FACULTY OF HEALTH SCIENCES, UNIVERSITY OF NEWSLETTER October 2006

Drugs for the Heart, has gone into multiple editions, and is an People international benchmark in the subject. Ad hominem promotions 2006 Kit Vaughan To Senior lecturer Professor C Vaughan head of Biomedical Helen Buchanan Elizabeth van der Merwe has been elected a Fellow Member To Associate Professor of the International Federation for Medical and Biological Engineering in recognition of Marc Blockman Clarissa Pieper “outstanding contributions to the scientific field “AO” Okreglicki Jenny Thomas with respect to research, teaching and Andy Nicol Anthony Westwood leadership”. He will be officially introduced at the Lee Wallis Theresa Lorenzo world congress of that society in Seoul. To Professor Martin Schwellnus Jacques Roussouw The U.S. government established a large multiyear study of older women's health, the Women's Health Lionel Opie Initiative (WHI). They found that oestrogen Lionel Opie has been awarded the , South supplements, when combined with progestin as Africa’s highest honour. It was instituted on 6th December 2002 and is part of hormone-replacement therapy, actually granted by the President of , for achievements in the increased women's risk of heart disease, stroke, international area which have served South Africa's interests. The order dementia and breast cancer. More revelations from originally had three classes, and the WHI have rocked the biological world of women was enlarged to four in 2004: in just the past few months: calcium supplements - Platinum (OMP), for exceptional don't necessarily save their bones, and a low-fat and unique achievements, diet—long touted as the acme of nutritional virtue— - Gold (OMG), for exceptional doesn't seem to do much good at all. achievements, Jacques Rossouw, 63, the South African-born, UCT - Silver (OMS), for excellent trained physician heads the WHI. A modest fellow, he achievements, considers himself "gender impaired," but maybe it took - Bronze (OMB), for outstanding a man to make it happen—"a real insider," as Cindy achievements. Pearson, director of the National Women's Health The order is named after Mapungubwe an ancient African nation which Network, puts it. "He's passionate and committed, existed a thousand years ago in what is now the northern part of the articulate. It may have been 'women's work,' but he Limpopo province. was the man . He has been named one of Time Lionel H. Opie, MD, DPhil, DSc, FRCP is an Emeritus Professor of magazines 100 personalities of the year. Medicine at the and the first Director of the new Cape Heart Centre. He was also visiting Professor (1984-1998), Lindsay Weight 1962—2006 Division of Cardiovascular Medicine, Stanford University Medical BSc Natal, BSc(hons) Unisa, BSc(Med), Centre, Stanford University, California. After graduating from the MSC, PhD University of Cape Town, he studied at Oxford as a Rhodes Scholar Senior Lecturer, Department of Human and was a Research Fellow at Harvard from 1959-1961. He became a Biology Fellow of the University of Cape Town in 1976. From 1976-1978, he was President of the International Society for Heart Research. In 1997 he was Visiting Research Fellow, Merton College, Oxford and the Department of Physiology, , . He has numerous publications, chapters and books. His book, The Heart, Physiology, from Cell to Circulation, is most popular. His other book, Long service awards Recipients of the order of Mapungubwe: On 12th Sepember Professors Njabulo Ndebele and Martin West 2002 hosted a lunch in Smuts Hall IN honour of long serving members of - Platinum (national reconciliation and nation-building) the UCT staff. Members from the Health Science Faculty were: Allan Cormack - Gold (scientist credited for co-inventing the cat-scan) 35 YEARS: FW de Klerk - Gold (national reconciliation and nation-building) John Markus, Human Biology; Ronald Smart, Human Genetics - Gold (physicist and founding president of the Council 25 YEARS for Scientific and Industrial research) Trevor Finch, Medicine; Arawaan Duncan, Anatomical pathology - Bronze (research into the inherited disorders of the skeleton) Sandra Lottering, immunology; Sia Samuels, Medical Biochemistry - Bronze (medical science) Clive Keeting, Animal Unit 2004 15 YEARS - Gold (medical science) Di Marais, virology; Colleen Gibbon, Pharmacology - Bronze (engineering science) Batmanathan Dayanand Reddy - Bronze (mathematics and science) 2005 Physiotherapy Congress in Dar es Salaam John Coetzee - Gold (literature) The Physiotherapy Division of the School of Health and Rehabilitation - Gold (medical science) Sciences were well represented at the recent 6th World Confederation - Silver of Physical Therapy Africa Meeting held in Dar es Salaam. Three of - Bronze (research into the development of cancer the six pre-Congress workshops were presented by UCT. Dele treatments) Himladevi SoodyallPage - Bronze 1 Amosun, Jennifer Jelsma, Soraya Maart, Siviwe Mkoka and Romy George Ellis—Silver Parker presented workshops on tobacco use, the use of the research. The South African Council for Deans Corner Scientific and Industrial Research September was designated “heritage month” – a recognized his rare qualities and in 1950 period during which we, as South Africans, were established a virus research unit under his encouraged to celebrate the diversity of our beliefs leadership, the first such unit in South and traditions, and to reflect on those practices Africa. He became widely recognized as an handed down from the past by tradition. In our Fac- authority and in 1954 was elected a Fellow ulty, the month marked the confluence of some im- of the Royal Society. In 1954, while on a portant traditional practices. Sims Travelling Fellowship in Melbourne in The oldest of these is the annual delivery the laboratories of Sir Frank McFarlane of the van den Ende lecture. Yet another tradition is Burnet, he was diagnosed with what was to our annual commemorative event to mark the brutal be a fatal illness. He returned to Cape murder of Steven Biko, in September 1977. Con- Town, where he faced his remaining days vened as a reminder of the fundamental and crucial with remarkable courage, working fervently need for us to respect human rights and uphold ethi- to the end. He was appointed Dean of the Faculty of Medicine cal conduct in all aspects of the practice of our pro- [again the first South African to hold this position], and fession, this year’s lecture was delivered by Jody national advisor on many committees. He died at the age of Kollapen, Chair of the SA Human Rights Commis- 45 in 1957. He had married Joan Herold Barry in 1939, and sion. As a young lawyer, he participated in the in- they had four children: Jan, Pieter, Joan and Marina. His quest into Biko’s death, and later, in the legal chal- friends, admirers and colleagues made it possible for a lenge led by Frances Ames and others in charging Memorial Lecture to be held at intervals in the memory of a the Medical Association for their collusion with the remarkable man, who among his many achievements heinous malpractice of Tucker and Lang, a pair of established the first Division of Virology in this country. doctors who were meant to have been caring for Biko. Research Day: Biomedical Sciences Although seemingly unconnected, the two Incorporating the Departments of Human Biology and Clinical and lectures epitomize a set of values which we hold Laboratory Sciences this School has many postgraduate students, dear, which are strong elements of our heritage, and including some who are who conducting which bear reflection as we witness a significant their research dissertations in the IIDMM. change in our Faculty’s practice with the November Their research spanned a wide spectrum of graduation of the last medical students educated basic and applied activities, from the level through the “old” curriculum. While different in design of the gene, via the cell and organ to the and the organization of content, the foundations of whole body. There were 28 oral and 30 the “old” and “new” curricula cannot be posited as a poster presentations. First Prizes (we don't dichotomy, but rather as a continuum, since both are have space for all the prizes) were underpinned by those elements of our tradition of awarded to: Janine Scholefield & Bruce which we are so proud: a Faculty which is founded Spottiswoode [Oral Ph.D, shared], Ann on the values of human rights, ethics, social justice Kerrigan [Oral , M.Sc, being handed her and equity; and in which practice is guided by evi- certificate by the Dean in the picture], George van der Watt [Oral dence generated by excellent, relevant and appropri- MMed], and the best overall Prize for Oral Presentations was ately-resourced research. Marian Jacobs awarded to Ann Kerrigan. The 1st Prize for Poster presentations, [Ph.D]. was awarded to Dheshnie Govender

