Managing Director
Reinhard has a long track record in converting scientific ideas into successful products and innovative businesses in the exciting field of modern biotechnology. He was born, raised and educated in Austria where he completed a PhD in molecular biology at the University of Vienna investigating the properties of autocatalytic ribozymes. After graduating in 2000, he joined a team of scientists in a biotech start-up that aimed at developing novel microarray-based solutions that addressed unmet needs in the molecular diagnostic sector. Venturing into unchartered technological territory he and his team devised a protein microarray platform suitable for the miniaturization of antibody-profiling immunoassays. In 2003, Reinhard turned the patented technological solution into the first CE-certified microarray-based test for allergic diseases in Europe. A successful launch was followed by rapid market growth and the company was later acquired by the global market leader in allergy diagnostics. In 2005, Reinhard moved to Cape Town to create the Centre for Proteomic and Genomic Research (CPGR). Set up with government funding as a core technology platform to drive biotech innovation, the CPGR today is the leading provider of solutions in the area of Genomics, Proteomics and Bioinformatics in South Africa. More recently, Reinhard and his team have advanced the organisation into an internationally recognised contract research organisation that creates value in drug discovery and drug development, vaccine development and disease biomarkers discovery, amongst others. Under his leadership as Managing Director, the CPGR has gone through a period of rapid growth and increasing international recognition as a specialist player in the dynamic genomics, proteomics and bioinformatics arenas. In addition to his PhD, Reinhard owns a NLP Master Practitioner degree, and he is a Member of the South African Charter of the IoD (Institute of Directors). His spare time is dedicated to his family, in particular his twin kids Isak Themba and Sara Thandiwe.

Financial Manager
Surayah completed her MBA in 2003 through Oxford Brooks University in the United Kingdom. She is currently completing her degree as a Chartered Management Accountant through the Chartered Institute of Management Accounting (CIMA) UK. Her career spans 25 years in the field of accounting across numerous industries and sectors. Some of the larger companies she has worked for include Ernest and Young, International Colleges Group (ICG) a division of Media 24, Shell South Africa, Orion Telecom, M-I-Swaco and Springbok Atlas a division of Imperial Holdings Limited. Surayah started working in the Biotech sector in 2008 and joined the CPGR in November of that year. Surayah is firmly committed to implementing good corporate governance and best accounting practices and maintaining a high standard of business ethics. She has successfully lead the CPGR through numerous financial audits, both internal and external. Much of her career has been dedicated to growing financial departments and implementing new systems, process and procedures. She has a proven track record as a mentor and coach. She is a member of the Institute of Directors of Southern Africa (IODSA). In her spare time, she teaches Islamic studies. She has four children, one whom has qualified as a medical doctor and the other studying towards an architectural degree. Her two younger children are completing their religious studies.

Operations Manager
Greg graduated with a N Dip Biomedical Technology from the Technikon Witwatersrand in 1997 and completed his B Tech Biomedical Technology the following year. After a short career as a medical technologist he entered the immunology world, joining the National Institute for Communicable Diseases (NICD) as the HIV Immunology Unit's Operations Manager. Under his management, the end points laboratory and sample repository became SANAS accredited (ISO17025) in 2001. Greg worked with The HIV Vaccine Trials Network (HVTN), the Centre for the AIDS Program of Research (CAPRISA) and the Centre for HIV AIDS Vaccine immunology (CHAVI) where he played a key role in establishing clinical site laboratories throughout Africa, training technical staff in sample preparation and co-ordinating sample management activities for these networks' southern African trial sites. He was responsible for the implementation and validation of workflows for testing and reporting primary and secondary end points for all the HIV vaccine trials and HIV natural history studies performed in the unit between 2000 and 2007. He has a deep interest in data management and information technology, and worked on the implementation of several validated and compliant information management systems in the United States and South Africa. Greg joined the CPGR in 2008 where he has an amalgamated role of Quality Manager and Operations Manager. In the Genomics arena, he has worked closely with the platform managers to create and implement the organisation's unique G(C)LP system. The analogue nature of Proteomics and the problems associated with creating a standardised proteomics service offering have provided him with a fantastic challenge, and ignited a new interests. Greg recently established the cell culture facilities at the CPGR and is considered an expert in the use of HepaRG cells. As the operations manager, he acts as the interface between the administration and the laboratory. He continues to explore his interests in data management and IT by occasionaly paddling in the shallow end of the bioinformatics department. He is currently studying for his MBA at the University of Stellenbosch Business School.

