Curriculum Vitae - assaf.org.za · • Harry Crossley/Doris Crossley Foundation Grant (2010) – Value R 30 000 • NRF Incentive Funding for Rated Researchers (2009 – 2014) –

Curriculum Vitae Nicolaas Claudius Gey van Pittius

Personal Information Title Prof

Surname Gey van Pittius First names Nicolaas Claudius (Nico) Identity number 730316 5034 084 Date of birth 16 March 1973 Place of Birth Pretoria, South Africa Age 37 Marital status Married (to Méshelle Gey van Pittius) Sex Male Drivers license Code 08 Nationality South African Languages Afrikaans (Home Language) and English Contact Information Home address Mountain Silver 101, Welgevonden, STELLENBOSCH, 7600, South Africa

Work address DST/NRF Centre of Excellence in Biomedical TB Research US/MRC Centre for Molecular and Cellular Biology

Division of Molecular Biology and Human Genetics Department of Biomedical Sciences Faculty of Health Sciences, Stellenbosch University, P.O.Box 19063 / Francie van Zijl Drive, TYGERBERG, 7505, South Africa

Telephone Home : +27 21 889 5054 Cell : +27 82 435 4478

Work : +27 21 938 9130 / 482 Fax Work : +27 21 938 9476 or +27 21 913 7841 E-mail [email protected]

P a g e | 2


Index Professional Career and Positions held 3 Tertiary Educational Qualifications 3 Continued Professional Development, Courses and Other Qualifications 4 Major Research Topics 4 Honours, Awards, Grants, Scholarships and Bursaries received 5 Grant Applications Submitted 6 Grant Applications In Preparation 6 Unsuccessful Grant Applications submitted in last two years 6 Membership of Scientific and Cultural Societies and Committees 7 Membership of Institutional Committees 8 Editorial Posts 8 Registration with Professional Councils 8 Research Evaluation and Rating 8 Organizational activities 8 Research Outputs: Patents 9

Patents Granted 9 Provisional Patent Applications Filed 9 Provisional Patent Applications in Preparation 9

Research Outputs: Publications 9 Papers Published 9 Book Chapters Published 13 Published Abstracts 13 Manuscripts Submitted 13 Manuscripts in Preparation 14 Proposed Manuscripts 14

Research Outputs: International Conferences 15 Research Outputs: National Conferences 18 Research Outputs: Other Invited Oral Presentations (National and International) 23 Reviewer for Paper Manuscripts 24 Reviewer for Grant Proposals and Rating applications 24 Examiner for courses, theses and dissertations 24 Evaluator for Conference Presentations 25 Services Rendered 25 Outreach activities (to the wider public) - Media Coverage : Radio 25 Current Postgraduate Supervision 25 Supervision of Completed Postgraduate Degrees 26 Teaching Activities 27 Selected Collaborations - National 27 Selected Collaborations - International 28 Other collaborations 28 Computer Skills 28 Extracurricular Activities 29 Military Service 29 Secondary Education (1987 – 1991) 29

P a g e | 3


Professional Career and Positions held November 2008 – present Associate Professor in Molecular Biology and Human Genetics (Biomedical Sciences) in the DST/NRF Centre of Excellence in Biomedical Tuberculosis Research/ MRC Centre for Molecular and Cellular Biology (Department of Biomedical Sciences) at the Faculty of Health Sciences of the University of Stellenbosch, South Africa.

October 2004 – October 2008 Senior Researcher in the DST/NRF Centre of Excellence in Biomedical Tuberculosis Research/ MRC Centre for Molecular and Cellular Biology (Department of Biomedical Sciences) at the Faculty of Health Sciences of the University of Stellenbosch, South Africa. January 2002 – October 2004 MRC Postdoctoral Research Fellow in the US/MRC Centre for Molecular and Cellular Biology (Department of Medical Biochemistry) at the Faculty of Health Sciences of the University of Stellenbosch, South Africa. January 1998 - December 1998 Research Assistant for Glaxo-Wellcome Action TB under the supervision of Dr. Gordon D. Brown and Prof. Albert D. Beyers at the US/MRC Centre for Molecular and Cellular Biology (Department of Medical Biochemistry) at the Faculty of Health Sciences of the University of Stellenbosch, South Africa. The title of the project was “Identification of factors of Mycobacterium tuberculosis necessary for growth within the macrophage".

Tertiary Educational Qualifications January 2007 – present Currently registered for the Baccalaureus Legum (LLB) degree at the Faculty of Law of the University of South Africa (UNISA), South Africa with the aid of a US Faculty of Health Sciences Dean’s Personnel Study Bursary. Thirty-five subjects (out of 40) completed with 22 subjects passed cum laude and an average final examination mark for all subjects of 75%.

January 2005 – December 2006 Completed the Intellectual Property Law Specialization Program certificate course, Cum Laude, presented by the University of South Africa (UNISA) Centre for Business Law and the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) Worldwide Academy with the aid of a US Faculty of Health Sciences Dean’s Personnel Study Bursary. January 1999 – January 2002 Earned Philosophiae Doctor (PhD) degree in Medical Sciences (Medical Biochemistry) at the US/MRC Centre for Molecular and Cellular Biology (Department of Medical Biochemistry) at the Faculty of Health Sciences of the University of Stellenbosch, South Africa. The title of the dissertation was "The mycosins, a family of secreted subtilisin-like serine proteases associated with the immunologically-important ESAT-6 gene clusters of Mycobacterium tuberculosis" and the promotors were Prof. Albert D. Beyers, Dr. Robin M. Warren, and Prof Paul D. van Helden. January 1997 – December 1989 Earned Magister Scientiae (MSc) degree in Biochemistry, specializing in Molecular Biology, with an average of 70%, at the Department of Biochemistry and Microbiology, Potchefstroom University for CHE, South Africa. The title of the thesis was ”An Investigation into the Genetic Manipulation of Early Stage Honeybee Embrios”, and the promotor was Prof. Piet J. Pretorius, Head of the Department of Biochemistry and Microbiology, Potchefstroom University for CHE. January 1996 – December 1996 Earned Honours Baccalaureus Scientiae (BSc Hons) degree in Biochemistry, Cum Laude, at the Department of Biochemistry and Microbiology, Potchefstroom University for CHE, South Africa.

P a g e | 4


January 1993 – December 1995 Earned Baccalaureus Scientiae (BSc) degree, Cum Laude, majoring in Biochemistry and Microbiology, at Potchefstroom University for CHE, South Africa.

Continued Professional Development, Courses and Other Qualifications Intellectual Property Workshop for Lecturers, Researchers and Laboratory Assistants presented by Von Seidels Intellectual Property Attorneys in collaboration with the Stellenbosch University Innovation Office (InnovUS) (August 2007) MicroPatent Workshop presented by the Innovation Fund Commercialisation Office of the National Research Foundation in collaboration with the Medical Research Council of South Africa (MRC) (February 2005) PREDAC 2005 - Professional Educational Development Course for Academics presented by the Centre for Teaching and Learning of the University of Stellenbosch (January 2005) CAPRISA Course on Phylogenetics offered by the Unit for Bioinformatics Capacity Development at the South African National Bioinformatics Institute (SANBI) (November 2003) Level 1 First Aid Course (Cert no C/FA01/7789) offered by EduMed and registered with the Department of Labour (April 2003) Visual Basic 6.0 Beginners Course offered by the Information Technology Department of the University of Stellenbosch (August 2001) Four-part Course on the Nature of Academic Writing, presented by Prof. L.G. de Stadler and Dr. A. Lourens of the Centre for Language and Communication (SAGUS) of the University of Stellenbosch (15th September - 20th October 2000) Sequence Analysis for South African Scientists, offered by the South African National Bioinformatics Institute (SANBI) and its nodes in collaboration with the European Molecular Biology Network (EMBNet) (25th - 27th November 1999) Short course in Scientific Writing, presented by Ms J.M. Barnes previously of the Publications Unit of the Medical Research Council of South Africa (April 1999) Laboratory Animal Research Certificate Course offered by the PU for CHE Animal Research Centre in the handling of laboratory animals kept for research purposes, post mortem analysis, dissection procedures, and ethical questions surrounding the use of animals for research (1997).

Major Research Topics

• Comparative Mycobacterial Genomics and Mycobacterial Evolution • Mycobacterial Speciation and Non-Tuberculous Mycobacteria (NTM’s) • Tuberculosis Diagnostics • Secreted Mycobacterial Antigens and Mycobacterial Protein Secretion Systems • Proteases (especially Subtilisins) • The ESAT-6 gene clusters • The PE / PE_PGRS / PPE Multigene Families • Biomedical Computational Science and Bioinformatics • Relapse, Reinfection and Multiple Infection in High Incidence Tuberculosis Communities

P a g e | 5


Honours, Awards, Grants, Scholarships and Bursaries received • NRF National Bioinformatics and Functional Genomics Programme Grant entitled

“Genomic and proteomic determinants of Mycobacterium tuberculosis phenotypic characteristics” (2010 – 2012) – Value R 1 676 400 total

• Dean’s Personnel Study Bursary (2010) – Value R 13 278 • Harry Crossley/Doris Crossley Foundation Grant (2010) – Value R 30 000 • NRF Incentive Funding for Rated Researchers (2009 – 2014) – Value R 40 000 per year for

a total of R 240 000 • WOTRO Nederlandse Organisatie voor Wetenschappelijk Onderzoek (NWO) Integrated

Programme grant entitled “The impact of non-tuberculous mycobacteria and host genetics on immunological responsiveness (“resistance/susceptibility”) of Cattle and African buffaloes to Mycobacterium bovis infection in South Africa”, in collaboration with Dr Victor Rutten (Utrecht, The Netherlands) and others (2009) – Value € 700 000

• Innovation Fund - Patent Incentive Fund Award (2009) – Value R 60 000 • Collaborator on Advisory Committee for Laboratory Equipment (ALT) grant (2009) – Value

R 7 500 000 • University of Stellenbosch Scientific Conference Travel Award (2009) – Value R 10 000 • Faculty Award for Outstanding Research (2008) and associated funding – Value R 18 000 • Collaborator on Wellcome Trust grant entitled “Characterization of the mechanisms in

Mycobacterium tuberculosis regulating hyper-resistance to Rifampicin” in collaboration with Prof T. Victor, Prof R.M. Warren (University of Stellenbosch), Prof M. Murray (Harvard, USA) and Dr Judit M. Nagy (Imperial College, UK) (2009 - 2011) – Value £ 300 000

• Dean’s Personnel Study Bursary (2009) – Value R9 000 • Harry Crossley/Doris Crossley Foundation Grant (2009) – Value R 60 000 • Collaborator on Luso-American Foundation (FLA) Luso-American Collaborative Response

Awards on Tuberculosis grant entitled “Uncovering The Dissemination of the Major RDRio Sub-lineage of The Latin American-Mediterranean Mycobacterium tuberculosis Spoligotype Family in Luso-American Countries, Portugal and Africa.” in collaboration with Prof J.L. Ho (Weill Medical College of Cornell University, USA), Jose R. Lapa e Silva and Afranio Kritski (Brazil), Brehima Traore, Souleymane Diallo, Ousmane Koita (SERAFIN, Mali) and Janice Washington and Sophia Siddiqui (NIAID, NIH), Elizabete Nunes (Mozambique), Laura Brum, Isabel Portugal and Susana David (Portugal) and Helmi Mardassi (Tunisia)

• Harry Crossley/Doris Crossley Foundation Grant (2008) – Value R 25 000 • Harry Crossley/Doris Crossley Foundation Grant (2007) – Value R 35 000 • Collaborator on Research Council of Norway grant entitled “Characterization of the

Mycobacterium tuberculosis phosphorylome and its role in pathogenesis” in collaboration with Prof Harald C. Wiker (Department of Microbiology and Immunology, the Gade Institute, and the Proteomic Unit, Department of Biomedicin, University of Bergen, Norway) and Prof Robin M. Warren, Prof Paul D. van Helden, Prof Tommie C. Victor, Dr Christopher McEvoy (Department of Biomedical Sciences, Stellenbosch University) (2007 - 2010)

• Dean’s Personnel Study Bursary (2007 and 2008) – Value R 6 000 per year • Harry Crossley/Doris Crossley Foundation Grant (2006) – Value R 30 000 • Dean’s Personnel Study Bursary (2005 and 2006) – Value R 3 600 per year • Core team member of the Department of Science and Technology (DST) and National

Research Foundation (NRF) Centre of Excellence in Biomedical Tuberculosis Research (CBTBR) awarded to the Department of Biomedical Sciences, Faculty of Health Sciences, Stellenbosch University and the Molecular Mycobacteriology Research Unit, University of Witwatersrand (2005 - 2015)

