Ñî¹óåú´«Ã½

Medical doctor, Epidemiologist, and Researcher

I am a medical doctor, epidemiologist, and researcher at the University of the Witwatersrand, School of Clinical Medicine, Department of Family Medicine, and Primary Care.

Prior to joining WITS, I worked as a research scientist with the National Institute for Medical Research in Tanzania and a research fellow with the Department of Global Health and Population at Harvard T.H.Chan School of Public Health, Harvard University.

I hold a Doctor of Medicine (MD) degree (equivalent to MBBCh) from the University of Dar es Salaam, Tanzania, and an MSc in Epidemiology from Harvard University, USA, and a Ph.D. in Epidemiology from the University of London (London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine), UK.

I engage in 1) Research supervision and mentorship of undergraduate, Master, and Ph.D. candidates in Epidemiology, Family Medicine, and Public Health. 2) Health research - areas of interest HIV, Alcohol and Other Drug Use, Mental Health, Implementation Science and Epidemiology (Surveys, Case-Control Studies, Cohort studies, Systematic review and meta-analysis, Cluster Randomized Trials, Randomized Control Trials).

I serve in the editorial boards of three BMC series journals (BMC- Public Health & BMC – Global Health Research and Policy, BMC -Infectious Diseases), the PLOS One journal, a statistical editor for the Health Policy and Planning Journal, an editorial advisor at the BMJ Open journal and the Journal of Studies on Alcohol and Drugs.

In addition, I have been appointed to the Data Safety and Monitoring Board (DSMB) of two ongoing randomized trials in South Africa and Tanzania.

Contacts:

Email: joel.francis@wits.ac.za
Tel: +27 11 717 2159

Lecturer

Dr Kyrtania Pather is a lecturer in the Department of Family Medicine and Primary Care. She holds a PhD in Breast Cancer Cell Biology Research; a Bachelor of Health Sciences in Medical Cell Biology and a Bachelor of Health Sciences in Biomedical Sciences. She has experience in curriculum development, interdisciplinary teaching, supervision and research techniques and skills. 

Dr Pather coordinates Health Systems Sciences 3, teaching final year HSS students about the Health Care System in South Africa and the interdisciplinary teams and processes involved. Her research interests lie within the field of breast cancer, particularly with regard to treatment approaches and their possible outcomes.

Contacts:

Email: kyrtania.pather@wits.ac.za
Tel: +27 11 717 2051

Lecturer

Dr Aviva Ruch currently holds the position of IPC (Integrated Primary Care) Co-ordinator in the Department of Family Medicine. She comes from a background of 20+ years of general practice in which she successfully provided integrated, holistic and competent care to her patients and their families. As a new participant to the academic fraternity, she is committed to contributing and   assisting in the development of all students in the Faculty.

Contact:

Email: aviva.ruch@wits.ac.za

Lecturer and Academic Postgraduate Coordinator

Deidré is a lecturer and the Academic Postgraduate Coordinator in the Division of Family Medicine. She teaches social science in medicine, communication and medical counselling in both undergraduate and postgraduate programs. She also has an interest in sexology and clinical consultations. Her initiative and leadership has contributed to the development of an online training program for Registrars in Family Medicine that supported and improved the academic success and throughput rate in the MMed program. Her passion is to improve health care by training doctors who practice holistic medicine.

Her research interests are health communication, social determinants of health, health beliefs, help seeking behaviour, health literacy, sexology, child abuse and intimate partner violence.

Email: dedre.pretorius@wits.ac.za 
Te: +27 82 555 3597

Honorary Lecturer

Dr Jurgens Staats is a Family Physician based in the JB Marks Subdistrict of North West Province. 

As his main interest is in allergies, he holds a Diploma in Allergology and founded a paediatric allergy clinic at Potchefstroom Hospital.  He is also involved in training as an instructor in various emergency medicine courses accredited by the Southern African Resuscitation Counsel.

Contact:

Email: drstaats@gmail.com

Lecturer and Programme Coordinator

Abigail Dreyer is a full-time lecturer in the Department of Family Medicine, Division of Rural Health. She has more than 25 years’ experience of working in rural communities in the Western Cape, Free State, Gauteng, North West and Mpumalanga as well as Lesotho and Swaziland. She holds a Bachelor of Arts, Advanced Diploma in Adult Education and a Masters in Public Health. She served as the Chairperson of the Faculty Committee for Community-Based Health Science Education (CoBHSE). She is joint faculty for the Sub-Saharan African FAIMER Regional Institute (SAFRI) which supports medical education. Her teaching is centred on faculty development, undergraduate and postgraduate programmes in the department. Her research interests include collaborative practice, interprofessional teaching and research that contributes to improving the quality of health care in rural and underserved areas.

ORCID profile

Contacts:

Email: abigail.dreyer@wits.ac.za 
Tel: +27 11 717 2438

Clinical Associate Lecturer and BCMP II Course Coordinator

Aviwe Mgobozi is a lecturer in the Division of Clinical Associates. She graduated with a Bachelor of Clinical Medical Practice (BCMP) degree at the University of Witwatersrand in 2011. She obtained a post graduate Diploma in Health Sciences Education from Ñî¹óåú´«Ã½ (2016), a Masters degree in Health Professions Education (2019) and is currently pursuing a PhD in Health Professions Education.

She coordinates the second year of the clinical associate programme, supporting curriculum development, teaching students, building educational assessments and providing student support and academic guidance. She is also a member of the International Academy of Physician Associate Educators and a member of the Faculty Interprofessional Education Committee.

She is passionate about health professions education, professional development, interprofessional learning, and reflective educational practices. Her research interests lie in strengthening professional identities, building resilience and building collaborative practices.

Contacts:

Email: aviwe.mgobozi@wits.ac.za
Tel: +27 76 760 5494