In April 2015, as part of the Society of Toxicology (SOT) International ToxScholar program, I had the privilege of visiting two institutions in Southern Africa: the University of Botswana (UB) in the city of Gaborone and the University of Johannesburg (UJ) located in South Africa. These two institutions had been identified based on their need and desire to strengthen their Toxicology and Environmental Health programs as well as their international connections. Both are relatively young universities, UB created in 1982 and UJ in 1968, and have seen tremendous change and growth in recent years with the creation of their Schools of Public Health.
I spent two days at each institution where I had the pleasure to meet the faculty and students, present on career avenues in the field of toxicology, and then discuss opportunities offered by the SOT as well as by the NGO Seeding Labs. This mission was supported by the International ToxScholar Award, one of several global initiatives by SOT, as well as the Department of Environmental Health Sciences at the University of California, Los Angeles, and Seeding Labs. More information on each of these organizations can be found below.
University of Botswana
The University: The University of Botswana, also called UB, is the first institution of higher education in Botswana and was established in 1982. The university has four campuses across the country including two in the capital Gaborone where the visit took place, one in Francistown, and another in Maun. The main campus in Gaborone is vast and encompasses a wide array of fields of study and research centers. Of particular relevance to my visit, the main campus is the site of the Faculty of Health Sciences that includes the School of Public Health and of Medicine and the Faculty of Sciences that includes the School of Biological Sciences, Chemistry, and Environmental Science.
Structure of the Visit: I was welcomed at UB by Prof. Bontle Mbongwe, head of the Department of the Environmental Health within the School of Public Health, for the April 13–14 visit. On the first day, I had the opportunity to give my presentation to students and faculty from various departments around the campus. I also was introduced to the faculty of the School of Public Health, its Dean, Dr. Reginald Matchaba-Hove, as well as the Dean of Health Sciences, Dr. Yohanna Mashalla. On the second day, I met with the core faculty of three other departments on campus, including Biological Sciences, Chemistry, and Environmental Sciences.
Welcoming committee at the University of Botswana ( Prof. Bontle Mbongwe is third from the right in front)
What I Learned: Botswana offers an ideal setting for the study of several important emerging questions in toxicology. For example, most of Botswana has a particularly arid climate—70% of the country is covered by the Kalahari desert—making Botswana particularly vulnerable to issues related to climate change. This makes the question of water quality even more salient. Some of the contaminants being analyzed currently at UB that make their way into the waterways and food are lead as well as retroviral drugs used by a large proportion of the population (over 25% of the population has AIDS, one of the highest declared rates in the world). Another research axis examines the presence of active ingredients and contaminants in health supplements, a critical problem around the world and especially in Botswana where supplements are a big alternative health market and where most are imported without real knowledge of the purity of the ingredients.
The researchers at UB are tackling these issues head on. They have great people and equipment resources although they are not evenly distributed across campus. For example, in the brand new School of Public Health, the Department of Environmental Health has top-of-the line analytical equipment and infrastructure. However, the department is in great need of personnel, especially in terms of teaching. Conversely, the other departments visited in the Faculty of Sciences seemed to have enough personnel but their infrastructure and equipment lagged behind those of the School of Public Health.
UB offers great opportunities for collaborations to study some of the aforementioned environmental health issues as well as others. There also are great teaching opportunities for US scholars to teach courses in Environmental Health Sciences and Toxicology in collaboration with the Department of Environmental Health at UB. See contacts below if you are interested in these terrific opportunities.
University of Johannesburg
UJ Auckland Campus Library
The University: UJ is in many respects a reflection of the dense history of South Africa. UJ is a very recent university, born in 2005 from the unification of several divided, segregated campuses across Johannesburg. Of the merger was born a new, united, and progressive institution where the campuses are not divided by race or color of the skin but instead by topic and specialty. Today, the University is one of the largest in South Africa boasting close to 50,000 students spread across 90 departments and 4 campuses. It is a vibrant, very multicultural, and dynamic institution ranked within the top 4 percent of universities globally with the goal of reaching the top 3 percent in the near future. As a side note about Johannesburg, and in light of its reputation and some of the recent xenophobic events that made the international news, I found Johannesburg to be quite safe as long as some particular neighborhoods are avoided (neighborhoods where locals themselves do not go).