• Harry Crossley/Doris Crossley Foundation Grant (2005) – Value R 25 000 • Medical Research Council Local Postdoctoral Scholarship (2004) • Harry Crossley/Doris Crossley Foundation Grant (2004) – Value R 20 000 • National Research Foundation (NRF) Postdoctoral Scholarship (2004) • Collaborator on WHO Special Programme for Research & Training in Tropical Diseases

(TDR) South-South collaboration in Pathogenesis and Applied Genomics Grant (2004) ID no: A20308 entitled “Comparative genomics and differential expression analysis of the PE-PGRS proteins of Mycobacterium tuberculosis” – Value $ 43 000 total

• University of Stellenbosch Postdoctoral Research Fellowship (2004)

P a g e | 6


• Collaborator on WHO Special Programme for Research & Training in Tropical Diseases (TDR) South-South collaboration in Pathogenesis and Applied Genomics Grant (2003) ID no: A20308 entitled “Comparative genomics and differential expression analysis of the PE-PGRS proteins of Mycobacterium tuberculosis” – Value $ 50 000 total

• Miami Nature Biotechnology Winter Symposium Travelling Fellowship (2003) – Value $ 1 450

• University of Stellenbosch Conference Travel Award (2003) – Value R 7 560 • Harry Crossley/Doris Crossley Foundation Grant (2003) • Medical Research Council Local Postdoctoral Scholarship (2003) • Collaborator on National Bioinformatics Network (NBN) Stellenbosch University Node

Proposal (2002/2003) • JN de Klerk Trophy for an Outstanding Poster at the 46th Academic Yearday of the Faculty

of Health Sciences of the University of Stellenbosch (2002) • International Society for Infectious Diseases Small Grant (2002) – Value $ 6 000 • Medical Research Council Local Postdoctoral Scholarship (2002) • Harry Crossley/Doris Crossley Foundation Grant (2002) – Value R 7 000 • Harry Crossley Postdoctoral Research Grant (2002) • University of Stellenbosch Postdoctoral Research Fellowship (2002) • SASM 12th Biennial Congress Travel Grant (2002) – Value R 500 • Medical Research Council Local Postgraduate Scholarship (2001) • Harry Crossley/Doris Crossley Foundation Grant (2001) – Value R 5 000 • Harry Crossley Postgraduate Bursary (2001) • Oracle/NIIT Bursary for Oracle Application Developer Training (2000) – Value R 18 800 • Harry Crossley Postgraduate Bursary (2000) • ASM Genomes 2000 Conference International Travel Grant (2000) – Value $ 500 • PU for CHE Postgraduate Bursary (1997) • PU for CHE Postgraduate Bursary (1996) • PSA Merit Study Bursary (1996)

Grant Applications Submitted

• NRF Competitive Programme For Rated Researchers grant entitled “Genotyping tool for M. tuberculosis” – around R 1 500 000 over 3 years

• Co-Principle Investigator on NIH International Research in Infectious Diseases including AIDS (IRIDA) Program (R01) entitled “Public Health and Molecular Epidemiology of Tuberculosis in Botswana” in collaboration with Dr K Alexander (Virginia Tech, USA), Dr J Masunge (Ministry of Health, Botswana), and Dr M. Vandewalle (CARACAL, Botswana).

Grant Applications In Preparation

• A Wellcome Trust Senior Fellowship in Public Health and Tropical Medicine application entitled “Investigating the evolution and biological characteristics of the members of the genus Mycobacterium, with specific focus on the strains of Mycobacterium tuberculosis, other members of the M. tuberculosis complex”.

Unsuccessful Grant Applications submitted in last two years

• Collaborator on NRF Strategic Platforms Programme 2009 Application for Collaborative Research with National Facilities grant entitled “A study to understand basic serology in the presence and absence of TB infection and to develop, evaluate and introduce ante mortem diagnostics for TB in Rhinoceros” in collaboration with Prof PD van Helden (Stellenbosch) and others – around R 1 000 000 over 3 years

• Co-project leader on BioPad Metabolomics platform grant application (subproject 1.5) entitled “Understanding mycobacterial pathogenicity through metabolomic investigations” in

P a g e | 7


collaboration with North-West University metabolomics platform (Prof C.J. Reinecke and Dr. Du Toit Loots).

• Collaborator on R21 grant application (AI0780p88-01) to the National Institutes of Health (NIH), entitled “Biological Behavior of a Latin American-Mediterranean Clone of M. tuberculosis” in collaboration with Prof J.L. Ho (Weill Medical College of Cornell University, USA) and others.

• Co-investigator on Gates Grand Challenges in Global Health grant application on Topic: “Create Low-Cost Diagnostics for Priority Global Health Conditions” in collaboration with Prof PD van Helden (University of Stellenbosch) and others.

• Collaborator on Gates Grand Challenges in Global Health grant application on Topic: “Explore the Basis For Latency in TB” entitled “Reactivation of latent infection by superinfection” in collaboration with Prof PD van Helden (University of Stellenbosch) and others (2008).

• Collaborator on Gates Grand Challenges in Global Health grant application on Topic: “Create Drugs and Delivery Systems to Limit Drug Resistance” entitled “Modulating drug susceptibility in Mycobacterium tuberculosis” in collaboration with Prof TC Victor (University of Stellenbosch) and others (2008).

• EU Seventh Framework Programme (FP7) grant application for programme “Research for SMEs” - Call ID “FP7-SME-2008-1” entitled “Complete Portable System for DNA Detection of Tuberculosis” in collaboration with Dr. Nuno Silva (STAB VIDA, Portugal) and others (April 2008)

Membership of Scientific and Cultural Societies and Committees

• Member of the International Union Against Tuberculosis and Lung Disease (IUATLD) • Member of the Cape Biotechnology Academic Forum (CBAF) • Elected member of the Suid-Afrikaanse Akademie vir Wetenskap en Kuns (SAAWK)

(South African Academy for Science and Art) • Member of the American Society for Microbiology (ASM) • Member of the TB-NET (Tuberculosis Network Trialsgroup) • Member of the NTM-NET (Nontuberculous Mycobacteria Network Trialsgroup) • Corresponding Member of the International Society for Infectious Diseases (ISID) • Member of the South African Society of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology

(SASBMB) • Member of the South African Society for Microbiology (SASM) • Member of the Infectious Diseases Society of Southern Africa (IDSSA) • Member of the African Society for Bioinformatics and Computational Biology

(ASBCB) • Member of the Experimental Biology Group (EBG) (Executive Committee Member -

2004) • Member of the Executive Committee (Tygerberg representative) of the Postdoctoral

Representative Body of the University of Stellenbosch (PDS)(2002 – 2004) • Member of the Allergy Society of South Africa (ALLSA) • Member of the Genealogical Society of South Africa (GSSA) (President of the Western

Cape Branch – 2005 to 2009, Executive Committee Member - 2004) • Individual Member of the Federasie van Afrikaanse Kultuurvereniginge (FAK –

Federation of Afrikaans Cultural Societies) • Member of the Afrikaanse Taal en Kultuur Vereniging (ATKV – Afrikaans Language and

Culture Association)(until 2004) • Member of the Historiese Genootskap van Moedergemeente Stellenbosch (Historical

Society of the Moedergemeente Stellenbosch, previously known as the Genootskap vir die Kerkversameling van die Moedergemeente Stellenbosch - Fellowship of the Church Collection of the Moedergemeente Stellenbosch)

• Member of the Suid Afrikaanse Vereniging vir Kultuurgeskiedenis (SAVK – South African Society for Cultural History)

• Member of the Van Riebeeck Society (VRS) • Member of the Stellenbosch Erfenisstigting (Stellenbosch Heritage Society)

P a g e | 8


• Member of the Stellenbosse Heemkring (Executive Committee member and Treasurer - 2004 to present)

• Member of the DAG Gespreksgroep (until 2008) • Member of the Historical Society of South Africa • Member of the Southern African Society of Legal Historians

Membership of Institutional Committees

• Member of the Committee for Postgraduate Research (CPR) of the Faculty of Health Sciences, University of Stellenbosch (July 2008 - present)

• Member of the Health Research Ethics Committee 2 (HREC2) of the Faculty of Health Sciences, University of Stellenbosch (February 2009 - present)

• Member of the Faculty Board of the Faculty of Health Sciences, University of Stellenbosch (May 2009 - present)

Editorial Posts

• Member of the Editorial Board of the scientific journal Journal of Infection in Developing Countries (JIDC)(January 2007 - present)

• Editor of Palma, the official publication of the Historiese Genootskap van Moedergemeente Stellenbosch (January 2004 – December 2008)

• Editor of the quarterly journal Capensis, the official publication of the Western Cape Branch of the Genealogical Society of South Africa (GSSA) (January 2004 - June 2005)

• Editor of the newsletter of the Experimental Biology Group (EBG) (January 2004 - Desember 2004)

Registration with Professional Councils

Registered as a Medical Biological Scientist with the Health Professionals Council of South Africa (HPCSA), registration number MW 0007927

Research Evaluation and Rating

Rated as a Y1 category researcher (2008) by the National Research Foundation of South Africa (NRF). Young researchers (≥35 years), who have held the doctorate for less than five years at the time of application, and who are recognised as having the potential to establish themselves as researchers within a five-year period after evaluation, based on their performance and productivity as researchers during their doctoral studies and/or early post-doctoral careers. A researcher in this group is recognised by all reviewers as having the potential (demonstrated by research products) to establish him/herself as a researcher with some of them indicating that he/she has the potential to become a future leader in his/her field.

Organizational activities

• Member of the organizing committee of the Annual Academic Yearday of the Faculty of Health Sciences of the University of Stellenbosch (2004)

• Team Leader of the Afrikaans Translation Team of the Genealogical Program “Legacy” (2004 to 2009)

P a g e | 9


Research Outputs: Patents

Patents Granted (1) A South African patent with the title “Single step method for the diagnosis and speciation of M. tuberculosis, M. africanum, M. bovis and M. bovis BCG” has been filed on the 24th of January 2006 as number 2006/00683, under the name of Robin Mark Warren, Nicolaas Claudius Gey van Pittius and Paul David van Helden. (2) A South African patent (2007/06520 - PA137469/P2) with the title “Bacterial secretion system and uses therefor” has been filed on the 05th of June 2007, under the name of Nicolaas Claudius Gey van Pittius, Robin Mark Warren and Paul David van Helden. Provisional Patent Applications Filed (1) A South African Provisional Patent Application (2007/06915) with the title “A mixing device” was filed on the 17 August 2007, under the name of Robin Mark Warren, Kim Gilberte Pauline Hoek, Nicolaas Claudius Gey van Pittius, Paul David van Helden and Thomas Calldo Victor (2) A South African Provisional Patent Application (2007/06912) with the title “Method for the detection of DNA sequence polymorphisms” was filed on the 17 August 2007, under the name of Robin Mark Warren, Kim Gilberte Pauline Hoek, Nicolaas Claudius Gey van Pittius, Paul David van Helden and Thomas Calldo Victor (3) A United States Provisional Patent Application with the title “DNA Array Specific for the PE and PPE gene families within Mycobacterium spp.” was filed on the 07th August 2007 under the name of Alberto Mazza, Roland Brousseau, Helmi Merdassi and Nicolaas Claudius Gey van Pittius Provisional Patent Applications in Preparation (1) A South African Provisional Patent with the title “Method for the detection and identification of non-tuberculous mycobacteria (NTM)” is in preparation and will be filed under the name of Nicolaas Claudius Gey van Pittius, Robin Mark Warren, Kim Gilberte Pauline Hoek and Paul David van Helden (2) A South African Provisional Patent with the title “Genotyping and drug resistance diagnostic tool for members of the Mycobacterium tuberculosis complex” is in preparation and will be filed under the name of Nicolaas Claudius Gey van Pittius, Robin Mark Warren, Thomas Calldo Victor and Paul David van Helden (3) A South African Provisional Patent with the title “TB diagnostic assay” is in preparation and will be filed under the name of Ruben van der Merwe, Nicolaas Claudius Gey van Pittius and Robin Mark Warren

Research Outputs: Publications

Papers Published (1) Brown G.D., Dave J.A., Gey van Pittius N.C., Stevens L., Ehlers M.R.W., and Beyers A.D., The mycosins of M. tuberculosis H37Rv: A family of Subtilisin-Like Serine Proteases, Gene, 2000, Aug 22, 254 (1-2): 147-155 (11 citations by 15 January 2008) (2) Gey van Pittius N.C., Gamieldien J., Hide W., Brown G.D., Siezen R.J., and Beyers A.D., The ESAT-6 gene cluster of Mycobacterium tuberculosis and other high G+C gram-positive bacteria, Genome Biology, 2001, 2 (10): research0044.1-0044.18. (Accessed 14 399 times by