Genomics Manager
Judith joined the CPGR as the Genomics Manager in October 2007. Prior to becoming involved in Biotechnology, Judith worked as a postdoctoral fellow in a number of South African and American Universities over a period of five years. She was awarded her PhD from the University of the Witwatersrand specializing in Protein Chemistry. She followed this with a mini postdoctoral study at Rhodes University in the Department of Biochemistry, Microbiology and Biotechnology before settling into a four year contract at the Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biophysics at the University of Arizona, Tuscon, Arizona. Returning to South Africa, Judith joined the University of the Witwatersrand, Medical School, where she gained experience in the meshing of Virology and Chemistry while working on the transportation of RNAi into mammalian cells. She has many publications in international peer reviewed journals. Presently, she is expanding her knowledge into the business arena, now completing her final year of a part time MBA program offered by the University of Stellenbosch, South Africa. She intends to graduate in a few months and share the combination of her science and business knowledge in the growing biotechnology economy of South Africa..

Research Scientist
Jacqueline obtained her undergraduate degree in Biological Sciences at the University of Pretoria in 2005, and following that became a B.Sc. Honours and subsequently an M.Sc. graduate from the University of Cape Town, specialising in Human Genetics. She entered the work force at the International Centre for Genetic Engineering and Biotechnology, were she was responsible for developing and transferring technologies for biogeneric pharmaceuticals, industrial enzymes and other bio-molecules with potential industrial applications. In 2010 she returned to her genetic roots and joined the CPGR as a Maize Genomics Scientist focusing on the functional genomics of disease resistance in Maize. When she isn't wearing her lab coat she enjoys experimenting in the kitchen and trying her hand as an amateur photographer.

Affymetrics Platform manager
Jo obtained her B.Sc. (Hons) at the University of East Anglia, Norwich, UK in 1992. She worked at the Central Science Laboratory, CSL (now FERA) initially running the tissue culture lab and investigating the effects of naturally occurring compounds on diet. With the emphasis on food quality and origin becoming increasingly important, her role changed and using molecular methods she became involved in meat speciation and GM testing. Between 1999 and 2001 she was the GM technical manager at CSL (FERA). Jo become involved in Affymetrix when she joined MRCgeneservice(now incorporated into Source Bioscience). She was instrumental in setting up and subsequently managing the Affymetrix service where, following the successful testing of the 10K SNP assay, she introduced high-throughput genotyping. Jo returned to South Africa and joined the CPGR in 2006 to establish South Africa's premier Affymetrix service. With a strong focus on quality of data, and customer service, she has implemented a number of diverse workflows enabling the CPGR to offer many of the wide range of assays available from Affymetrix. Jo recently completed training on the Cytochip adding this valuable diagnostic tool to the suite of services offered by the CPGR. Jo also successfully completed the DMET training at the University of North Carolina under the auspices of PGENI. Jo's experience and specialised skills add an invaluable dimension to the CPGR and she is often called on as a knowledge resource across all the platforms.

Genomics Plant Project Manager
Shane joined the CPGR in 2007as Plant Genomics Project Manager and currently works on two TIA-funded projects 'Genomics of Quantitative Disease Resistance in African Maize Varieties' and "MicroRNA Discovery in South African Grapevine". Both projects involve consortia from South African Universities and breeding companies and are aimed at using biotech tools to improve agricultural crops important in South Africa. Shane's research work is focused on the functional genomics of disease resistance in plants and the techniques that she uses include next-gen sequencing, microarray analysis, qPCR and marker-assisted mapping of genes. She has a PhD from the University of Edinburgh in Arabidopsis disease resistance (obtained in 2001), followed by a post-doctoral fellowship at UCT (2001-2006). Prior to her PhD, Shane worked for the Agricultural Research Council at the Vegetable and Ornamental Plant Institute in Pretoria from 1993 to 1997 where she was instrumental in setting up transformation protocols for potato and tomato. Her initial education was from the University of KwaZulu-Natal in Pietermaritzburg where she obtained her BSc Hons and MSc cum laude.

