PhD Candidate

Servus,

I am Fidu, a vet from South Tyrol Italy. I have been an animal nut ever since I was little and thus, completed a veterinary degree at the University of Veterinary Medicine Vienna. Following this, I gained some wildlife veterinary experience during a 6 month Professional Veterinary Internship at the Belize Wildlife and Referral Clinic providing care for injured, neglected, and orphaned wildlife.

My profound interest in the ecophysiology of wild mammals, preferably those fermenting with their hindgut, led me back to Vienna where I completed an MSc-degree in Wildlife Ecology and Wildlife Management at the University of Natural Resources and Life Sciences. In my research, I assessed seasonal “stress” in free ranging Przewalski’s horses (Equus ferus przewalskii) by measuring heart rate variability. At the same time, I gained valuable clinical veterinary experience by working in mixed/equine- and small animal practice.

Now, I am specializing in veterinary anaesthesia and analgesia and am enrolled in the PhD programme at the Faculty of Veterinary Sciences of the University of Pretoria, South Africa. My project investigates the management of stress and stress-associated pathophysiological effects during the translocation of  African rhinoceros.

As the former EWDA Student Chapter Country Representative Austria, I am very motivated to continue promoting the objectives of the WDA among fellow students in Southern Africa. As the human influence on natural systems is growing, the susceptibility for disease in wildlife is increasing- threatening species. Interdisciplinary networking and collaboration are crucial for animal research and conservation and should be promoted amongst students.

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I am excited to create the SA WDA Student Chapter (UP) with such a wonderful team. The enthusiasm and teamspirit of Southern African students interested in wildlife diseases is already overwhelming! I am looking forward to creating a platform that facilitates interdisciplinary and international networking, education and exchange of knowledge amongst SA WDA SC members.

Jessica Briner, BSc, MSc, Oxon, BVM&S, MRCVS, PhD Candidate

My name is Jess. Although I am Swiss, I was born in Hong Kong and grew up moving through various countries in South East Asia. I have always had a passion for animals, in particular wildlife and pursued my higher education in the UK where I studied biology at the University of Oxford before completing my Bachelors in Veterinary Medicine and Surgery at the University of Edinburgh. I moved to South Africa the day after graduation and worked as an exotic animal veterinarian at a small and exotic animal hospital in Johannesburg. I started my PhD part time at the University of the Witwatersrand this year. My research is in climate change conservation and will look at the physiological flexibility of free-living African wild dog (Lycaon pictus) and spotted hyena (Crocuta crocuta) in response to environmental fluctuations. In addition to this, I am the veterinarian for Montecasino Bird Gardens and research veterinarian for the Brain Function Research Group.  As a veterinarian with a strong backing in science, I know how important interdisciplinary collaboration is and how critical cooperation in wildlife conservation and disease management fields can be. I am honored and excited to see what the SA WDA SC (UP) is capable of. 

Thembeka Mtewa, BSc, BHSc(Hons), MSc Candidate

I am a Master’s of Science student in the University of Pretoria. For my research, I am looking at different ways to assess and monitor hypoxeamia in Wildlife.

My interest in the environment and health in humans and animals started when I was 18, just when I had to choose a career path. I have always been fascinated by different diseases and ways to cure these diseases. So, in short I think I am health fanatic. I started my tertiary education at the University of Witwatersrand, doing a BSc in Physiology and Environmental Science. Thereafter, I decided to study Honours in Physiology because of my main interest in pathophysiology. In 2016, I became an NRF intern and I was based at the University of Pretoria (Faculty of Veterinary Science). I was lucky to work with Professor Leith Meyer, who is and forever be a mentor and now my supervisor. I was also very lucky to gain field experience at the Kruger National Park, focusing on Rhino immobilisation. The whole NRF internship made me realise my interest and love for Wildlife. All in all, my goal is to improve the health and wellbeing of wildlife through my knowledge in physiology. Thank you!!!

I look forward in working with the WDA and improving lives of many wild animals in Africa and the world.

Lara Nicholson BSc (Zoology), BVSc current

​I am Lara Nicholson. My passion for wildlife and conservation was instilled in me from a young age by my father who is currently a photographic safari guide, with experience in translocation and maintenance of captive wild cats. Through my childhood I spent many hours in ‘the bush’ alongside my father, learning about the African wildlife and ecology. I channelled this interest into my career; have a BSc Zoology from the University of Pretoria, where I had a mentorship under Prof. A. Bastos’ Molecular Epidemiology and Zoology research group. I have worked in Zambia, and since then returned home to Zimbabwe to begin a BVSc at the University of Zimbabwe; in addition I currently work as a specimen collector for the NHRA and the Mashonaland Turf Club as well as being an SPCA volunteer and a Mukuvusi Woodlands Reserve member.