P a g e | 10


08 May 2009 - holds the BMC ‘Highly accessed’ designation - The 'Highly accessed' designation identify those articles that have been especially highly accessed, relative to their age and the journal in which they were published) (3) Gey van Pittius, N.C., Warren, R.M., van Helden, P.D., ESAT-6 and CFP-10: What is the diagnosis?, Infection and Immunity, 2002, Nov, 70 (11): 6509-10. (8 citations by 25 January 2007) (4) Dave J.A., Gey van Pittius N.C., Beyers A.D., Ehlers M.R.W., and Brown G.D., Mycosin-1, a subtilisin-like serine protease of Mycobacterium tuberculosis, is cell wall-associated and expressed during infection of macrophages, BMC Microbiology, 2002, Oct 7, 2 (1): 30. (Accessed 5 088 times by 15 January 2008) (5) Warren R.M., Victor T.C., Streicher E.M., Richardson M., Beyers N., Gey van Pittius N.C., Van Helden P.D., Patients with Active Tuberculosis Often have Different Strains in the Same Sputum Specimen, Am J Respir Crit Care Med. 2004 Mar 1;169(5):610-4 (46 citations by 15 January 2008) (6) Gey van Pittius N.C., Sampson, S.L., Warren R.M., and Van Helden P.D., Genome Variation in Mycobacterium tuberculosis, SAJS, Sep/Oct 2004, 100: 465-470 (7) Mardassi, H., Namouchi, N., Haltiti, R., Zarrouk, M., Mhenni, B., Karboul., A., Khabouchi, N., Gey van Pittius, N.C., Streicher, E.M., Rauzier, J., Gicquel, B., Dellagi, K., Tuberculosis due to Resistant Haarlem Strain, Tunisia, Emerging Infectious Disease, Vol. 11, No. 6, June 2005, p.957-961 (9 citations by 15 January 2008) (8) Van Rie, A., Victor, T.C., Richardson, M., Johnson, R., van der Spuy, G., Murray, M., Beyers, N., Gey van Pittius, N.C., van Helden, P.D., Warren, R.M., Reinfection and mixed infection cause changing Mycobacterium tuberculosis drug-resistance patterns, Am J Respir Crit Care Med. 2005 Sep 1;172(5):636-42 (11 citations by 15 January 2008) (9) Sequencing consortium (including Gey van Pittius N.C., Warren R.M., Victor T.C., van Helden P.D.). 2005. A first for tuberculosis research in South Africa: Whole-genome sequence of the South African Mycobacterium tuberculosis strain F11 released. South African Journal of Science, 101:393-395. (10) Warren R., de Kock M., Engelke E., Myburgh R., Gey van Pittius N.C., Victor T., van Helden P., Safe Mycobacterium tuberculosis DNA extraction method that does not compromise integrity, J Clin Microbiol. 2006 Jan;44(1):254-6. (11) Warren R.M., Gey van Pittius, N.C., Barnard M., Hesseling, A., Engelke E., de Kock M., Gutierrez M.C., Chege G.K., Hoal E.G., van Helden P.D., Differentiation of Mycobacterium tuberculosis complex members by multiplex-PCR amplification of genomic regions of difference, I J Tub Lung Dis, 2006, Jul, 10 (7): 818-822 (1 citation by 15 January 2008) (12) Gey van Pittius, N.C., Sampson, S.L., Lee, H., Kim, Y., Warren, R.M., and Van Helden, P.D., Evolution and expansion of the Mycobacterium tuberculosis PE and PPE multigene families and their association with the duplication of the ESAT-6 (esx) gene cluster regions, BMC Evolutionary Biology, 2006, Nov 15, 6:95 (Accessed 2 365 times by 15 January 2008) (13) Karboul A.*, Gey van Pittius N.C.*, Namouchi A., Vincent V., Sola C., Rastogi N., Suffys P., Fabre M., Cataldi A., Huard R.C., Kurepina N., Kreiswirth B., Ho J.L., Gutierrez M.C., and Mardassi H. Insights into the evolutionary history of tubercle bacilli as disclosed by genetic rearrangements within a PE_PGRS duplicated gene pair, BMC Evolutionary Biology 2006, Dec 12, 6:107 (*these authors have contributed equally to this paper) (Accessed 1 712 times by 15 January 2008) (14) Hanekom M., van der Spuy G.D., Gey van Pittius N.C., McEvoy C.R., Ndabambi S.L., Victor T.C., Hoal E.G., van Helden P.D., Warren R.M., Evidence that the spread of

P a g e | 11


Mycobacterium tuberculosis strains with the Beijing genotype is human population dependent, J. Clin. Microbiol., 2007 Jul; 45(7): 2263-6. (15) Hanekom M., van der Spuy G.D., Gey van Pittius N.C., McEvoy C.R., Ndabambi S.L., Victor T.C., Hoal E.G., van Helden P.D., Warren R.M. (2007) Letter to the Editor. Journal of Clinical Microbiology 45: 4092-4093 (Reply to Mokrouso I. and Narvskaya O. Designation of major mycobacterial interspersed repetitive-unit types within Mycobacterium tuberculosis Beijing genotype, an important point. Letter to the Editor. J. Clin. Microbiol. 45: 4092-4093.) (16) McEvoy, C.R.E., Falmer, A.A., Gey van Pittius, N.C., Victor, T.C., van Helden, P.D., Warren, R.M., The role of IS6110 in the evolution of Mycobacterium tuberculosis, Tuberculosis, 2007 Sep; 87(5): 393-404. (17) Abdallah, A.M., Gey van Pittius, N.C., DiGiuseppe Champion, P.A., Cox, J., Luirink, J., Vandenbroucke-Grauls, CMJE, Appelmelk, B.J. and Bitter, W., Type VII secretion — mycobacteria show the way, Nature Reviews Microbiology, Nov 2007, Vol 5: 883 - 891. (18) Michel A.L., de Klerk L.M., Gey van Pittius, N.C., Warren, R.M., van Helden, P.D., Bovine tuberculosis in African buffaloes: Observations regarding Mycobacterium bovis shedding into water and exposure to environmental mycobacteria, BMC Veterinary Research 2007, 3:23 (Accessed 526 times by 15 January 2008) (19) Parsons, S., Smith, S.G.D., Martins, Q., Horsnell, W.G.C., Gous, T.A., Streicher, E.M., Warren, R.M., van Helden, P.D and Gey van Pittius, N.C., Pulmonary infection due to the dassie bacillus (Mycobacterium sp) in a free-living dassie (rock hyrax - Procavia capensis) from South Africa, Tuberculosis, 2008 Jan; 88(1): 80-83 (20) Gibson, A.L., Huard, R.C., Gey van Pittius, N.C., de Oliveira Lazzarini, L.C., Driscoll, J., Kurepina, N., Zozio, T., Sola, C., Spindola, S.M., Kritski, A.L., Fitzgerald, D., Kremer, K., Mardassi, H., Chitale, P., Brinkworth, J., Gracia de Viedma, D., Gicquel, B., Pape, J.W., van Soolingen, D., Kreiswirth, B.N., Warren, R.M., van Helden, P.D., Rastogi, N., Suffys, P.N., Lapa e Silva, J., Ho, J.L., Application of sensitive and specific molecular methods to uncover the global dissemination of the major RDRio sub-lineage of the Latin American-Mediterranean Mycobacterium tuberculosis spoligotype family, Journal of Clinical Microbiology, 2008 Apr; 46(4): 1259-67 (21) Van Helden, P.D., Gey van Pittius, N.C., Warren, R.M., Michel, A., Hlokwe, T., Morar, D., Godfroid, J., du Plessis, E.C., and Bengis, R., Pulmonary infection due to Mycobacterium goodii in a Spotted Hyaena (Crocuta crocuta) from South Africa, Journal of Wildlife Diseases 2008, 44(1): 151–154 (22) Chege, G.K., Warren, R.M., Gey van Pittius, N.C., Burgers, W.A., Wilkinson, R., Shephard, E.G., Williamson, A-L., Detection of natural infection with Mycobacterium intracellulare in healthy wild-caught chacma baboons (Papio ursinus) by ESAT-6 and CFP-10 IFN-γ ELISPOT tests, BMC Microbiology 2008 Feb 7; 8(1): 27 (23) Hoek K.G.P., Moolman-Smook H., Carelse-Tofa K., Jordaan A., van der Spuy G.D., Streicher E., Victor T.C., Gey van Pittius N.C., van Helden P.D., Warren R.M., Fluorometric assay for testing rifampin susceptibility of Mycobacterium tuberculosis complex, J Clin Microbiol. 2008 Apr; 46(4): 1369-73. (24) Hanekom, M., van der Spuy, G.D., Gey van Pittius, N.C., McEvoy, C.R.E., Hoek, K.G.P., Ndabambi, S.L., Jordaan, A.M., Victor, T.C., van Helden, P.D., Warren, R.M, Discordance between MIRU-VNTR and IS6110 RFLP genotyping when analyzing Beijing Mycobacterium tuberculosis strains in a high incidence setting, J Clin Microbiol. 2008 Oct;46(10):3338-45.. (25) Karboul, A., Mazza, A., Gey van Pittius, N.C., Ho, J.L., Brousseau, R., Mardassi, H., Frequent homologous recombination events in Mycobacterium tuberculosis PE/PPE multigene families: Potential role in antigen variability, J Bacteriol. 2008 Dec;190(23):7838-46

P a g e | 12


(26) Louw, G.E., Warren, R.M., Gey van Pittius, N.C., McEvoy, C.R., Van Helden, P.D., Victor, T.C., A balancing act: Efflux/influx in mycobacterial drug resistance, Antimicrob Agents Chemother. 2009 Aug;53(8):3181-9 (27) Warren, R.M., Streicher, E.M., Gey van Pittius, N.C., Marais, B.J., van der Spuy, G.D., Victor, T.C., Sirgel, F., Donald, P.R., van Helden, P.D., The clinical relevance of Mycobacterial pharmacogenetics, Tuberculosis 2009 May;89(3):199-202 (28) Marcotty, T., Matthys, F., Godfroid, J., Rigouts, L., Ameni, G., Gey van Pittius, N.C., Kazwala, R., Muma, J., Van Helden, P.D., Walravens, K., De Klerk, L.M., Geoghegan, C., Mbotha, D., Otte, M., Amenu, K., Abu Samra, N., Botha, C., Ekron, M., Jenkins, A., Jori, F., Kriek, N., McCrindle, C., Michel, A., Morar, D., Roger, F., Thys, E. and Van den Bossche, P., Zoonotic tuberculosis and brucellosis in Africa: neglected zoonoses or minor public health issues?, Ann Trop Med Parasitol. 2009 Jul;103(5):401-11 (29) Bitter, W., Houben, E.N.G., Bottai, D., Brodin, P., Brown, E.J., Cox, J.S., Derbyshire, K., Fortune, S.M., Gao, L-Y., Liu, J., Gey van Pittius, N.C., Pym, A.S., Rubin, E.J., Sherman, D.R., Cole, S.T., and Brosch, R., Systematic genetic nomenclature for type VII secretion systems, PLoS Pathog. 2009 Oct;5(10):e1000507 (30) Espie, I.W., Hlokwe, T.M., Gey van Pittius, N.C., Lane, E., Tordiffe, A.S.W., Michel, A.L., Müller, A., Kotze, A., and van Helden, P.D., A case of pulmonary infection due to Mycobacterium bovis in a Black Rhinoceros (Diceros bicornis minor) in South Africa, J Wildl Dis. 2009 Oct;45(4):1187-93 (31) Abdallah, A.M., Verboom, T., Weerdenburg, E., Gey van Pittius, N.C., Mahasha, P.W., Jiménez, C., Parra, M., Cadieux, N., Brennan, M.J., Appelmelk, B.J., and Bitter, W., PPE and PE_PGRS proteins of Mycobacterium marinum are transported via the type VII secretion system ESX-5, Mol Microbiol. 2009 Aug;73(3):329-40 (32) McEvoy, C.R.E., van Helden, P.D., Warren, R.M., Gey van Pittius, N.C., Evidence for a rapid rate of molecular evolution at the hypervariable and immunogenic Mycobacterium tuberculosis PPE38 gene region., BMC Evol Biol. 2009 Sep 21;9:237 (33) McEvoy, C.R.E., Warren, R.M., van Helden, P.D., Gey van Pittius, N.C., Multiple, independent, near-identical, IS6110 integration events in Mycobacterium tuberculosis PPE genes, Tuberculosis 2009 Nov;89(6):439-42 (34) Hoek, K.G.P., Schaaf, H.S., Gey van Pittius, N.C., van Helden, P.D., Warren, R.M., Resistance to pyrazinamide and ethambutol compromises MDR/XDR-TB treatment, SAMJ, 2009 Nov, 99(11):785-87 (35) Van Helden, P.D., Parsons, S., Gey van Pittius, N.C., “Emerging” Mycobacteria in South Africa, Journal of the South African Veterinary Association, 2009, 80(4): 210-214 (36) Johnson, R., Warren, R.M., van der Spuy, G.D., Gey van Pittius, N.C., Murray, M., Bosman, M., van Helden, P.D., Victor, T.C., A hyper-virulent Beijing strain (cluster 220 genotype) is responsible for the increase in drug-resistant tuberculosis cases in the Western Cape province of South Africa, Int J Tuberc Lung Dis. 2010 Jan;14(1):119-21 (37) Parsons, S.D.C., De Villiers, C., Gey van Pittius, N.C., Warren, R.M., and van Helden, P.D, Detection of Mycobacterium kansasii infection in a rhesus macaque (Macaca mulatta) using a modified QuantiFERON-TB Gold assay, Veterinary Immunology and Immunopathology 2010 Aug 15;136(3-4):330-4. (38) Müller, B., de Klerk-Lorist, L-M., Henton, M.M., Lane, E., Parsons, S., Gey van Pittius, N.C., Kotze, A., van Helden, P.D., and Tanner, M., Mixed infections of Corynebacterium pseudotuberculosis and non-tuberculous mycobacteria in South African antelopes presenting with tuberculosis-like lesions, Veterinary Microbiology (accepted)