Genomics Application Specialist
Lindsay obtained her undergraduate degree undergraduate degree in Biochemistry and Microbiology from the University of Cape Town in 1999. She completed her First Class Honours degree in Biochemistry in 2000 and was awarded a Masters degree in Molecular Biology, with distinction in 2002. At the beginning of her PhD studies, she spent a year of her PhD at Oxford University on a Mamphela Ramphele/Chevening Scholarship. Her research interests involved investigating signal transduction pathways activated in response to pathogen attack that leads to disease resistance in Arabidopsis. Lindsay was awarded her PhD in Molecular Biology from UCT in 2007. She continued with her post doctoral studies further identifying and functionally characterising components involved in plant disease resistance pathways by employing a range of molecular techniques in the fields of genetics and protein chemistry. She recently joined the CPGR team as a Genomics Application Specialist where she is interested in increasing her knowledge base in areas ranging from crop development to drug discovery in order to enhance the genomic expertise within the CPGR.

Junior Research Scientist
Moleboheng obtained herNational Diploma in Biotechnology in 2006 at the Vaal University of Technology. Before going on to the do her B.Tech degree, she completed her In-Service training at the University of Limpopo, (Turfloop Campus), working as a Laboratory Assistant. Her responsibilities included preparing the laboratories for Microbiology and Biochemistry experiments as well as practical exams, exam invigilation, sub-culturing, media and solutions preparation, stock taking and equipment maintenance. She graduated with her B.Tech degree in 2007, after completing her thesis on cost effective methods of Eliminating and/or Reducing Algae in Seal Ponds. This was done in collaboration with Marine World in Vereeniging. Moleboheng was the CPGR's first NRF intern, joining the program in 2008; part of her internship included familiarising herself with basic molecular biology techniques such as nucleic acids extractions, PCR optimization, taqman assay genotyping, tissue culture and gel electrophoresis. She completed her internship in 2009 and joined the CPGR on a permanent basis as a Junior Research Scientist. She is currently working in the Affymetrix platform. She is also responsible for maintaining the Bioanalyser and nanodrop and assisting the CPGR's clients with quality control of their nucleic acid samples.

Proteomics Applications Specialist
Busiswa obtained her BTechin Biotechnology in 2002 from M.L. Sultan Technikon in Durban. From 2002 to 2004 she worked at the Council for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) Bioscience in Modderfontein. Busiswa's initial area of expertise was process development using fermentation technology and biocatalysis. While employed at the CSIR she embarked on MTech studies with Durban University of Technology which she completed in 2007. The research project for these studies focused on production of enzymes for improving the quality of South African animal feeds. In 2004, she joined the University of the Limpopo (UL, then University of the North) as a Senior Technician where she contributed in setting up a protein biotechnology research laboratory. During this tenure at UL, she was involved in research projects focused on extraction and purification of seed lectins. She was also part of a collaborative project between UL and Department of Biotechnology, Lund University (Sweden) where she spent some time doing research on use of supermacroporous monolithic columns in cell separation and protein purification. In 2007, she visited the Department of Protein Chemistry at the Vrije Universiteit Brussel where she did research on isolation of lectin genes from plant material. Busiswa joined the CPGR in 2008 as an Application Specialist in Protein Microarrays. She is currently involved in sample preparation, workflow development and peptide mass finger printing in the Mass Spectrometry platform.

Microarray Platform Manager
Aubrey obtained his BSc and BSc(Hons) degrees in Biochemistry at the University of Cape Town and then stayed on at UCT to obtain his PhD degree in Molecular & Cell Biology. He has been a recipient of several scholarships, including a John Sainsbury scholarship and worked in several international laboratories during the course of his PhD. Aubrey's thesis investigated the role of fibroblast growth factor 2 (FGF-2) in inducing neuronal differentiation in the OP27 conditionally immortalized cell line which was derived from mouse olfactory neuroepithelium. Upon completion of his PhD Aubrey began a post-doctoral research fellowship in Prof. Jonathan Blackburn's laboratory at UCT. Here, his focus was on using protein microarrays as a platform to study the activity of the human kineome and to study the selectivity and potency of drug molecules towards kinases. The techniques that he used include the baculovirus expression technology, cell culture and protein microarrays. Aubrey joined the CPGR in 2008 as a Project Scientist. He is responsible for managing the protein microarray service platform.