Quotes by Anton Chekhov International Classification of -When a lot of remedies are suggested for a disease, that means it Functioning and the management cannot be cured. ~ The Cherry Orchard of chronic pain. In addition Dele Amosun delivered a key-note -Doctors are just the same as lawyers; the only difference is that address and both Siviwe and lawyers merely rob you, whereas doctors rob you and kill you, Soraya took part in the scientific too. ~Ivanov programme by presenting papers. -Off campus electronic journal access The South African delegates with the [For UCT staff and students only] Tanzanian Minister of Health and the Congress Organising Committee. 1. Go to: http://ezproxy.uct.ac.za 2. If security certificates appear, click YES. Van den Ende Memorial Lecture 2006 3. You will have reached the login screen. Type your user name: jsoap_chm_staff_health_med_uct, and Professor Henk Schmidt of the Institute of Psychology, Erasmus password. University, Rotterdam delivered a lecture: The nature of clinical 4. click on libraries, and health science libraries. reasoning: recent developments.

Marinus van den Ende Marinus van den Ende was born in the then small village of Quiz [for book voucher] Potgietersrust in 1912. After school he came to the University September: “Disgraceful conduct” is of Cape Town, where he had to both learn the English a statement in the artwork [Biko / language, and study for the MbChB degree, which he Tucker] by Sue Williamson in the obtained in 1933, with distinctions in many subjects. After foyer of the Barnard Fuller building. working in the Department of Pathology he proceded to Janine du Preez , Genetics, gets England, where he obtained his PhD from Cambridge the book voucher (again). University. In 1945 he accepted the Chair of Bacteriology in October: What illness did the 44 the University of Cape Town. He was the first UCT graduate year old Chekov succumb to, AND to be accepted to a Chair, all others having been imported what was he doing at the time? from overseas. Here he rapidly built up a large and active Answer to: department of virology and bacteriology, with an emphasis on [email protected] laparoscopy

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