P a g e | 13


(39) Alexander, K.A., Laver, P.N., Michel, A.L., Williams, M., van Helden, P.D., Warren, R.M., and Gey van Pittius, N.C., Novel Mycobacterium tuberculosis Complex Pathogen, M. mungi, Emerging Infectious Diseases August 2010 Vol. 16, No. 8, p1296 – 1299. (40) Müller, B., Streicher, E.M., Hoek, K.G.P., Tait, M., Trollip, A., Bosman, M.E., Coetzee, G.J., Chabula-Nxiweni, E.M., Hoosain, E., Gey van Pittius, N.C., Victor, T.C., van Helden, P.D., Warren, R.M., Mycobacterial pharmacogenetics of inhA promoter mutations: A gateway to the emergence of XDR-TB in South Africa? The International Journal of Tuberculosis and Lung Disease (accepted) (41) Aguilar, D., Hanekom, M., Mata, D., Gey van Pittius, N.C., van Helden, P.D., Warren, R.M., Hernandez-Pando, R., Mycobacterium tuberculosis strains with the Beijing genotype demonstrate variability in virulence associated with transmission, Tuberculosis (accepted) (42) de Haas, P.W.E., Muyoyeta, M., Mueller, D.H., van Helden, P.D., Mwenge, L., Schaap, A., Kruger, C., Gey van Pittius, N.C., Beyers, N., Godfrey-Faussett, P., Ayles, H., Evaluation of the Capilia TB assay for culture confirmation of Mycobacterium tuberculosis in Zambia and South Africa, J. Clin. Micro (accepted) Book Chapters Published (1) Brennan, M.J., Gey van Pittius, N.C., Espitia, C., The PE and PPE multigene families of the Mycobacteria, In “Tuberculosis”, 2nd edition, Publisher - ASM Press, Washington, USA, 2004 (Edited by Stewart T. Cole, Kathleen D. Eisenach, David N. McMurray and William R. Jacobs, Jr.). Part X: Host Immune Responses and Antigenic Variation, Chapter 33. ISBN: 1-55581-295-3 (2) Warren, R.M., van Helden, P.D., and Gey van Pittius, N.C., Insertion element IS6110-based Restriction Fragment Length Polymorphism (RFLP) Genotyping of Mycobacterium tuberculosis, In Methods in Molecular Biology vol 465: Mycobacteria Protocols: Second Edition, 2009, edited by Tanya Parish and Amanda C. Brown, The Humana Press Inc., Chapter 24, ISBN: 978-1-58829-889-8 Published Abstracts (1) Gey van Pittius, N.C., Van Helden, P.D., and Warren, R.M., The mycosins, a family of subtilisin-like serine proteases of M. tuberculosis, display eukaryotic proprotein convertase-like sequence characteristics, Miami Nature Biotechnology Short Reports, Vol. 14, Feb. 2003, p.65 (2) Gey van Pittius N.C., Warren R.M., van Helden P.D. (2007) Non-tuberculous mycobacteria (NTM) isolated from a low HIV community with a high incidence of tuberculosis. Int. J. Tuberc. Lung Dis. 11:S166. (3) Hanekom M., McEvoy C.R.E., Gey van Pittius N.C., van der Spuy G.D., Ndabambi S.L., Victor T.C., van Helden P.D., Warren R.M. (2007) Population structure M. tuberculosis in different settings defines the usefulness of MIRU-VNTR typing. Int. J. Tuberc. Lung Dis. 11:S114. (4) Hanekom M., van der Spuy G.D., Streicher E., Gey van Pittius N.C., Ndabambi S.L., McEvoy C.R.E., Kidd M., Hoal E.G., Beyers N., Victor T.C., van Helden P.D. (2007) Beijing strains: increased pathogenecity in different hosts and different geographical settings. Int. J. Tuberc. Lung Dis. 11(11) S115 (5) Streicher E.M., Gey van Pittius N.C., van der Spuy G., Dale J.W., Beyers N., van Helden P.D., Victor T.C., Warren R.M. Towards the understanding the evolution of principle genetic group 2 strains of Mycobacterium tuberculosis.(2007) Int. J. Tuberc. Lung Dis. 11:S122.

P a g e | 14


Manuscripts Submitted (1) Gey van Pittius, N.C., Perrett, K., Michel, A., Keet, D., Hlokwe, T., Streicher, E.M., Warren, R.M., and van Helden, P.D., Infection of an African buffalo (Syncerus caffer) by oryx bacillus, a rare member of the antelope clade of the Mycobacterium tuberculosis complex, Journal of Wildlife Diseases. (2) Ioerger, T.R., Feng, Y., Chen, X., Dobos, K.M., Victor, T.C., Streicher, E.M., Warren, R.M., Gey van Pittius, N.C., Van Helden, P.D., and Sacchettini, J.C., The evolution of drug resistance in Beijing-genotype isolates of Mycobacterium tuberculosis from the Western Cape of South Africa, BMC Genomics. (3) McEvoy, C.R.E., Cloete, R., Müller, B., Schürch, A.C., van Helden, P.D., Gagneux, S., Warren, R.M., and Gey van Pittius, N.C., Comparative sequence analysis of Mycobacterium tuberculosis complex PE and PPE genes reveals high levels of functional variation and an absence of selective constraints, PLOS Pathogen. (4) Parsons, S.D.C., Warren, R.M., Gey van Pittius, N.C., van Helden, P.D., The diagnosis and epidemiology of Mycobacterium tuberculosis infection in a high-risk dog population, Research in Veterinary Science Manuscripts in Preparation (1) Lane, E.P., Michel, A., Espie, I., Gey van Pittius, N.C., Kotze, A., Mycobacterium xenopi mesenteric lymph node adenitis in an adult ruffed lemur (Variegata variegata) (2) Gey van Pittius, N.C., Hoek, K., van Helden, P.D, Warren, R.M., Differentiation of non-tuberculous mycobacteria (NTM) from members of the Mycobacterium tuberculosis complex (3) Newton-Foot, M., Warren, R.M., van Helden, P.D., and Gey van Pittius, N.C., Mycobacterial promoters (4) Warren R.M., Louw G., Gey van Pittius N.C., McEvoy C.R.E., van Helden P.D., Victor T.C., The evolution of Rifampicin hyper-resistance in Mycobacterium tuberculosis: a multimutational phenomenon? (5) Parker, N, Mardassi, H., Sampson, S., Gey van Pittius, N.C., The mycobacterial PE and PPE multigene families (6) Mitchell, J., Gey van Pittius, N.C., Warren, R.M., van Helden, P.D., Botha, T., Strain specific modulation of M. tuberculosis reinfection. (7) Louw G.E., Warren R.M., Gey van Pittius N.C., McEvoy C.R.E., Murray M., van Helden P.D., Victor T.C., Evidence that the level of Rifampicin resistance in Mycobacterium tuberculosis evolves through a multi-step mechanism (8) Hanekom M., McEvoy C.R.E., Gey van Pittius N.C., Van Helden P.D., Warren R.M., Phenotypic and genotypic characterisation of the Mycobacterium tuberculosis Beijing genotype (9) Gey van Pittius, N.C., Tordiffe, A.S.W., Lane, E., Michel, A., Muller, A., Kotze, A., Warren, R.M., van Helden, P.D., Dassie bacillus (Mycobacterium tuberculosis complex sp.) crosses species barrier to a reptile, the leopard tortoise (Geochelone pardalis), Journal of Wildlife Diseases (10) Sirgel, F., Tait, M., Streicher, E.M., Gey van Pittius, N.C., Victor, T.C., Warren, R.M., Cross-resistance between amikacin and capreomycin amongst M(XDR) isolates from the Eastern Cape

P a g e | 15


Proposed Manuscripts (1) Gey van Pittius, N.C., An Acid Fast Guide to Web Resources for Comparative Mycobacterial Genomics (Tutorial), Genome Biology. (2) Karboul, A., Gey van Pittius, N.C., Isokpehi, R., and Mardassi, H., Targeted labelling of PE genes and analysis of their distribution within the Mycobacterium tuberculosis complex strains using a reverse phase hybridization array based on highly specific short oligonucleotide probes. Gene (3) Karboul, A., Gey van Pittius, N.C., Isokpehi, R., and Mardassi, H., Profiling of PE gene expression among Mycobacterium tuberculosis clinical isolates. Gene (4) Da Silva-Tatley, F.M., Gordon, K., Dave, J.A., Chubb, A.J., Gey van Pittius, N.C., and Ehlers, M.R.W., The Mycobacterium tuberculosis sigD homologue is activated exclusively after direct association with human macrophages, BMC Microbiology.

Research Outputs: International Conferences (1) Invited to give a talk at The Institute of Medicine (IOM) of the USA and the Russian

Academy of Medical Sciences (RAMS) Forum on Drug Discovery, Development, and Translation, held 26-27 May 2010 in Moscow, Russia, Gey van Pittius, N.C., Title: Tuberculosis in South Africa- from a treatable disease to total drug resistance (Oral)

(2) Invited to give a talk at the Koch-Metschnikow Forum Fourth Scientific Symposium on the occasion of World Tuberculosis Day 2010, held 22-23 March 2010 in Berlin, Germany, Gey van Pittius, N.C., Title: Tuberculosis in South Africa- problem setting - epidemiology data and current trends (Oral)

(3) Attended the U.S.-Southern Africa Joint Research Forum on Tuberculosis held 1-2 March 2010 in Pretoria, South Africa.

