Editorial team profiles

Mesias Alfeus

Mesias Alfeus is an Associate Professor in Financial Risk Management in the Department of Statistics and Actuarial Science at Stellenbosch University and holds a PhD from the University of Technology Sydney. He is the Lead Principal Investigator of the NITheCS Quantitative Finance Research Programme and serves on the Editorial Board of the Journal of Futures Markets and as an Associate Editor of the International Journal of Theoretical and Applied Finance. His research focuses on numerical methods and analytical solutions for complex option derivatives. He is also a Specialist Consultant to FirstRand Group’s Market Risk Technical Committee.

  

Chrissie Boughey

Chrissie Boughey is Emeritus Professor of the Centre for Postgraduate Studies at Rhodes University (South Africa). She came to South Africa in 1999 after spending many years teaching English as a second/foreign language in places such as Spain, the Middle East and the United Kingdom. She holds a DPhil in Linguistics from the University of the Western Cape, an MA in Applied Language Studies from the University of Reading (UK) and a PGCE in Education from the University of Wales (UK). She has been involved in a number of national initiatives directed at the assurance of quality and the improvement of teaching and learning in higher education. Her research interests are in academic literacy, teaching & learning in higher education, critical realism, social realism, academic development, and educational development

Pascal Bessong 

Pascal Bessong is a research professor at the University of Venda (South Africa); Visiting Scholar at the Center for Global Health, University of Virginia (USA) and Honorary Professor at the School of Health Sciences, University of KwaZulu-Natal (South Africa). He holds a PhD in Microbiology, with training in South Africa and France, followed by postdoctoral training in molecular virology in the USA. He is the Founding Director of the South African Medical Research Council Extramural Unit on Antimicrobial Resistance & Global Health. Professor Bessong has more than 15 years of experience, as Principal Investigator or Co-Principal Investigator, in the establishment and management of community-based prospective studies on surveillance for human infections, antimicrobial resistance, and the impact of enteric infections on growth and development in young children. He embeds human capital development in research and community mobilisation activities. He is an elected Member of the Academy of Science of South Africa (ASSAf) and holds a B2 rating from the National Research Foundation. He is a recipient of the 2023 Gold Merit Award from the South African Medical Research Council. This award is given to “established senior scientists who have made seminal scientific contributions that have impacted the health of people, especially those living in developing countries”.

   

Chrissie Boughey

Chrissie Boughey is Emeritus Professor of the Centre for Postgraduate Studies at Rhodes University (South Africa). She came to South Africa in 1999 after spending many years teaching English as a second/foreign language in places such as Spain, the Middle East and the United Kingdom. She holds a DPhil in Linguistics from the University of the Western Cape, an MA in Applied Language Studies from the University of Reading (UK) and a PGCE in Education from the University of Wales (UK). She has been involved in a number of national initiatives directed at the assurance of quality and the improvement of teaching and learning in higher education. Her research interests are in academic literacy, teaching & learning in higher education, critical realism, social realism, academic development, and educational development

Teresa Coutinho 

Teresa Coutinho is a Professor in the Department of Biochemistry, Genetics and Microbiology at the University of Pretoria (South Africa).  She is also the Director of the Centre of Microbial Ecology and Genomics, and a founding member of the Forestry and Agricultural Biotechnology Institute at the University of Pretoria. Her research interest is in phytobacteriology, primarily on those pathogens that are not typically pathogenic to plants, for example, Enterobacter species.  She has also conducted research on primary pathogens such as Xanthomonas vasicola, X. musacearum, Ralstonia solanacearum and R. pseudosolanacearum. She holds a B2 rating from the National Research Foundation. She is the current Secretary-General of the International Society for Plant Pathology.

    

Thywill Dzogbewu

Thywill Dzogbewu is a Postdoctoral Research Fellow at the Central University of Technology (South Africa). He holds a PhD in Mechanical Engineering from the Central University of Technology. His research focuses on the use of green manufacturing processes, smart materials, and topology optimisation strategies via advanced manufacturing technologies to produce 3D and 4D structures.

    

Linda Fick

Linda Fick joined the editorial team in 2009. She holds a PhD in Physiology from the University of the Witwatersrand and a Certificate in Editing from the University of Pretoria. She has been a member of the Professional Editors’ Guild since 2010. She has a strong interest in advancing African science to a global audience, in making science accessible through accessible language and in building writing capacity.

     

Jemma Finch

Jemma Finch is an Associate Professor in the Department of Agricultural, Earth and Environmental Sciences at the University of KwaZulu-Natal (South Africa). She holds a PhD from the University of York. A palaeoecologist by training, she uses plant and animal remains preserved in sediments to understand past climate and environmental change. She is the recipient of the 2021 UKZN Vice Chancellor’s Research Award. She teaches undergraduate biogeography and environmental change, and has special interests in fieldwork-based training, and in developing scientific writing skills.

