Dear Staff and Student Colleagues

I am delighted to share that Prof Valerie Mizrahi, whom many of you know as the former director of the IDM, will continue to make a valuable contribution to the Faculty. Since 2024, she has been appointed to a two-thirds position as a Professor: Research Specialist at UCT. The express aim of this appointment is to support research through fund-raising, funds-seeking and mentorship both across UCT as a whole and within the Faculty of Health Sciences, with commitment to these two constituencies being on a 50:50 split.

In this role, Prof Mizrahi’s main activities will include exploring potential grant funding and to work with researchers, especially early and mid-career researchers to guide and mentor them in seeking and attracting substantial agency grant funding through mentorship and training in grantsmanship; assisting in the mentorship of early career researchers in the planning of their research careers; and contributing to strategic engagements regarding the UCT and Faculty research enterprise. In these activities, she will report directly to the DVC: Research and Innovation with dotted reporting lines to the Dean of the Faculty of Health Sciences and the Executive Director of the Development and Alumni Department (DAD). Prof Mizrahi will spend the remaining third of her time as a self-funded Senior Scholar in the Department of Pathology.

Congratulations, Prof Mizrahi, on your appointment to this important position. We are excited about the promise of this role for growing critical financial support for Research in the Faculty. I look forward to working with you to achieve this.

Kaise ke gangans
Associate Professor Lionel Green-Thompson
Dean: Faculty of Health Sciences