(4) Invited to give a Keynote Lecture at the Third TBadapt Meeting held 16-18 September 2009 in Stellenbosch, South Africa, Gey van Pittius, N.C., The evolution of the genus Mycobacterium and virulence in the M. tuberculosis complex. (Oral)

(5) Invited to give a talk at the Centre for Aids Research (CFAR) Colorado Tuberculosis Workshop held September 9, 2009 in Fort Collins, Colorado, USA, Gey van Pittius, N.C., Tuberculosis Research at the Faculty of Health Sciences of the University of Stellenbosch. (Oral)

(6) Invited to give a talk at the 109th General Meeting of the American Society for Microbiology (ASM) held May 17-21, 2009 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA, Gey van Pittius, N.C., Evolution, duplication and variation of the PE and PPE multigene families of Mycobacterium tuberculosis (Oral)

(7) 2009 Keystone Symposium on Tuberculosis: Biology, Pathology and Therapy, Keystone, USA, January 2009, McEvoy, C.R.E., Cloete, R.E.A., Gey van Pittius, N.C., Mycobacterium tuberculosis PE and PPE gene family genetic polymorphisms: antigenic variation or evolution? (Poster)

(8) 2009 Keystone Symposium on Tuberculosis: Biology, Pathology and Therapy, Keystone, USA, January 2009, Newton-Foot, M., Steyn, A., Sampson, S., Warren, R.M., van Helden, P.D., Gey van Pittius, N.C., The M. tuberculosis ESX-3 secretion system interactome (Poster)

(9) Seventh International Conference on the Pathogenesis of Mycobacterial Infections, Saltsjöbaden, Stockholm, Sweden, 26-29 June 2008, Abdallah, A, Verboom, T., Savage, N., Ottenhoff, T., Gey van Pittius, N.C., Parra, M., Brennan, M., Appelmelk, B., Bitter, W.,

P a g e | 16


Characterization of the ESX-5 secretion system: PPE and PE_PGRS proteins are secreted via ESX-5 and ESX-5 substrates are involved in immune modulation (Poster)

(10) Seventh International Conference on the Pathogenesis of Mycobacterial Infections,

Saltsjöbaden, Stockholm, Sweden, 26-29 June 2008, McEvoy, C.R.E., Cloete, R.E.A., Gey van Pittius, N.C., Mycobacterium tuberculosis PE and PPE gene family genetic polymorphisms: antigenic variation or evolution? (Poster)


Saltsjöbaden, Stockholm, Sweden, 26-29 June 2008, Nene, N., Hessiling, A., Gey van Pittius, N.C., Walzl, G., Stanley, K., van Helden, P.D., Black, G., Immunity to tuberculous and non-tuberculous Mycobacteria in infants enrolled in a randomized BCG trial (Poster)


Saltsjöbaden, Stockholm, Sweden, 26-29 June 2008, van der Merwe, R., Newton-Foot, M., Botha, J., Madubanya, L., Warren, R.M., van Helden, P.D., Gey van Pittius, N.C., Identification of the promoter regions of the immunopathologically important ESAT- gene cluster regions of Mycobacterium tuberculosis (Poster)


Saltsjöbaden, Stockholm, Sweden, 26-29 June 2008, van der Spuy, G.D., Gey van Pittius, N.C., Hanekom, M., McEvoy, C.R.E., Hoek, K.G.P., Ndabambi, S.L., Jordaan, A.M., Victor, T.C., van Helden, P.D., Warren, R.M., Discordance between MIRU-VNTR genotyping and IS6110 RFLP fingerprinting of Beijing genotype Mycobacterium tuberculosis strains (Poster)

(14) Invited to present a lecture at the Workshop on Zoonotic Tuberculosis and Brucellosis in

Africa, Onderstepoort, Pretoria, South Africa, 19-20 November 2007, Gey van Pittius, N.C., The impact of HIV on the control of tuberculosis in people, with a special reference to zoonotic tuberculosis (Oral)

(15) International Union Against Tuberculosis and Lung Disease 38th Union World

Conference on Lung Health, Cape Town, South Africa, 8-12 November 2007, Mitchell, J., Gey van Pittius, N.C., Warren, R.M., van Helden, P.D., Botha, T., Reinfection dynamics of a hyper-virulent Mycobacterium tuberculosis Beijing strain (Poster)

(16) International Union Against Tuberculosis and Lung Disease 38th Union World

Conference on Lung Health, Cape Town, South Africa, 8-12 November 2007, Gey van Pittius, N.C., Warren, R., van Helden, P.D., Non-tuberculous Mycobacteria (NTM) Isolated from a low HIV Community with a High Incidence of Tuberculosis (Poster)

(17) 2007 Keystone Symposium on Tuberculosis: From Lab Research to Field Trials,

Vancouver, Canada, March 2007, Gey van Pittius, N.C., Warren, R., van Helden, P.D., Non-tuberculous Mycobacteria (NTM) Isolated from a low HIV Community with a High Incidence of Tuberculosis (Poster)

(18) 2007 Keystone Symposium on Tuberculosis: From Lab Research to Field Trials,

Vancouver, Canada, March 2007, van Helden, P.D., Hanekom, M., van der Spuy, G., Streicher, E., Gey van Pittius, N.C., Ndabambi, S., McEvoy, C., Kidd, M., Hoal, E., Beyers, N., Victor, T., Warren, R., Sublineages of the Mycobacterium tuberculosis Beijing strain family show increased ability to spread and cause disease in different host populations from different geographical settings (Poster).

(19) Attended the Second International Conference on TB Vaccines for the World, Vienna,

Austria - April 2006 (20) 24th Annual Meeting of the European Society of Veterinary Pathology, Edinburgh,

Scotland, September 2006, Lane, E.P., Michel, A., Espie, I., Gey van Pittius, N.C., Kotze, A., Mycobacterium xenopi mesenteric lymph node adenitis in an adult ruffed Lemur (Varecia variegata).

P a g e | 17


(21) 2005 Keystone Symposium on Tuberculosis: Integrating Host and Pathogen Biology, Whistler, Canada, April 2005, Gey van Pittius, N.C., Botha, J., Madubanya, L., Van Helden, P.D., and Warren, R.M., Regulation of the Immunopathologically-important ESAT-6 Gene Cluster Operons. (Poster)

(22) Euro-Mediterranean Workshop on Health of Populations in the Mediterranean in the Post-

genomic Era, Tunis, Tunisia, March 2005. (On special invitation) (23) Miami Nature Biotechnology Winter Symposium "50 Years on: From the Double Helix to

Molecular Medicine", Miami, USA, February 2003, Gey van Pittius, N.C., van Helden, P.D. and Warren, R.M., The mycosins, a family of subtilisin-like serine proteases of M. tuberculosis, display eukaryotic proprotein convertase-like sequence characteristics. (Poster)

(24) 2003 Keystone Symposium on Tuberculosis: Integrating Host and Pathogen Biology,

Taos, USA, January 2003, Gey van Pittius, N.C., Sampson, S.L., Lee, H., Kim, Y., Van Helden, P.D., and Warren, R.M., The evolutionary history of the expansion of the Mycobacterium tuberculosis PE and PPE multigene families and its association with the duplication of the ESAT-6 gene cluster. (Poster)

(25) 2003 Keystone Symposium on Tuberculosis: Integrating Host and Pathogen Biology,

Taos, USA, January 2003, Warren, R.M., Uys, P., Victor, T., Gey van Pittius, N.C., Richardson, M., Streicher, E., Jordaan, A., Beyers, N., and Van Helden, P.D., Multiple infection is common in a high incidence area: What does it imply? (Poster)

(26) 14th Conference of the International Union Against Tuberculosis and Lung Disease

(IUATLD) Africa Region, Durban, South Africa, June 2002, Gey van Pittius, N.C., Warren, R.M., Richardson, M., Streicher, E., van der Spuy, G.D., Carroll, N., Beyers, N., Victor, T. and Van Helden, P.D., Is dual infection an important factor in tuberculosis molecular epidemiological studies? (Poster)

(27) 12th Biennial Congress of the South African Society for Microbiology (SASM) in

combination with the 3rd International Virology and Microbiology Conference of the Federation of African Societies of Virologists and Microbiologists (FASVIMI), Bloemfontein, April 2002, Gey van Pittius, N.C., Warren, R.M. and Van Helden, P.D., The ESAT-6 gene cluster operons function to secrete members of the immunologically-important ESAT-6 T-cell antigen family of Mycobacterium tuberculosis. (Oral)

(28) 1st International Union of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology (IUBMB) and South African

Society of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology (SASBMB) Special Meeting on Biochemical and Molecular Basis of Disease, Cape Town, South Africa, November 2001, Gey van Pittius, N.C., Warren, R.M. and Van Helden, P.D., The Mycobacterium tuberculosis ESAT-6 gene clusters: high G+C gram-positive-specific operons that are found in multiple copies only in the mycobacteria. (Poster)

(29) Genomes 2000 Conference: International Conference on Microbial and Model Genomes,

Paris, France, April 2000, Gey van Pittius, N.C., Hide, W., Gamieldien, J., Brown, G.D., Siezen, R.J., and Beyers, A.D., A gene cluster containing ESAT-6 is duplicated five times on the genome of Mycobacterium tuberculosis and other virulent mycobacteria and has some features of lantibiotic operons. (Poster)

(30) 1999 Keystone Symposium on Macrophage Biology, Keystone, USA, January 1999,

Brown, G.D., Dave, J.A., Gey van Pittius, N.C., Alli, O.A.T., Spreadbury, C., Stevens, L., Ehlers, M.R.W., and Beyers, A.D., A Family of Serine Proteases from Mycobacterium tuberculosis. (Poster)

(31) 2nd International Congress of the Federation of African Societies of Biochemistry and

Molecular Biology (FASBMB) in conjunction with the 15th Congress of the South African Society of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology (SASBMB), Potchefstroom, South Africa, September 1998, Gey van Pittius, N.C., Brown, G.D., Dave, J.A., Ehlers, M.R.W.,

P a g e | 18


Spreadbury, C., and Beyers, A.D., Identification of Novel Secreted Serine Proteases of Mycobacterium tuberculosis. (Oral)

(32) 1998 Keystone Symposium on TB: Molecular Mechanisms and Immunological Aspects,

Keystone, USA, April 1998, Beyers, A.D., Dave, J.A., Gey van Pittius, N.C., Alli, O.T., Spreadbury, C., Ehlers, M.R.W., Doran, J., Nano, F., Brown, G.D., Protein Utilisation by Mycobacterium tuberculosis: Fact or Fiction? (Poster)

Research Outputs: National Conferences

(1) Presented a Keynote Lecture at the Experimental Biology Group (EBG) of the Western Cape meeting entitled “The evolution of the genus Mycobacterium and virulence in M. tuberculosis, the causative agent of tuberculosis, Tygerberg, 19 April 2010 (Oral)

(2) 53rd Academic Yearday of the Faculty of Health Sciences of the University of Stellenbosch, held at Tygerberg, 12-13 August 2009, Bruiners N, Gey van Pittius NC, Warren RM, Investigating the human – M. tuberculosis interactome to identify the host targets of ESAT-6 and CFP-10 (Poster).

(3) 53rd Academic Yearday of the Faculty of Health Sciences of the University of Stellenbosch, held at Tygerberg, 12-13 August 2009, Fang Z, Van Helden PD, Gey van Pittius NC, Elucidation of the substrates of mycosin 3, an essential protease of Mycobacterium tuberculosis (Poster).

(4) 53rd Academic Yearday of the Faculty of Health Sciences of the University of Stellenbosch, held at Tygerberg, 12-13 August 2009, Hoek KGP, Gey van Pittius NC, Van Helden PD, Warren RM, Single tube detection of ethambutol resistance in Mycobacterium tuberculosis complex (Poster).

(5) 53rd Academic Yearday of the Faculty of Health Sciences of the University of Stellenbosch, held at Tygerberg, 12-13 August 2009, Kruger C, Warren R, Gey van Pittius N, Determining the incidence of non-tuberculous mycobacteria in environmental settings (Poster).

(6) 53rd Academic Yearday of the Faculty of Health Sciences of the University of Stellenbosch, held at Tygerberg, 12-13 August 2009, Louw GE, Warren RM, Gey van Pittius NC, Van Helden PD, New hope for treatment of drug resistant tuberculosis (Poster).

(7) 53rd Academic Yearday of the Faculty of Health Sciences of the University of Stellenbosch, held at Tygerberg, 12-13 August 2009, Newton-Foot M, Smit M, Gey van Pittius NC, The construction of genetic knockouts of the antigen secretion systems ESX-3 and -4 in Mycobacterium smegmatis (Poster).

(8) 53rd Academic Yearday of the Faculty of Health Sciences of the University of Stellenbosch, held at Tygerberg, 12-13 August 2009, Streicher EM, Warren RM, De Kock M, Bosman M, Gey van Pittius NC, Van Helden PD, Victor TC, Extensively drug-resistant tuberculosis (XDR-TB) in the Western Cape region of South Africa: acquisition vs transmission (Poster).

(9) 53rd Academic Yearday of the Faculty of Health Sciences of the University of Stellenbosch, held at Tygerberg, 12-13 August 2009, Van der Merwe RG, Gey van Pittius NC, Van Helden PD, Isolation and characterization of South African mycobacteriophages (Poster).

(10) 53rd Academic Yearday of the Faculty of Health Sciences of the University of Stellenbosch, held at Tygerberg, 12-13 August 2009, Hoek KGP, Schaaf HS, Gey van Pittius NC, Van Helden PD, Warren RM, Incidence of resistance to pyrazinamide and ethambutol compromises treatment regimens for MDR/XDR-TB treatment (Poster).

P a g e | 19


(11) 53rd Academic Yearday of the Faculty of Health Sciences of the University of Stellenbosch, held at Tygerberg, 12-13 August 2009, Mcevoy CRE, Van Helden PD, Warren RM, Gey Van Pittius NC, Rapid rate of molecular evolution at the hypervariable and immunogenic Mycobacterium tuberculosis PPE38 gene region (Poster).

