Associate Professor Theresa Burgess started her career with a BSc (Physiotherapy), followed by a BSc (Med)(Hons) and PhD in Exercise Science, all from the University of Cape Town. In 2011 she was awarded a NIH Fogarty Fellowship in Bioethics and with this support, successfully completed a MHSc (Bioethics) at the University of Toronto in 2012.  She is part of the ARESA Bioethics Leadership Programme and is registered for a second PhD in Clinical and Research Ethics.  

She teaches musculoskeletal physiotherapy, exercise and sports physiotherapy, bioethics and research ethics to undergraduate and postgraduate students in the UCT Faculty of Health Sciences.  She is also the programme convenor of the MSc in Exercise and Sports Physiotherapy.  She serves as the Deputy Chair of the Faculty of Health Sciences Human Research Ethics Committee; and has also successfully supervised over 50 masters and doctoral students to completion.  She has served as a member of the Department of Health’s National Health Research Ethics Council and as Chair of the Hospice Palliative Care Research Ethics Committee.