  

Jennifer Fitchett

Jennifer Fitchett is a Professor in the School of Geography, Archaeology and Environmental Studies at the University of the Witwatersrand (South Africa). She holds a PhD in Geography from the University of the Witwatersrand. She is African Councillor of the International Society of Biometeorology and President-Elect of the Society of South African Geographers and a Member of the South African Quaternary Association and the South African Young Academy of Science (SAYAS). Her research is situated within the discipline of biometeorology and explores the impacts of climate change on both the natural environment and human populations.

Nadia Grobler

Nadia Grobler holds a degree in Information Science from the University of Pretoria. She joined the editorial team in 2020. Her previous experience in scholarly publishing includes working in open scholarship at the University of Pretoria Library and SciELO SA. Her expertise lies in scholarly publishing workflows, systems, tools and services that support the publication, dissemination and discoverability of research.

 

Vusi Gumede

Vusi Gumede is Deputy Vice-Chancellor: Teaching and Learning at the Durban University of Technology. He was Dean of the Faculty of Economics, Development and Business Sciences at the University of Mpumalanga from November 2020 to July 2025. Prior to that he was a Professor at the University of South Africa and Director at the Thabo Mbeki African Leadership Institute (2013–2020) and Associate Professor at the University of Johannesburg. He also lectured at the Wits School of Governance and the Graduate School of Business at the University of Cape Town where he held an honorary professor appointment. He occupied various positions in the South African government before joining the academic sector. He was a Distinguished Africanist Scholar at Cornell University and later a World Fellow at Yale University, among the fellowships he held internationally. He holds postgraduate qualifications in Economics, Public Policy & Leadership, including a PhD in Economics from the erstwhile University of Natal. Prior to joining government, he worked as a researcher for various institutions and had lectured at the erstwhile University of Durban-Westville. Among others, he is a member of the Presidential Economic Advisory Council, member of the Editorial Board of the HSRC Press, and he was the Editor-in-Chief for Africa Insight and Africanus: Journal of Development Studies. He has been the President of the South African Association of Political Studies and Chairperson of the ASSAf Standing Committee on the Science for Reduction of Poverty & Inequality. He holds a C2 rating from the National Research Foundation. His research deals with the political economy of development in South Africa and the broader African continent.

   

Stefan Lotz

Stefan Lotz is a Researcher at the South African National Space Agency (SANSA), where he specialises in space weather and geomagnetic field modelling. He holds a PhD in Physics from Rhodes University. His work integrates space science with machine learning to enhance the prediction of geomagnetic disturbances. His research focuses on modelling geomagnetic field variations due to solar activity, geomagnetically induced currents, very low frequency (VLF) wave phenomena, and geomagnetic storm prediction using novel machine learning techniques. He holds an extraordinary professorship at North-West University and is a member of the Scientific Committee on Antarctic Research’s AGATA programme and is an associate of the National Institute for Theoretical and Computational Sciences (NITheCS).

  

Nkosinathi Madondo

Nkosinathi Madondo is a Lecturer in the Academic Language and Literacy Unit at Mangosuthu University of Technology (South Africa). He holds a PhD in Education from Rhodes University. He has been involved in various academic literacy and mentorship programmes, as well as curriculum development, which is where his passion lies. His research interests include academic literacy, academic development, critical realism, social realism and decolonial theories.

Philani Mashazi

Philani Mashazi is an Associate Professor of Chemistry at Rhodes University (South Africa). He spent several years at the Council for Minerals Technology (Mintek) as a research scientist. During his time at Mintek, he pursued his doctoral degree part time and successfully obtained his PhD from Rhodes University in April 2012. He joined Rhodes University’s Chemistry Department in 2013 and is actively engaged in various departmental activities while continuing to pursue his research interests. He plays a role in supporting the Nanotechnology Innovation Centre, funded by the Department of Science and Innovation. His research is in the integration of biological molecules with nano structures for the development of novel sensors and biosensors.

  

Phumlani Mncwango

Phumlani Mncwango has a degree in Library and Information Science from the University of Zululand and worked as an intern for two years before joining the editorial team in 2025. He supports authors and editors throughout the submission and peer review process

  

Sydney Moyo

Sydney Moyo is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Biological Sciences at Louisiana State University (USA). He obtained a PhD in Zoology from Rhodes University in 2016 and an MSc in Ecology from the University of Zimbabwe in 2011. His research focus is on freshwater, estuarine and terrestrial ecosystems. He uses both field- and laboratory-based approaches to explore ecological questions in South Africa, Zimbabwe and the USA. A central focus of his research is exploring the connectivity between aquatic and terrestrial ecosystems via invertebrates.

Leslie Swartz

Leslie Swartz is a Professor of Psychology at Stellenbosch University. He has a PhD in Psychology and a PhD in English. He is a Member of the Academy of Science of South Africa (ASSAf) and received the ASSAf Gold Medal for Science-for-Society in 2019. His research focuses on disability rights and mental health issues in southern Africa. He has a particular interest in developing academic writing skills and increasing access to academic publishing.