(12) 53rd Academic Yearday of the Faculty of Health Sciences of the University of Stellenbosch, held at Tygerberg, 12-13 August 2009, Mlamla ZC, Louw GE, Warren R, Gey Van Pittius NC, Van Helden P, Victor T, Hoornenborg E, Taljaard JJ, Hoffmann R, Morkar J, Jordaan HF, Improving methods for genotypic drug resistance testing in Mycobacterium tuberculosis (Poster).

(13) Presented a State-of-the-Art lecture at the 52nd Academic Yearday of the Faculty of Health Sciences of the University of Stellenbosch, held at Tygerberg, 13-14 August 2008, Gey van Pittius N.C. The evolution of the genus Mycobacterium and virulence in M. tuberculosis, the causative agent of tuberculosis (Oral)

(14) 52nd Academic Yearday of the Faculty of Health Sciences of the University of

Stellenbosch, held at Tygerberg, 13-14 August 2008, Cloete, R.E.A., McEvoy, C.R.E., Gey van Pittius, N.C., Investigating PE and PPE genetic variation within Mycobacterium tuberculosis: antigenic variation or evolution? (Poster)


Stellenbosch, held at Tygerberg, 13-14 August 2008, Louw, G.E., Warren, R., Gey van Pittius, N.C., Van Helden, P.D., Victor, T.C., Can Rifampicin susceptibility be restored in drug-resistant clinical isolates of Mycobacterium tuberculosis (Presenter G. Louw, Oral)


Stellenbosch, held at Tygerberg, 13-14 August 2008, Hoek, K.G.P., Streicher, E.M., Gey van Pittius, N.C., Victor, T.C., Van Helden, P.D., Warren, R.M., Genotypic-based diagnosis of second-line drug-resistance in Mycobacterium tuberculosis (Presenter K. Hoek, Oral)


Stellenbosch, held at Tygerberg, 13-14 August 2008, Bruiners, N., Warren, R., Gey van Pittius, N.C., Investigating the human – M. tuberculosis interactome to identify the host targets of ESAT-6 and other mycobacterial antigens (Poster).


Stellenbosch, held at Tygerberg, 13-14 August 2008, Fortuin, S., Gey van Pittius, N.C., Wiker, H.C., Van Helden, P.D., Warren, R.M., McEvoy, C.R.E., The identification and characterization of phospho-proteins in Mycobacterium tuberculosis (Poster).


Stellenbosch, held at Tygerberg, 13-14 August 2008, Hanekom, M., Van der Spuy, G.D., Gey van Pittius, N.C., McEvoy, C.R.E., Hoek, K.G.P., Ndabambi, S.L., Jordaan, A., Victor, T.C., Van Helden, P.D., Warren, R.M., Discordance between MIRU-VNTR genotyping and IS6110 RFLP fingerprinting of Beijing genotype Mycobacterium tuberculosis strains (Poster).

(20) 52nd Academic Yearday of the Faculty of Health Sciences of the University of Stellenbosch, held at Tygerberg, 13-14 August 2008, McEvoy, C.R.E., Gey van Pittius, N.C., Van Helden, P.D., Warren, R.M., The isolation and precise characterisation of methylated DNA fragments from a complex genomic mixture (Poster).


Stellenbosch, held at Tygerberg, 13-14 August 2008, Newton-Foot, M., Warren, R.M., Van Helden, P.D., Gey van Pittius, N.C., The Mycobacterium tuberculosis ESX secretion system interactome (Poster).


Stellenbosch, held at Tygerberg, 13-14 August 2008, Van der Merwe, R.G., Van Helden,

P a g e | 20


P.D., Gey van Pittius, N.C., New antibiotic selection marker for cloning in mycobacteria using S. clavuligarus beta-lactamase in conjunction with clavulanate (Poster).

(11) Invited to present an Expert Opinion on Infectious Diseases lecture at the Official

Opening of the Centre for Infectious Diseases (CID) of the University of Stellenbosch, Tygerberg, 21 April 2008, Gey van Pittius N.C., The impact of HIV on Tuberculosis and the emergence of Non-Tuberculous Mycobacterial disease (Oral)

(12) 51st Academic Yearday of the Faculty of Health Sciences of the University of

Stellenbosch, Tygerberg, August 2007, Nene N., Gey van Pittius N.C., Walzl G., Stanley K., Van Helden P.D., Black G.F., Immunity to tuberculous and non-tuberculous Mycobacteria in adult household contacts of TB Cases in the Western Cape (Poster)


Stellenbosch, Tygerberg, August 2007, Van Helden P.D., Gey van Pittius N.C., Warren R.M., Michel A., Hlokwe T., Morar D., Godfroid J., du Plessis E.C., Bengis R., Pulmonary infection due to Mycobacterium goodii in a spotted hyaena (Crocuta crocuta) from South Africa (Poster)


Stellenbosch, Tygerberg, August 2007, Parsons S.D.C., Gous T.A., Streicher E.M., Gey van Pittius N.C., Warren R.M., van Helden P.D., Mycobacterium tuberculosis infection in a stray dog (Poster)


Stellenbosch, Tygerberg, August 2007, Hanekom M., van der Spuy G.D., Streicher E., Gey van Pittius N.C., Ndabambi S.L., McEvoy C.R.E, Kidd M., Hoal E. G., Beyers N., Victor T.C, van Helden P.D., Warren R.M., Sublineages of the Mycobacterium tuberculosis Beijing strain family show increased ability to spread and cause disease in different host populations from different geographical settings (Poster)


Stellenbosch, Tygerberg, August 2007, Robinson Z.L., Van Helden P.D., Gey van Pittius N.C., Antigenicity of M. smegmatis ESAT-6 (Poster)


Stellenbosch, Tygerberg, August 2007, McEvoy C.R.E., Gey van Pittius N.C., van Helden P.D., Warren R.M., A method for the enrichment of M. tuberculosis genomic fragments containing 5-methylcytosine (Poster)


Stellenbosch, Tygerberg, August 2007, Parker, N., van Helden, P.D., Gey van Pittius, N.C., A Novel Secretory Mechanism Employed by Mycobacterium tuberculosis to Secrete PE_PGRS and PPE-MPTR Virulence Factors (Poster)

(19) 50th Academic Yearday of the Faculty of Health Sciences of the University of

Stellenbosch, Tygerberg, August 2006, Gey van Pittius N.C., Muller, L., Warren, R.M., van der Spuy, G., Beyers, N., and van Helden, P.D., Non-tuberculous Mycobacteria (NTM) Isolated from a Community with a High Incidence of Tuberculosis: a Retrospective Study (Oral)


Stellenbosch, Tygerberg, August 2006, Mahasha, P.W., Machowski, E.E., Warren, R.M., van Helden. P.D., Gey van Pittius, N.C., The trafficking of the Mycobacterium tuberculosis PE and PPE proteins (Poster)


Stellenbosch, Tygerberg, August 2006, Van der Merwe, R., Newton-Foot, M., Botha, J., Madubanya, L., Warren, R.M., van Helden, P.D., Gey van Pittius, N.C., Identification of the promoter regions of the immunopathologically-important ESAT-6 gene cluster regions of Mycobacterium tuberculosis (Poster)

P a g e | 21



Stellenbosch, Tygerberg, August 2006, Streicher, E.M., Gey van Pittius, N.C., Mardassi, H., Namouchi, A., van der Spuy, G.D., Dale, J., van Helden, P.D., Victor, T., Warren, R.M., Understanding the evolution of principal genetic group 2 strains of M. tuberculosis (Poster)


Stellenbosch, Tygerberg, August 2006, Warren, R.M., Gey van Pittius, N.C., Hanekom, M., Hesseling, A., Engelke, E., de Kock, M., Gutierrez, M.C., Chege, G.K., Hoal, E.G., Victor, T., van Helden, P.D., Differentiation of Mycobacterium tuberculosis complex by PCR amplification of genomic regions of difference (Poster)

(24) 27th African Health Sciences Conference, Durban, South Africa, - 03-07 December 2006,

Mahasha, P.W., Machowski, E.E., Warren, R.M., van Helden. P.D., Gey van Pittius, N.C., The trafficking of the Mycobacterium tuberculosis PE and PPE proteins (Poster)

(25) Royal Society/NRF Workshop on Cell wall lipids in Tuberculosis, Pretoria, South Africa -

29-30 June 2006, Gey van Pittius, N.C., Muller, L., Warren, R.M., van der Spuy, G., Beyers, N., and van Helden, P.D, “Non-tuberculous Mycobacteria (NTM) Isolated from a Community with a High Incidence of Tuberculosis: a Retrospective Study” (Invited Oral Presentation)

(26) XXth Conference of the South African Society of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology

(SASBMB), Pietermaritzburg, South Africa - July 2006, Gey van Pittius, N.C., Muller, L., Warren, R.M., van der Spuy, G., Beyers, N., and van Helden, P.D, “Non-tuberculous Mycobacteria (NTM) Isolated from a Community with a High Incidence of Tuberculosis: a Retrospective Study” (Invited Oral Presentation)

(27) Cape Town TB Consortium Joint Symposium, Cape Town, March 2006, Gey van Pittius

N.C., Environmental mycobacteria in a Western Cape population. (Oral) (28) 49th Academic Yearday of the Faculty of Health Sciences of the University of

Stellenbosch, Tygerberg, August 2005, Gey van Pittius N.C., Botha J., Madubanya L., Van Helden P.D., Warren R.M., Regulation of the immunopathologically-important ESAT-6 gene cluster operons. (Oral)

(29) Molecules-R-US, the 19th Meeting of the South African Society of Biochemistry and

Molecular Biology, Stellenbosch, South Africa, January 2005, Gey van Pittius, N.C., Sampson, S.L., van Helden, P.D., and Warren, R.M., Comparative Mycobacterial Genomics: uncovering the secrets of the genus Mycobacterium. (Oral)

(30) Molecules-R-US, the 19th Meeting of the South African Society of Biochemistry and

Molecular Biology, Stellenbosch, South Africa, January 2005, van Rie, A., Victor, T., Richardson, M., Johnson, R., van der Spuy, G., Murray, M., Beyers, N., Gey van Pittius, N.C., van Helden, P.D., Warren, R.M., Mixed Mycobacterium tuberculosis infection: Changing drug-resistance patterns through antibiotic selection. (Poster)


Stellenbosch, Tygerberg, August 2004, Gey van Pittius, N.C., Sampson, S.L., Lee, H., Kim, Y., van Helden, P.D., and Warren, R.M., The evolution of the Mycobacterium tuberculosis PE and PPE multigene families (Poster)

(32) Path Splash, FSASP 44th Annual Conference with SASCC, Stellenbosch, July 2004,

Warren R, van Rie A, Victor T, Gey van Pittius N.C., Richardson M, Streicher E, Johnson R, van der Spuy G, Beyers N, van Helden P. Population structure of Mycobacterium tuberculosis in the human host (Oral)


Stellenbosch, Tygerberg, August 2003, Warren, R.M., Victor, T.C., Streicher, E.M., Richardson, M., van Aardt, M., Beyers, N., Gey van Pittius, N.C., and van Helden, P.D.,

P a g e | 22


Patients with active tuberculosis often have different Mycobacterium tuberculosis strains in the same sputum sample (Oral)


Stellenbosch, Tygerberg, August 2003, Gey van Pittius, N.C., van Helden, P.D. and Warren, R.M., The mycosins, a family of subtilisin-like serine proteases of M. tuberculosis, display eukaryotic proprotein convertase-like sequence characteristics. (Poster)


Stellenbosch, Tygerberg, August 2003, Gey van Pittius, N.C., Sampson, S.L., Lee, H., Kim, Y., Van Helden, P.D., and Warren, R.M., The evolutionary history of the expansion of the Mycobacterium tuberculosis PE and PPE multigene families and its association with the duplication of the ESAT-6 gene cluster. (Poster)


Stellenbosch, Tygerberg, August 2003, Botha, J., Warren, R.M., Van Helden, P.D., Gey van Pittius, N.C., Expression and purification of the ESAT-6 protein Mtb9.9a, an important T-cell antigen of Mycobacterium tuberculosis. (Poster)


Stellenbosch, Tygerberg, August 2003, Streicher E.M., Victor T.C., Venter A., Engelke E., Richardson M., Carrol N., Gey van Pittius N.C., van Helden P.D., Warren R.M., Synergism between different Mycobacterium tuberculosis strains cultured in vitro. (Poster)

(38) 2003 Poster Day of the Experimental Biology Group (EBG), Stellenbosch, August 2003,