Proteomics Platform Manger
Mare graduated from Stellenbosch University with a Ph.D in Biochemistry in 2005. His studies focused on the interactions between different antimicrobial peptides and the structure-function relationships involved. The study required Solid Phase Peptide Synthesis of linear and cyclic peptides, various chromatographic techniques as well as peptide sequencing and structural investigations using Mass Spectrometry. After completing his degree Mare worked as a contract lecturer in the School of Biological Sciences as well as the BIOPEP laboratory at Stellenbosch University producing peptides for both commercial and academic customers. During this period he was involved in the development of affinity purification systems and the extraction/purification of biologically produced peptides from growth media and crude extracts. Mare continues to pursue his passion for proteomics at the CPGR as the Proteomics Platform Manager running "Bertha" (Maldi 4800 Tof/Tof) and "Pamela" (nano HPLC).

Bioinformatics Developer
Dane joined the CPGR in 2010 after completing his M.Sc in Computer Science from the University of the Witwatersrand. After a roundabout career path including care-work in Scotland; one-time published photographer; and tractor driving at the Johannesburg Zoo he became a product of the National Bioinformatics Network where he was introduced to a broad range of bioinformatics disciplines. The field he is most familiar with is genomics and his background in computational mathematics led him to do his M.Sc. on a novel algorithm for EST clustering. He brings strong problem solving and software development skills to his job as Bioinformatics Developer at the CPGR. Since being here he has: strengthened his database proficiency; expanded into micro-array design; and is also gradually getting more involved with the proteomics aspects of life. While mostly he enjoys the close interaction with fellow bioinformaticians and the biologists he can occasionally be seen, screwdriver in hand, tinkering with his newest powerful server. Out of the office you're most likely to find him either panting his way up the Tokai mountain bike trail or tending his latest crop of chillis.

Bioinformatics Manager
Judit received her Bsc in Biomedical Science, MSc in Bioinfomatics in the UK. She completed her PhD from University of Cranfield, UK in Bioinformatics in genetic network (GN) extraction using Bayesian belief framework. During her PhD Judit established novel processes to extract genome-wide Genetic Network extraction for E.coli, yeast and humans, from microarray data. Judit later joined drug discovery group at GSK (Glasgow Smith Klien, UK) as a drug target scientist. She is currently the Bioinformatics Manager at CPGR. Currently she is leading her team to provide expertise in various fields in bioinformatics to provide service, support and R&D through collaboration to life scientists in "omics" field, addressing a wide range of biological questions from genomics to system biology. Judit is the associated node manager for EMBNET, where she was elected as the PRPC (public relation and publicity) committee member. Judit is committed to human capital development in the bioinformatics arena to enhance the knowledgebase in South Africa. At CPGR Judit started and manages the mini internship programme (MIP), aimed at developing specific skill sets required for next generation of insilico biologists. In the past, she has supervised many postgraduate students in the University of Cranfield and University of Cape Town. Her broad research interests include process optimization, algorithm development, systems development, information management and visualization and e-learning.

e-Learning Co-ordinator
Delita recently completed her MSc in Physiological Sciences at Stellenbosch University - investigating underlying mechanisms driving the onset of stress-induced insulin resistance. This was preceded by an undergraduate degree in Human Life Sciences, honours in Biochemistry and a Postgraduate Certificate of Education. 'Free time' is a concept that is still being learnt after recent liberation from studies, but in it, she likes to go hiking, garden, splash paint on canvas, bake sweet things, and play with puppies. She is also a coffee snob who enjoys reading; mostly fiction, and breaking news in science and technology.

Accountant
Zayd received his Cost and Management Accounting diploma in 2006 and his B Tech Degree in Cost and Management Accounting from Cape Peninsula University of Technology in 2007. Previously Zayd served as a Cost and Management Accountant Assistant for General Electric - Ziton (2006) as part of his practical work experience supporting him to further his studies in the accounting field. Zayd decided to broaden his experience in financial accounting and in 2008 worked in the Finance Department at the Two Oceans Aquarium. He joined the CPGR in 2010.