IFCC Executive Board: 2012-2014 Biographies
Prof. Vanessa STEENKAMP, Member
Member
Prof. Vanessa Steenkamp
Department of Pharmacology
P.O. Box 2034
Pretoria 0001
South Africa
Email: vanessa.steenkamp@up.ac.za
Vanessa Steenkamp, PhD obtained her MSc in
Biochemistry at the University of Pretoria in 1991and took up a
position at the South African Institute for Medical Research, now
the National Health Laboratory Services in the Department of
Endocrinology. She was appointed Lecturer in the Department of
Chemical Pathology, University of the Witwatersrand and obtained
her PhD in Clinical Toxicology. She returned to the
University of Pretoria as Senior Lecturer in the Department of
Urology and five years later transferred to the Department of
Pharmacology, where she is currently Associate Professor and Head
of the Phytopharmacology Unit. Her research interest and
publications have been in the area of traditional herbal remedies
and their effect on patients, as well as the development of methods
for the detection of these active compounds in biological fluids.
She is involved in pre-clinical testing of traditional herbal
remedies which includes the isolation of active compounds and
development of new drugs.
Throughout her career she has been active in promoting
professional activities, especially with regards to developing
county needs. She was the Treasurer of the South African
Association of Clinical Biochemistry (SAACB) from 2001 to 2005,
where after she served as President until 2010. Nationally
she also holds board positions as Vice-President of the Toxicology
Society of South Africa (TOXSA), Secretary-General of the South
African Society for Basic and Clinical Pharmacology (SASBCP) and
Treasurer of the Federation of the South African Societies of
Pathology (FSASP). Internationally her activities include serving
as Director of Education on the Council of the International
Association of Therapeutic Drug Monitoring and Clinical Toxicology
(IATDMCT), and participation in the Clinical Toxicology Committee
and Standards of Laboratory Practice Committee in this
Association.
Dr Steenkamp started her association with the IFCC as country
representative for South Africa during 2005 to 2011. She
served on the Committee for Congresses & Conferences (C-CC) for
the term 2009-2011. She was first elected President of the African
Federation of Clinical Chemistry (AFCC), a regional Federation of
the IFCC, at its inauguration in October 2009 and was re-elected in
October 2011, to serve until 2013.
Vanessa Steenkamp has written more than 60 publications and
serves on the editorial board of four journals related to
Toxicology and Ethnopharmacology. She acts as invited reviewer for
several journals and has lectured worldwide at congresses and
international forums. In 2010 she was awarded with the
IATDMCT traveling lectureship. She has and continues to serve
as organizing member and on the scientific advisory boards of
national and international congresses.
She is the mother of four boys and the manager of a provincial
chess team. Her personal interests include gardening, nature and
reading.