Gey van Pittius, N.C., van Helden, P.D. and Warren, R.M., The mycosins, a family of subtilisin-like serine proteases of M. tuberculosis, display eukaryotic proprotein convertase-like sequence characteristics. (Poster)


Gey van Pittius, N.C., Sampson, S.L., Lee, H., Kim, Y., Van Helden, P.D., and Warren, R.M., The evolutionary history of the expansion of the Mycobacterium tuberculosis PE and PPE multigene families and its association with the duplication of the ESAT-6 gene cluster. (Poster)


Warren, R.M., Uys, P., Victor, T., Gey van Pittius, N.C., Richardson, M., Streicher, E., Jordaan, A., Beyers, N., and Van Helden, P.D., Multiple infection is common in a high incidence area: What does it imply? (Poster)


Stellenbosch, Tygerberg, August 2002, Gey van Pittius, N.C., Warren R.M., Van Helden P.D., The Mycobacterium tuberculosis ESAT-6 gene clusters: high G+C gram-positive-specific operons that are found in multiple copies only in the mycobacteria. (Poster)


Stellenbosch, Tygerberg, August 2002, Gey van Pittius, N.C., Warren, R.M., Richardson, M., Streicher, E., van der Spuy, G.D., Carroll, N., Beyers, N., Victor, T. and Van Helden, P.D., Is dual infection an important factor in tuberculosis molecular epidemiological studies? (Poster)

(43) 161st General Meeting of the Experimental Biology Group (EBG), Cape Town, May 2002,

Gey van Pittius, N.C., The current status of tuberculosis vaccine development. (Oral) (44) 2002 Poster Day of the Experimental Biology Group (EBG), Tygerberg, February 2002,

Gey van Pittius, N.C., Warren, R.M. and Van Helden, P.D., The Mycobacterium tuberculosis ESAT-6 gene clusters: high G+C gram-positive-specific operons that are found in multiple copies only in the mycobacteria. (Poster)

P a g e | 23


(45) AstraZeneca Joint UCT, US, UWC, MRC 4th Annual Medical Research Day, Cape Town, October 2001, Gey van Pittius, N.C., Sampson, S.L., Lee, H., Warren, R.M., and Van Helden, P.D., The immunologically-important ESAT-6 gene clusters of Mycobacterium tuberculosis and other high G+C gram-positive bacteria. (Oral)


Stellenbosch, Tygerberg, August 2001, Gey van Pittius, N.C., Warren R.M., Van Helden P.D., The Mycobacterium tuberculosis ESAT-6 gene cluster: An operon which is also present in other high G+C gram-positive bacteria, but occurs in multiple copies only in the mycobacteria. (Oral)

(47) AstraZeneca Joint UCT, US, UWC, MRC 3nd Annual Medical Research Day, Cape Town,

September 2000, Gey van Pittius, N.C., Hide, W., Gamieldien, J., Brown, G.D., Siezen, R.J., and Beyers, A.D, The multi-duplicated ESAT-6 gene cluster from the genomes of Mycobacterium tuberculosis and other virulent mycobacteria. (Oral)

(48) 11th Biennial Congress of the South African Society for Microbiology as part of the

BioY2K Combined Millennium Meeting, Grahamstown, January 2000, Gey van Pittius, N.C., Brown, G.D., Dave, J.A., Stevens, L., Ehlers, M.R.W., and Beyers, A.D., A Family of Subtilisin-Like Serine Proteases from Mycobacterium tuberculosis H37Rv. (Oral)

(49) AstraZeneca Joint UCT, US, UWC, MRC 2nd Annual Medical Research Day, Cape Town,

August 1999, Gey van Pittius, N.C., Brown, G.D., Dave, J.A., Stevens, L., Ehlers, M.R.W., and Beyers, A.D., A Family of Subtilisin-Like Serine Proteases from Mycobacterium tuberculosis H37Rv. (Oral)

(50) 43rd Academic Yearday of the Faculty of Medicine of the University of Stellenbosch,

Tygerberg, August 1999, Gey van Pittius, N.C., Brown, G.D., Stevens, L., and Beyers, A.D., A Family of Subtilisin-Like Serine Proteases from Mycobacterium tuberculosis H37Rv. (Oral)

(51) 42nd Academic Yearday of the Faculty of Medicine of the University of Stellenbosch,

Tygerberg, August 1998, Beyers, A.D., Dave, J.A., Gey van Pittius, N.C., Alli, O.T., Spreadbury, C., Ehlers, M.R.W., Doran, J., Nano, F., Brown, G.D., Protein Utilisation by Mycobacterium tuberculosis: Fact or Fiction? (Poster)

(52) 2nd Regional Symposium of the South African Society for Biochemistry and Molecular

Biology (SASBMB), Potchefstroom, June 1998, Pretorius, P.J., Gey van Pittius, N.C., Repeat Sequences in the Intron of the Prepromelittin Gene of Apis mellifera. (Oral)

Research Outputs: Other Invited Oral Presentations (National and International) • Clinical Infectious Disease Research Initiative Bioinformatics Meeting at Institute for

Infectious Disease and Molecular Medicine, University of Cape Town, Title: “Bioinformatics applications in M. tuberculosis research: the PE/PPE example” (February 2010)

• DAAD Summer School of the International Partnership of HIV, Centre for Infectious Diseases, University of Stellenbosch, Title: “The evolution of the genus Mycobacterium and virulence in the M. tuberculosis complex” (December 2009)

• Pediatric Infectious Diseases Case Study Group at University of Colorado-Denver Children’s Hospital, Denver, Colorado, USA, Title: “Tuberculosis Research at the Faculty of Health Sciences of the University of Stellenbosch” (September 2009)

• MRC/NHLS/WITS Molecular Mycobacteriology Research Unit and DST/NRF Centre for Biomedical TB Research, National Health Laboratory Service, Johannesburg, South Africa, Title: “Evolution and expansion of the Mycobacterium tuberculosis PE and PPE multigene families” (June 2007)

• Symposium: “Role Of PE/PPE Gene In The Biology Of M. tuberculosis And Their Potential Role In Immune Evasion In Tuberculosis”, Division of International Medicine and Infectious Diseases, Department of Medicine, Weill Medical College of Cornell University,

P a g e | 24


New York, United States of America (March 2007), Title: “Comparative Genomics of M. tuberculosis complex with a focus on variability of the PE-PPE families”

• WOTRO Project Development Workshop, University of Stellenbosch, Tygerberg, South Africa (January 2007)

• Department of Medical Microbiology, Vrije Universiteit Medical Centre, Amsterdam, Netherlands (April 2006), Title: “Comparative Mycobacterial Genomics: uncovering the secrets of the genus Mycobacterium”

• Seminars in Essential Medical Biotechnology, Department of Chemical Pathology, University of Stellenbosch, Tygerberg, South Africa (October 2004)

• Institut Pasteur de Tunis, Tunis, Tunisia (December 2003) • Fogarty Foundation Workshop, Lung Institute, University of Cape Town Medical School,

Cape Town, South Africa (September 2001) • Department of Tuberculosis Immunology, Statens Serum Institut, Copenhagen, Denmark

(May 2000) • Department of Immunology, Max-Planck-Institute for Infection Biology, Berlin, Germany

(May 2000) • Department of Immunology, University of Cape Town Medical School, Cape Town, South

Africa (January 2000) Reviewer for Paper Manuscripts

• Reviewer for Manuscripts Submitted to the Journals “Genetics and Evolution”, “Lancet”, “Gene”, “Infection and Immunity”, Journal of Infectious Diseases”, “Molecular Biology and Evolution”, “Journal of Infection in Developing Countries”, “Journal of Bacteriology”, “Clinical and Vaccine Immunology”, “The International Journal of Tuberculosis and Lung Disease”, “Bioessays”, and “Tuberculosis” (March 2002, July 2002, August 2002 and September 2003, September 2005, January 2007, April 2007, September 2007, January 2008, September 2008, November 2008, March 2009, September 2009, May 2010)

Reviewer for Grant Proposals and Rating applications

• Reviewer for NRF grant application (September 2008) • External reviewer for NRF Rating application (June 2008) • Member of the CSIR Thematic Type A Programme Grant Review Committee (March 2008) • External reviewer for National Research Foundation (NRF) Grant application (September

2007) • Member of the THRIP Review Panel for NRF-THRIP Health Grant Applications (February

2005, February 2006, February 2007) • Member of the THRIP Technical Audit Panel for NRF-THRIP Health Grants (November

2005, Oktober 2006, October 2007) • Reviewer for Cape Peninsula University of Technology (CPUT) Research Funding

(September 2006) • Reviewer for Wellcome Trust Research Training Fellowship Proposal (February 2003) • Reviewer for Spanish Ministry of Science and Technology Genomics and Proteomics Fund

Research Project Grant Proposal (February 2002). Examiner for courses, theses and dissertations

• Appointed external examiner for Monash University, Australia, PhD thesis (2010) • External examiner for University of Witwatersrand PhD thesis (July 2010) • External examiner for North West University MSc. Biochemistry thesis (November 2009) • Member of Postgraduate Subcommittee for evaluation of PhD application to Department of

Pathology, Division of Medical Virology, University of Stellenbosch (September 2009) • Convenor of Postgraduate Subcommittee for evaluation of PhD applications to Department

of Biomedical Sciences, University of Stellenbosch (March 2009, June 2009, July 2009).

P a g e | 25


• External examiner for University of Cape Town Honours Degree Course in Infectious Diseases and Immunology (June - November 2008)

• External examiner for University of Witwatersrand MSc thesis (July 2008) • External examiner for University of Witwatersrand MSc thesis (December 2007) • External examiner for University of Cape Town Honours Degree Course in Infectious

Diseases and Immunology (September - November 2007) • External examiner for University of Cape Town MSc(Med) Medical Virology thesis (October

2007) • Internal examiner for PhD candidate Me R. Johnson, Department of Biomedical Sciences,

University of Stellenbosch (September 2007) • Member of Postgraduate Subcommittee for evaluation of PhD application to Department of

Biomedical Sciences, University of Stellenbosch (September 2007) • Member of Postgraduate Subcommittee for evaluation of PhD application to Department of

Biomedical Sciences, University of Stellenbosch (September 2007) • Internal reviewer for application to upgrade MSc degree to PhD degree in Medical

Sciences, University of Stellenbosch (June 2006) • External examiner for University of Cape Town Honours Degree Course in Infectious

Diseases and Immunology (August - November 2006) • External examiner for North West University MSc. Biochemistry thesis (April 2006)

Evaluator for Conference Presentations

• Member of the judging panel of the oral presentations at the Basic Sciences session of the 54rd Academic Yearday of the Faculty of Health Sciences of the University of Stellenbosch, Tygerberg (August 2010)

• Member of the evaluation committee for poster presentations at the 53rd Academic Yearday of the Faculty of Health Sciences of the University of Stellenbosch, Tygerberg (August 2009)

Services Rendered

• Speciation of Non Tuberculous Mycobacteria (NTM) for the ZAMSTAR study (2005 and

2007) • Speciation of Non Tuberculous Mycobacteria (NTM) for the Onderstepoort Veterinary

Institute and Kruger National Park (2005 - 2010) • Provision of Non-Tuberculous Mycobacterial samples and reagents to Pathcare Reference

Laboratory (2006-2007) • Speciation of Non Tuberculous Mycobacteria (NTM) for the OTSUKA clinical trial (2006)

Outreach activities (to the wider public) Media Coverage : Radio

• Spoke live in a Q&A session for one hour on the phone-in radio station “Radio Sonder

Grense” on the program Praat Saam, presenter Jerome Topley, on the 22 February 2006 on the subject of “Tuberculosis – strains associated with populations”

Current Postgraduate Supervision • Co-supervisor for Veterinary Tropical Diseases PhD student, Miss Nomakorinte Gcebe, at

the Onderstepoort Veterinary Institute and Department of Veterinary Tropical Diseases, University of Pretoria, project title: “The occurrence of Non Tuberculous Mycobacteria (NTM) in natural habitats of cattle and African buffaloes in SA and immunological reactivity caused in these species by natural NTM exposure” (January 2010 – present)

• Co-supervisor for Bioinformatics PhD student, Miss Alecia Naidoo, at the South African National Bioinformatics Institute, University of the Western Cape, project title:

P a g e | 26


“Development of bioinformatics analysis tools for mycobacterial genome sequences” (January 2010 – present)

• Supervisor for Biomedical Sciences Honours student, Mr Keith K Siame, at the Department of Biomedical Sciences, University of Stellenbosch, project title: “Mycobacterial Genome Variation - Investigating the evolution of Group 1 M. tuberculosis strains” (January 2010 - present)