The Visit: For my visit, I partnered with two SOT members who are active in the Society and in South Africa, Prof. Gulumian, Head Toxicologist at the National Institute for Occupational Health (NIOH), and Ms. Melissa Vetten, scientist at the same institution. Prof. Gulumian also is the President and Ms. Vetten is the Treasurer of the Toxicology Society of South Africa (TOXSA).
The visit was divided over a day and a half. On the first day was an informal meeting with Dr. Andre Swart, Dean of the Faculty of Health Sciences, Ms. Martha Chadyiwa, Chair of the Department of Environmental Health, and Ms. Renay Van Wyk, Lecturer in Environmental Health. The second day, I visited two of UJ’s campuses, the largest campus at Auckland Park where my presentation took place and the campus of Doornfontein where the Department of Environmental Health is located. The presentation took place on the 5th floor of the library of the Auckland Park campus and around 100 to 150 students and faculty filled the room.
Students and faculty attending the presentation
I presented about the SOT and Seeding Labs first and then Prof. Gulumian presented the activities and opportunities within TOXSA and at NIOH. Her presentation was very complementary to mine as it gave students and faculty a connection to local scientists who work in the field of toxicology and tackle issues of direct relevance to the country. The talks were followed by an informal lunch during which students were very engaged and asked many questions of Prof. Gulumian and myself. Several of them also followed up by email. After lunch, we traveled to the Doornfontein campus to visit the Department of Environmental Health and its teaching and research laboratories.
What I Learned: Just as in Botswana, the youth of the University manifests itself in several ways, some positive and some a little more problematic. From the faculty to the students, there is a tremendous level of energy and motivation present at UJ. However, there also is an acute need for lecturers and teaching collaborations to address the tremendous growth of the University. Teaching-wise, the Department of Environmental Health at UJ has both undergraduate and graduate programs covering a wide range of topics from microbiology and community development to occupational health and epidemiology. Toxicology and environmental health research at UJ is grouped into two centers, the Laser Research Centre that examines photosensitivity and chemical exposure in the context of cancer therapy and the Water and Health Research Unit that researches the environmental health impact of inadequate or improved services related to water, sanitation, and hygiene.
The NIOH has a very active toxicology group dedicated to the study of particle toxicity led by Dr. Gulumian. Their research includes investigations on the toxicity of mine dust and mine tailings, engineered nanomaterials, and the resultant susceptibility to various diseases and the toxicity, mutagenicity, and carcinogenicity of the particles. Additionally, they perform health risk assessment research for a variety of occupational and environmental hazards. Interestingly, there is not currently a formal line of communication between UJ and NIOH and the visit was seen as a template for regular and hopefully reciprocal visits that would bolster toxicology in Johannesburg and in South Africa.
Finally, TOXSA is an active and interactive society that has a clear goal of reaching to other countries. As part of this mission, TOXSA has organized the 7th Congress of Toxicology in Developing Countries, organized their own annual meeting in Kenya, and sent participants to the International Union of Toxicology (IUTOX), International Congress of Toxicology (ICT), and SOT meetings. During her presentation on TOXSA and the local needs in toxicology, Prof. Gulumian emphasized the need for risk assessors, a topic that also elicited a lot of interest from the students in attendance. In light of that need, Prof. Gulumian mentioned that training resources should be dedicated to the training of students to become the next generation of risk assessors.
Take Home Message
There are a tremendous number of opportunities to engage in collaborative research and teaching exchanges with the University of Botswana, the University of Johannesburg, and the NIOH. For more information on each institution and societies, see the links below.
University of Botswana: Contact: Bontle Mbongwe, Department Chair of Environmental Health
University of Johannesburg: Contact: Martha Chadyiwa, Department Chair of Environmental Health
National Institute for Occupational Health and Toxicology Society of South Africa: Contact: Mary Gulumian
Society of Toxicology International ToxScholar program and other global initiatives
Department of Environmental Health Sciences at the University of California, Los Angeles: Contact: Patrick Allard
Seeding Labs
Seeding Labs is an USAID-financed outreach organization that aims at providing and sharing scientific resources with institutions in developing countries. This includes not only laboratory equipment but also scientific, professional, and career training through international scholar exchange. For more information, please visit the Seeding Labs programs website.