Dr Amaal Abrahams is a Senior Lecturer in the Department of Human Biology and a Teaching Advancements at Universities (TAU) fellow. Her work focuses on curriculum design, assessment innovation, and academic support in Health Professions Education. She completed her PhD in Medical Biochemistry at the University of Cape Town (UCT) in 2007, followed by a postdoctoral fellowship at the University of Rennes in France. In 2009, she returned to South Africa to continue her postdoctoral research at UCT. In 2012, she was awarded the highly competitive Hasso Plattner Foundation Research Officer position, recognising her as an outstanding early-career scientist. Dr Abrahams joined the Department of Human Biology as a Lecturer in 2014, where she developed a strong focus on teaching and educational scholarship. She further strengthened her expertise by completing a Postgraduate Diploma in Health Professions Education in 2015, which shaped her approach to curriculum development and guided her research toward student-centred learning and academic support in the health sciences.

Her research centres on Health Professions Education, with particular emphasis on anatomy and physiology learning and students' transition into higher education. A key component of her work involves the development, validation, and longitudinal evaluation of baseline competency assessments designed to identify students at academic risk early in their studies. This research has demonstrated the predictive value of foundational knowledge assessments and has informed targeted academic support strategies across the MBChB, Physiotherapy, and Occupational Therapy programmes. Building on this work, Dr Abrahams's ongoing research explores patterns of knowledge retention during the preclinical years and generates data-driven insights to strengthen curriculum design and student support interventions. She is also involved in research investigating the impact of structured peer mentorship and peer tutorial programmes on academic confidence, professional identity formation, and psychosocial well-being.

Dr Abrahams has received numerous awards and prestigious scholarships in recognition of her academic and teaching contributions, including the Faculty of Health Sciences’ Excellence in Teaching Award. Her work has been published in leading international journals and presented at both national and international conferences.