• Supervisor for Biomedical Sciences Honours student, Miss Nastassja Steyn, at the Department of Biomedical Sciences, University of Stellenbosch, project title: “The construction of genetic knock-outs of the ESX secretion systems in Mycobacterium smegmatis” (January 2010 - present)

• Supervisor for Medical Biochemistry PhD student, Miss Natalie Bruiners, at the Department of Medical Biochemistry, University of Stellenbosch, project title: “Investigating the Human-M. tuberculosis interactome to identify the host targets of ESAT-6 and other mycobacterial antigens” (January 2008 – present)

• Supervisor for Medical Biochemistry PhD student, Mr Ruben van der Merwe, at the Department of Medical Biochemistry, University of Stellenbosch, project title: “Development of a novel method for the detection of M. tuberculosis” (MSc January 2005 – December 2007, Upgraded to PhD January 2008 - present)

• Supervisor for Medical Biochemistry MSc student, Miss Mae Newton-Foot, at the Department of Medical Biochemistry, University of Stellenbosch, project title: “The ESAT-6 secretion system interactome: ESX-3” (June 2007 – present)

• Supervisor for Biomedical Sciences MSc student, Mrs Michelle Smit, at the Department of Medical Biochemistry, University of Stellenbosch, project title: “The ESAT-6 secretion system interactome: ESX-4” (January 2009 – present)

• Supervisor for Biomedical Sciences MSc student, Mr Zhuo Fang, at the Department of Medical Biochemistry, University of Stellenbosch, project title: “The mycosin proteases of M. tuberculosis” (January 2009 – present)

Supervision of Completed Postgraduate Degrees • Supervisor for DST/NRF Intern Mr Ruben E.A. Cloete, at the Department of Medical

Biochemistry, University of Stellenbosch, project title: “Mycobacterial Genome Variation” (January 2008 – December 2008)

• Supervisor for Biomedical Sciences Honours student, Mrs Michelle Smit, at the Department of Medical Biochemistry, University of Stellenbosch, project title: “The ESAT-6 secretion system interactome: ESX-4” (January 2008 – December 2008)

• Supervisor for Biomedical Sciences Honours student, Mr Nic Parker, at the Department of Biomedical Sciences, University of Stellenbosch, project title: “Secretion of the PE_PGRS and PPE-MPTR proteins of Mycobacterium tuberculosis” (January 2007 - December 2007)

• Supervisor for Biomedical Sciences Honours student, Miss Zara Robinson, at the Department of Biomedical Sciences, University of Stellenbosch, project title: “Antigenicity of the Mycobacterium smegmatis ESAT-6 protein” (January 2007 - December 2007)

• Co-supervisor for Cape Town University of Technology (CPUT) M.Tech student Miss Joni Mitchell (2006 - December 2007)

• Supervisor for Medical Biochemistry Honours student, Miss Mae Newton-Foot, at the Department of Medical Biochemistry, University of Stellenbosch, project title: “ESAT-6 gene cluster promoter analysis” (January 2006 – December 2006)

• Supervisor for Medical Biochemistry MSc student, Mr Phetole W. Mahasha, at the Department of Medical Biochemistry, University of Stellenbosch, project title: “Trafficking of the Mycobacterium tuberculosis PE and PPE proteins” (January 2005 - December 2007)

• Supervisor for MRC Intern, Mr Lebogang Madubanya, at the Department of Medical Biochemistry, University of Stellenbosch (June 2004 – May 2005)

• Supervisor for Medical Biochemistry MSc student, Ms Jeanine Botha, at the Department of Medical Biochemistry, University of Stellenbosch, project title: “The regulation and function of the ESAT-6 gene cluster operons of Mycobacterium tuberculosis” (2002 - December 2006)

• Supervisor for Medical Biochemistry Honours student, Ms Lorraine M. Moses, at the Department of Medical Biochemistry, University of Stellenbosch (January – December 1999)

P a g e | 27


Teaching Activities • Present Bioinformatics Practical Module for BSc Medical Biotechnology students (2002 -

2006) • Teach Bioinformatics Theoretical Module for BSc Medical Biotechnology students (2002 -

2006) • Teach Medical Biochemistry Honours Student Theoretical Module in the Functional Aspects

of Genome Variation (2002 and 2004-2010) • Teach Medical Biochemistry Honours Student Theoretical Module in Functional Studies in

Mycobacteria – gene targeting through knock-out techniques (2008 - 2010) • Present Medical Biochemistry Honours Student Practical Module in Western Blotting (2002

and 2004-2005) • Present Medical Biochemistry Honours Student Practical Module in Bioinformatics (2002

and 2004-2008) • Present Medical Biochemistry Honours Student Practical Module in Molecular Cloning

(2000) • Teach fourth year PU for CHE Engineering students in practical General Biochemistry and

Microbiology (1996 and 1997) • Assistant for second year PU for CHE Pharmacy students' practical modules in Introductory

Biochemistry (1996) • Assistant for third year University of South Africa (UNISA) Biochemistry students’

theoretical assignments in Molecular Biology (1997) Selected Collaborations - National

• Prof R.M. Warren, Prof T. Victor, and others at Department of Health, National Health

Laboratory Services, Provincial Government of the Western Cape, Stellenbosch University, and University of Cape Town (South Africa) - Western Cape Drug-resistant TB collaborative Research Group (2008 - present)

• Dr Du Toit Loots and Prof Carolus Reinecke (University of the North West) – Metabolomics of the ESX gene clusters (2008 – present)

• Prof T. Victor, Prof R.M. Warren and Ms M. Stolk (Stellenbosch University) - Identification of novel second-line antibiotic drug resistance markers (2007 - 2008)

• Prof G. Walzl, Dr G Black and Mrs N. Nene (Stellenbosch University) - Immune responses towards non-tuberculous mycobacteria (NTM) - PPD generation and testing (2006 - 2009)

• Prof N. Beyers, Dr A. Hesseling, Dr S. Tonkin and Prof B. Marais (Stellenbosch University) - Nontuberculous Mycobacteria (NTM) - Prevalence and Clinical relevance in HIV-infected and HIV-uninfected children (2006 - 2008)

• Prof V. Mizrahi and Dr E. Machowski (WITS) - The trafficking of the Mycobacterium tuberculosis PE and PPE proteins (2005 - 2007)

• Mr V. Schillack (Ampath) - Identification of novel species of the genus Mycobacterium (2006)

• Dr T. Botha (CPUT) - The prevalence of airborne Mycobacterium tuberculosis and non-tuberculous mycobacteria in epidemic tuberculosis areas in South Africa (2006)

• Prof R. Wilkinson, Dr G. Chege and Prof A.-L. Williamson (UCT) - Natural infection with Mycobacterium intracellulare in healthy wild-caught chacma baboons (2006 - 2007)

• Dr A. Michel (OVI) - Bovine tuberculosis in African buffalo: Observations regarding Mycobacterium bovis shedding into drinking water and exposure to environmental mycobacteria (2006 - 2007)

• Prof N. Beyers, Dr M. Claassens and Ms C. Kruger (Stellenbosch University) - Identification of Mycobacterium goodii in a prevalence survey (2007 - 2008)

• Prof V. Mizrahi, Dr S. Dawes, Dr D. Warner (WITS) - PE-PPE and VitB12 (2007 - present) • Dr A. Michel, J. Godfroid, K Coetzer and N. Kriek (Onderstepoort) - Non-tuberculous

mycobacteria in wildlife (WOTRO Integrated program proposal) (2007 - present)

P a g e | 28


Selected Collaborations - International • Prof W. Bishai (Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, USA) – Transcriptomics of

the ESX gene clusters (2010 – present) • Dr S. Sampson (Imperial College, UK) - The evolution and function of the PE and PPE

gene families (2001 - present) • Dr H. Mardassi, Mr A. Karboul and Mr A. Namouchi (Institut Pasteur, Tunisia) -

Characterization of Mtb lineages through the PE/PPE gene family (2002 - present) • Dr H. Lee (Yonsei University, Korea) - The evolution and function of the PE and PPE gene

families (2001 - 2006) • Dr W. Bitter and Mr A. Abdallah (Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, Netherlands) - The

trafficking of the Mycobacterium tuberculosis PE and PPE proteins (2006 - present) • Dr E. Tortoli (Italy) - Identification of novel species of the genus Mycobacterium (2006 -

2007) • Dr C. Miller (Utah, USA) - Identification of ESAT-6 gene cluster regions on genomic and

plasmid DNA in PAH-degrading mycobacteria (2006 - 2007) • Dr J Ho (Cornell University, New York, USA) - Characterization of Mtb lineages through the

PE/PPE gene family (2007 - present) • Dr M.C. Gutierrez (Institut Pasteur, France) - Differentiation of Mycobacterium tuberculosis

complex members by multiplex-PCR amplification of genomic regions of difference (2006-present)

• Dr R. Brousseau (Institut de Recherche en Biotechnologie, Canada) - Characterization of Mtb lineages through the PE/PPE gene family (2006 – 2008 Dr Brousseau unfortunately passed away)

• Prof J Ho, Dr A. Gibson and Prof R. Huard (Cornell University, New York, USA) - Characterization of LAM evolutionary history (2007 - present)

• Dr H Mardassi (Institut Pasteur de Tunis, Tunisia) - Characterization of LAM evolutionary history (2007 - present)

• Dr Samantha Sampson (Imperial College, London, UK) - The ESAT-6 secretion system interactome (2007 - present)

• Prof A. Steyn (University of Alabama, Birmingham, USA) - The ESAT-6 secretion system interactome (2007 - present)

• Dr Wilbert Bitter (Vrije Universiteit, Amsterdam, Netherlands) - The ESAT-6 secretion system interactome (2008 - present)

• Prof Dr VPMG Rutten, Dr. I. van Rhijn, Dr A.P. Koets (Utrecht University, The Netherlands) - Non-tuberculous mycobacteria in wildlife (WOTRO Integrated program proposal) (2007)

Other collaborations • Coordinated a consortium of South African scientists (known as the Affymetrix SA TB

Consortium) in collaboration with Dr Reinhardt Hiller and Dr Jonathan Blackburn of the Centre for Proteomic & Genomic Research to design, develop and implement an improved Affymetrix M. tuberculosis microarray. Scientists involved in the consortium included Dr Nico C Gey van Pittius (US), Prof Robin M Warren (US), Prof Robert J Wilkinson (UCT), Dr. Mark Nicol (UCT), Prof Valerie Mizrahi (WITS) and Prof Paul D van Helden (US).

Computer Skills • Completely Windows end-user literate • Completely Internet and e-mail literate • Experience (6 months) working in a UNIX environment • Program knowledge - A wide range of Windows programs e.g.: MS Office (Word, Excel,

Powerpoint etc), PaintShopPro, Corel Draw, Adobe Acrobat, etc. - A variety of UNIX, Windows and Internet-based Bioinformatics and Phylogenetic analyses programs.

P a g e | 29


Extracurricular Activities

• Hobbies includes genealogy (researching the family history of the GEY VAN PITTIUS and

related families), long-distance running (including 2 x Two Oceans and 2 x Comrades Ultra-marathons), travelling, reading (especially history) and stamp collecting

• On the Executive Committee and Head deacon (since November 2002) and previously deacon (since 1999) in the Dutch Reformed Church Moedergemeente Stellenbosch and member of several church committees and ministries, including the Mozambique missionary ministry and church website ministry.

• Potchefstroom University Parachuting Club – Member (1993) • Potchefstroom University Fencing Club - Member (1993 - 1995) - Vice - Chairman (1996) - Chairman (1997) - 9th place in Epee at the South African National Fencing Championships (1997) • Played rugby, cricket and indoor hockey for University hostel (1993 – 1996) • Obtained University hostel honorary colours for academic achievement (1993 and 1995) • Obtained Potchefstroom University honorary colours for academic achievement (1995 and

1996) • Academic representative in University hostel (1995 and 1996)

Military Service (1992) South African Navy - Basics - Saldanha ERRAT’s course - Strike Craft Training School, Durban Best student ever with an average of 97% Served on sea in the Strike Craft Flotilla - SAS Jan Smuts Awarded Certificate for Work of a Continuous High Standard Obtained Rank of Able Seaman

Secondary Education (1987 - 1991) Matriculated Gelofte High School, Pinetown Chosen as Prefect and obtained several school honorary colours on academic, sport and cultural fields Natal Senior Certificate with complete university exemption, 3 A’s with an A aggregate

Documents

Curriculum Vitae - assaf.org.za · • Harry Crossley/Doris Crossley Foundation Grant (2010) – Value R 30 000 • NRF Incentive Funding for Rated Researchers (2009 – 2014) –