Department/Unit: Division of Clinical Pharmacology
Qualifications: PhD (Pharmacology)
PhD Institution: University of Cape Town
PhD dissertation title: A Pharmacological investigations of South Africa Lichens, Dessication-tolerant Plants and Medicinal Tree, Warburgia Salutaris
Current research interests and projects: Analytical Pharmacology Pharmacokinetics Toxicology
Selected publication 1: Van Zyl G, Jennings L, Kellermann T, Nkantsu Z, Cogill D, van Schalkwyk M, Spinelli M, Decloedt E, Orrell C, Gandhi M. Urine tenofovir monitoring predicts virologic failure in patients with HIV treated with high genetic barrier regimens. AIDS: August 11, 2022 - Volume - Issue - 10.1097/QAD.0000000000003354 doi: 10.1097/QAD.0000000000003354
Selected publication 2: Pretorius L, Van Staden A.D., Kellermann T.A., Henning N, Smith C. (2022) Rooibos (Aspalathus linearis) alters secretome trace amine profile of probiotic and commensal microbes in vitro. Journal of Ethnopharmacology 297 (2022) 115548; https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jep.2022.115548
Selected publication 3: Solanke T, Kamau F, Esterhuizen T, Maartens G, Khoo S, Joska J, Kellermann T, Strijdom H, Decloedt E (2022) Concentrations of efavirenz, tenofovir, and emtricitabine in obesity: a cross-sectional study. JAIDS Journal of Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndromes: 91(1): 101-108; doi: 10.1097/QAI.0000000000003025
Selected publication 4: Mkhize B, Kellermann T, Norman J, Castel S, Joubert A, Dooley K.E, Mathad J.S, and Wiesner L (2022). Validation and application of a quantitative liquid chromatography tandem mass spectrometry assay for the analysis of rifapentine and 25-O-desacetyl rifapentine in human milk. Journal of Pharmaceutical and Biomedical Analysis 215: 114774. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jpba.2022.114774
Selected publication 5: Joubert A, Kellermann T, Joubert A, Van der Merwe M, Norman J, Castel S, Sliwa K, Maartens G, Sinxadi P, Wiesner L. (2022) Simultaneous determination of carvedilol, enalaprilat, and perindoprilat in human plasma using LC-MS/MS and its application to a pharmacokinetic pilot study Chromatographia 85, 455–468; https://doi.org/10.1007/s10337-022-04154-y
Selected publication 6: Jennings L., Kellerman T, Spinelli M, Nkantsu Z, Cogill D, van Schalkwyk M, Decloedt E, van Zyl G, Orrell G, Gandhi M. (2022) Drug resistance, rather than low tenofovir levels in blood or urine, is associated with tenofovir, emtricitabine and efavirenz (TEE) failure in resource-limited settings. AIDS Research and Human Retroviruses Volume 38 (6): 455-462 https://doi.org/10.1089/AID.2021.0135
Selected publication 7: Van Rensburg R, Nightingale S, Brey N, Albertyn CH, Kellermann TA, Taljaard JJ, Esterhuizen TM, Sinxadi PZ, Decloedt EH. Pharmacogenetics of the late-onset efavirenz neurotoxicity syndrome (LENS) Clinical Infectious Diseases 75(3):399-405 https://doi.org/10.1093/cid/ciab961
Selected publication 8: Malo A, Kellermann T, Ignatius EH, Dooley KE, Dawson R, Joubert A, Norman J, Castel S, Wiesner L (2021) A validated liquid chromatography tandem mass spectrometry assay for the analysis of pretomanid in plasma samples from pulmonary tuberculosis patients. Journal of Pharmaceutical and Biomedical Analysis 195 (2021) 113885. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jpba.2020.113885
Selected publication 9: Blessings T, Kellermann T, Castel S, Norman J, Joubert A, Garcia-Prats A-J, Hesseling A.C and Wiesner L (2018) The determination of capreomycin in human plasma by LC-MS/MS using ion-pairing chromatography and solid phase extraction. Biomedical Chromatography 2018, 32(9): 1-8. https://doi.org/10.1002/bmc.4269
Selected publication 10: Moultrie H, McIlleron H, Sawry S, Kellermann T, Wiesner L, Kindra G, Gous . and Van Rie H (2015) Pharmacokinetics and safety of rifabutin in young HIV-infected children receiving rifabutin and lopinavir/ritonavir. Journal of Antimicrobial Agents and Chemotherapy Volume 70, Issue 2, 543-549. https://doi.org/10.1093/jac/dku382
Capstone assignment title: Career and Professional Development of the Doctoral Candidate
Capstone assignment abstract: Since the 1990’s, an emphasis has been placed on the influence of knowledge and information technology on economic growth (Bryan and Guccione, 2018; Hancock, 2019). Academic education is associated with the generation of wealth in the global move towards knowledge-based economies (Goneos-Malka, 2018). Subsequently, the importance of higher education to promote socioeconomic development in the Africa region has become a political agenda (Friesenhahn, 2014). Human capital is seen as the capacity for innovation and subsequent productivity (Pederson, 2014) and the assumption exists that having a doctorate will allow its bearer to have a choice of employment opportunities, either in academia or industry. A doctorate, internationally recognised, is seen as prerequisite preparation for a career in academia (Bazeley, 1999) and perhaps a PhD qualification, as a measure of quality, can be used as a screening tool by prospective employers (Pederson, 2014). The desire to undertake a PhD is dependent on the job market for such highly qualified individuals. Due to an increasingly competitive and evolving job market, decreases in governmental funding, commercialization and internationalization (Matas, 2012), the applicability of a PhD in its traditional format and the translation into employability of its holder needs to be reconsidered. With the increasing demand for PhD studies, attention needs to be given to the market needs for not only highly specialised knowledge, insights and skills, but also ‘soft’ skills (Young et al, 2020) and eventual employment opportunities of these highly qualified people, as relatively few candidates continue to do research within academia (Mulvaney, 2013; St Clair et al, 2019; Stringer et al, 2018; Sharmini and Spronken-Smith, 2020). The format of the traditional apprenticeship model PhD is perhaps not ‘fit for purpose’, as it prepares graduates for faculty research careers despite a large proportion eventually working in non-academic environments. How are current doctoral programs and institutions guiding and preparing PhD candidates for the employment opportunities available outside of academia to fulfil their role in the in the global knowledge-based economy? This chapter aims to investigate career guidance and development opportunities for biomedical PhD students at Stellenbosch University, South Africa, as well as to evaluate the employment opportunities for biomedical PhD graduates. Furthermore, we will draw on global research in this field to consider the challenges and opportunities in aligning doctoral studies with the academic and industry employment opportunities available.
