Dr Hazel Bradley

Senior Lecturer, School of Public Health, University of the Western Cape

Dr Hazel Bradley, is a senior researcher with more than 20 years’ experience in academia. She led the establishment of Pharmaceutical Public Health as an area of specialisation at the School which comprises short courses, online modules and a research portfolio. Hazel’s research interests include pharmaceutical human resources, using systems approaches to improve medicines quality, use and supply, and pharmaceutical public health education. She has a number of international collaborations including with the Institute of Tropical Medicine (ITM), Antwerp; the East African Regional Centre of Excellence in Health Supply Chain Management, and other partnerships in Sub-Saharan Africa which link academia and practice. She recently led the EDCTP project (EU-funded) on Strengthening Pharmacovigilance and Regulatory Capacities in four Southern African countries (SPaRCS).

Prof Renier Coetzee

Associate Professor, School of Public Health, University of the Western Cape

Renier Coetzee is an Associate Professor at the University of the Western Cape’s School of Public Health (SOPH), where his primary research focus is on antimicrobial stewardship, particularly in improving antibiotic utilization in low- and middle-income countries.  Renier’s dedication to public health extends beyond academia, as he actively participates in various committees at both national and provincial levels. His roles include serving on the Provincial Pharmacy and Therapeutics Committee, the Provincial Medicines Use Evaluation Committee, and the Antimicrobial Stewardship Committee, all within the Western Cape. Additionally, Renier has served two terms as an expert reviewer on the National Department of Health Standard Treatment Guidelines Committee for Hospital Levels, evaluating and shaping healthcare policies.

Prof Michelle Viljoen

Associate Professor, School of Pharmacy, University of the Western Cape 

Prof Michelle Viljoen is a registered pharmacist with a PhD in Pharmacology.  She has more than eight years of expertise and experience in the field of medicine regulatory affairs in southern Africa as well as experience of regulatory dossiers within the European Community. She currently teaches Pharmacovigilance to 4th year pharmacy students and to postgraduate students in the Master of Science in Pharmacy Administration and Policy Regulation program; and has publications in the field of adverse drug reporting.

Prof Star Khoza

Associate Professor, School of Pharmacy, University of the Western Cape

Star Khoza is an associate professor of pharmacology with more than ten years of experience in the regulation of medicines. His research interests are in diabetes, respiratory disorders, and pharmacovigilance. In pharmacovigilance, his previous research has focussed on the assessment of adverse drug reaction (ADR) reporting systems, attitudes of healthcare practitioners on the reporting of ADRs, and drug safety studies.

Prof Raffaella Ravinetto

Pharmaceutical Public Health Unit, Institute of Tropical Medicine Antwerp, Belgium 

Prof Raffaella Ravinetto is an Italian-Belgian pharmacist with thirty years’ experience in commercial and non-commercial clinical research, humanitarian programmes, pharmaceutical policies, and research ethics review. She is currently the Head of the Public Health Department of the ITM, as well as a professor in pharmaceutical public health. She is also the chairperson of the ITM Institutional Review Board; the chairperson of the MSF Ethics Review Board; an extraordinary professor at the School of Public Health, University of Western Cape, South Africa; and a senior editor of the BMC Medical Ethics.

Her main areas of interest include pharmaceutical policies and equitable access to quality-assured health products, with a particular focus on the context of low- and middle-income countries; and research ethics, particularly in relation to resource-constrained settings and vulnerable populations. She was the president of MSF Italy from 2007 to 2011.

Dr Carine Dochez

Senior Scientist, Pharmaceutical Public Health Unit, Institute of Tropical Medicine Antwerp, Belgium

Carine Dochez (MSc, PhD Biology) has a strong background in vaccinology and over 25 years of experience in international collaboration. For 18 years, she closely collaborated with National Immunisation Programmes, National Immunisation Technical Advisory Groups (NITAGs) and other national/international partners, particularly in the African and Eastern Mediterranean Regions, on capacity building projects, education and research on vaccines and immunisation. She also worked for 1.5 years at the Belgian Regulatory Authority, focusing on vaccine clinical trials and vaccine safety. She lectured in several international vaccinology courses, and conducted research on vaccine confidence.

Carnita Ernest

Project Manager, School of Public Health, University of the Western Cape

Carnita Ernest is a development practitioner with more than 20 years of experience working in the civil society and higher education sectors. She brings experience of working in governance and development projects in South Africa and the African region, including in policy development. She assists in the grant management.

An Ielegems

Research Support Unit, Institute of Tropical Medicine Antwerp, Belgium

An Ielegems works as a research manager for the Department of Public Health of ITM, and is in charge of the financial coordination of the CoE project. She has over 15 years of experience in financial management of grants for different kinds of funders.

Tamlin Petersen

Project Administrative Coordinator, School of Public Health, University of the Western Cape

Ms Petersen assists with project administration in particular, communication, events and logistics.