Our Team
Our dynamic team consists of:
Academic
Leaders
Experts who foster a culture of innovation, encouraging career growth and supporting the development of intellectual property to improve patient care.
Laboratory
Medicine Specialists
Professionals who identify health priorities and gaps through large-scale testing programs, influencing policy with innovative R&D.
Pathology
Platform
A dedicated laboratory platform that upholds good laboratory practices, supported by biorepository and training facilities.
Collaborative
Innovators
Independent evaluators who conduct comprehensive assessments across the pathology value chain, ensuring compliance and attracting relevant funding.
Technology
Pioneers
Leaders who leverage molecular technologies, integrate digital health solutions, and utilise big data analytics to transform ideas into valuable healthcare advancements.
Leadership
Wits DIH is led by Professor Wendy Stevens, as the Executive Divisional Director (formally the HOD of the Department of Medicine and Haematology at Wits University). Prof Stevens, is a world renowned expert with >25years experience in laboratory medicine. She is also the Head of the National Priority Programs and leads a team of scientists and implementation specialists in partnership with the National Health Laboratory Service, that initiated South Africa’s first HIV early infant diagnosis test and the first CD4 monitoring assay (which achieved FDA approval and licensed to Beckman Coulter for global distribution); rolled out national molecular HIV viral load monitoring and GeneXpert tuberculosis diagnosis testing and associated drug resistance testing
The Divisional Director of Research & Diagnostic Innovation is Professor Lesley Scott, who has over 20 years of experience in accelerating innovative HIV, TB and recently COVID19 diagnostics and quality programs from concept through evaluation to implementation and continuous quality monitoring. Prof Scott is the co-inventor of the patented dried culture spot programme scaled internationally, co-inventor of the panleukogated CD4 technology sold to Beckman Coulter, and co-inventor of the South African Viral Quality Assessment material previously used throughout the NHLS and recently adapted for international quality control programmes. As head of research and development for WDIH and ongoing iLEAD (innovation in Laboratory Engineered Accelerated Diagnostics) program, initiated by the Bill and Melinda Gate Foundation, she manage a pipeline of innovations together with a team of scientist and data engineers, to impact across the laboratory value chain (patient, specimen, transport, central lab and system wide connectivity).
The Divisional Director of the Laboratory Platform (formally known as Clinical Laboratory Services – CLS) is led by Professor Jaya George. Professor Jaya is both a Chemical and a Clinical Pathologist and until recently was the Head of the Chemical Pathology Department for the NHLS. Professor Jaya has a joint appointment with NHLS and currently leads their national Point of Care Programme.