About
I am a Senior Lecturer in Epidemiology and Biostatistics and co-coordinator of the MSc in Clinical Epidemiology, at the Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences, Stellenbosch University.
Training and research experience
I have a clinical background in emergency care and medicine, with specific training and research experience in research methods, evidence synthesis, biostatistics, and guideline development. I have significant experience in teaching and learning at postgraduate level, including programmatic oversight, and convening specific postgraduate modules in evidence-based health care, guidelines, and epidemiology.
Additionally, through workshops and online teaching I have supported training the next generation of evidence synthesis researchers in the African region. This includes the design, planning and execution of face-to-face and exclusive online workshops using a variety of approaches and methods including gamification to simulation. I regularly teach at postgraduate level in epidemiology and evidence-based decision making.
I am a founding member of the South African GRADE Network, active international GRADE and Guidelines International Network (G-I-N) member and Cochrane author.
Key focus and contributions
A key focus of my career is to contribute to and build guideline development literacy in low-to-middle income countries. To date, I have been involved in various guideline development initiatives with varying roles, from an expert panelist in advanced first aid guidelines, to guideline methodologist for national emergency care guidelines to GRADE and guideline methodologist for the World Health Organisation.
Linked to COVID-19, I am an active member of COVID-END, an umbrella organisation involving 50 evidence synthesis or evidence support organisations that are working together to promote collaboration and reduce duplication of effort in the conduct and translation of COVID-19-related evidence syntheses. I am involved with conducting rapid COVID-19 reviews that have informed South African national guidelines and treatment decisions.
Consulting
In academia, I play a central role in consulting as a biostatistician to undergraduate and postgraduate students, supervising masters and doctoral students in research and conducting high-impact systematic reviews, methods research and primary epidemiological research.
I have a broad understanding of meta-analysis and network meta-analysis, having contributed to the first network meta-analysis systematic review in Africa by African authors.