Anna Haw, BVSc, MSc, PhD, MBA Candidate

I am a South African wildlife veterinarian with a strong interest in conservation and sustainability. I was first introduced to the WDA, through the European Wildlife Disease Association’s Student Chapter, while I was pursing my undergraduate degree at Edinburgh University. This exposure to the student chapter ignited my interest in “One Health” and wildlife research. I have since gained an MSc in veterinary tropical diseases and a PhD in wildlife physiology and pharmacology, with specific focus on opioid-induced respiratory depression. Currently, I am undertaking an MBA at Stanford’s Graduate School of Business to marry my veterinary research knowledge, and passion for conservation, with quantitative, business management and leadership skills. I am particularly fascinated with the human-wildlife interface and believe we can find economically sustainable solutions to benefit humans, wildlife, and the environment. The Southern Africa (UP) student chapter offers the perfect platform in which to engage and inspire students from different backgrounds and work towards solving these complex issues.  

Prof. Michele A. Miller, DVM, MS, PhD, MPH

Has a PhD in veterinary Immunology and has worked as a clinical wildlife veterinarian at a number of zoos and as a conservation medicine researcher. She holds the NRF SARChI Chair in Animal Tuberculosis and her current research focus is the immunology, epidemiology, management and control of tuberculosis in animals and those aspects that impact the human-animal interface.

Momanyi Kelvin Nyariaro, BVM, MSc One Health (2017)

Momanyi Kelvin Nyariaro graduated from the Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, University of Nairobi in August 2014 with a Bachelor of Veterinary Medicine and has since been registered by the Kenya Veterinary Board as a Veterinary Surgeon. During his undergraduate studies he founded the One Health Club aimed to promote collaborative and holistic approaches to problem solving among students and the community. In September 2014 he was awarded a One Health Pfiezer scholarship to pursue a Master of Science in One Health at the University of Edinburgh.

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Momanyi joined the Zoonotic and Emerging Infectious Diseases research group (ZED group) in July 2014 as a graduate intern and served the role of providing technical research support in the dairy value chain component of the Urban Zoo project that sort to understand disease emergence in urban and peri-urban areas of Nairobi. He thereafter took a short break, January-March 2015, from the group to offer research support, as an assistant team lead, in the Kenya brucellosis incidence study jointly undertaken by the One Health office in Kenya and the Centres for Disease Control. He rejoined the ZED group as an external technical consultant where he is serving the role of designing and managing the group’s online portfolio and providing ad hoc technical field research support. 

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Momanyi was recently appointed as a member of the Kenya Veterinary Association, Publicity and IT Innovations sub-committee for a 2-year term period (2016-2018). He was also elected as the student representative for the Wildlife Disease Association, Africa Middle East Section for period 2016/17.

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His current research dissertation, through the University of Edinburgh, seeks to evaluate the implementation of One Health in Kenya using the NEOH One Health framework using the Zoonotic Disease Unit, the One Health office in Kenya, as a case study. Previously, his undergraduate project, “One Health and cancer: a ten-year comparative human and canine cancers in Nairobi” was awarded the best oral presentation during the 2nd OHCEA international One Health Conference held in Kampala, Uganda held from 16th to 19th November 2015.

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Momanyi has a keen interest in research seeking to understand the outcomes of the interaction between animals and humans in the same environment with a particular goal of making positive impact in his working environment and at the community level.  

Karmistha Poovan, BSc, MSc, PhD Candidate

I have always had an interest in the biological sciences and discovered a passion for the medical sciences whilst studying towards a BSc (Human Life Sciences) at Stellenbosch University. I then embarked on a BSc Honours degree at the Division of Medical Virology, Stellenbosch University (Tygerberg Campus) under the supervision of Dr Richard Glashoff. This research used four-colour flow cytometry to assess the effects of untreated HIV infection on monocyte populations. For my MSc, I continued and expanded on this research by using multi-colour flow cytometry to investigate how the functioning and cellular properties of monocyte populations are altered during untreated HIV infection. I am currently pursuing a PhD under the supervision of Prof Wolfgang Preiser in the field emerging infectious diseases. My research entails investigating South African bat populations for the presence of potentially zoonotic pathogens, namely influenza A- and hantaviruses. Additionally I am also studying bat ectoparasites for the presence of insect-specific viruses, which have been implicated in the evolution of human arbo-bunyaviruses.