Latest News Archive

Please select Category, Year, and then Month to display items
Categories
UFS News Media Release Research
Years
2017 2018 2019 2020 2021 2022 2023 2024
Months
January February March April May June July August September October November December
Previous Archive
05 April 2018 Photo Xolisa Mnukwa
Global genealogy explored at UFS guest lecture
Karen Ehlers, lecturer in Department of Genetics; Prof Eugenia D’Amato, guest lecturer and Associate Professor: Department of Biotechnology at the UWC, and Prof Paul Grobler Head of Department: Genetics at the UFS.

Prof Eugenia D’Amato held a lecture at the University of the Free State (UFS) Department of Genetics about the research activities she has conducted in her unit at the University of the Western Cape (UWC), in the Forensic DNA lab of the Faculty of Natural Sciences.
 
The lecture focused on research topics she has piloted, including the use of forensic markers in South Africa. Prof D’Amato also spoke on food forensics, the identification of anti-apartheid activists, understanding human genetic variation, and the implementation of novel/refined methods, with a strong emphasis on the forensic use of Y chromosome-based information.

She concluded her PhD studies at the University of Buenos Aires in Argentina, at the forensic lab. Currently, Prof D’Amato participates in numerous genotyping international forensic collaborations.

 “A survey of existing genetic diversity,
the distribution of diversity, the forensic
parameters and applications are a few of
the subject matters which are important
components of the GlobalFiler project.”
Prof Eugenia D’Amato

She also belongs to the working committee of the “Innocence Project South Africa”.

Her training and subsequent experience in population genetics facilitated the design of a Y chromosome “kit”, as well as the analysis and successful identification of various individuals from highly degraded DNA. Her lecture revealed interesting statistics about how poorly represented African diversity is in the existing world population databases. She explained that mechanisms that drive differentiation include random “genetic drift” and historic demographic processes.
 
Prof D’Amato indicated that her “Database Projection” project for 2018/2019 aims at profiling the population groups of South Africa, Lesotho, and Zimbabwe. She further explained that a powerful tool for forensic application has been developed, and that there is potential for other applications including haplogroup prediction and the study of demographic history, that will aid her projects in the future.

News Archive

Prof Melanie Walker to spearhead international organisation
2014-06-02

 
Prof Melanie Walker has just added another phenomenal achievement to her illustrious academic career. Members of the international Human Development and Capabilities Association (HDCA) have elected her to the leading role of Vice-President.

Founded in 2004 by Amartya Sen and Martha Nussbaum, the HDCA is a global community of academics and practitioners. Together, they seek to build an intellectual community around the ideas of human development and the capability approach. Ultimately, the association strives to drive these ideas into the policy arena.

With members living in over 70 countries world-wide, the HDCA promotes research across a wide field of disciplines. These range from economics, philosophy and development studies to health, education, law, government, sociology and more.

In her new role, Prof Walker will be working closely with the renowned philosopher, Prof Henry Richardson of Georgetown University, USA. He is currently President-elect of the association. “My election as Vice-President will enable me to work closely with Henry and the Executive Committee to build on the first successful decade of the association to strengthen its reach and responsiveness to researchers, practitioners and policy makers,” Prof Walker says. “It is a tremendous honour to have been elected and a wonderful challenge for the next three years, personally and professionally. It will also place a significant spotlight on the human development and capabilities research I am leading at the UFS.”

Annually, the HDCA organises an international conference. This year celebrates a decade of successful symposiums and will take place in Athens. Eight Kovsie graduate students and researchers from the UFS’s Centre for Research on Higher Education and Development have had their papers accepted.

We use cookies to make interactions with our websites and services easy and meaningful. To better understand how they are used, read more about the UFS cookie policy. By continuing to use this site you are giving us your consent to do this.

Accept