PhD in Biochemistry
Prof Carina Mels is a full-time Research Professor and Director of the Hypertension in Africa Research Team (HART) at the North-West University (NWU). She obtained her PhD in Biochemistry in 2011 and she holds a C2-rating from the National Research Foundation. She has published numerous peer-reviewed papers and acted as post-graduate study supervisor to various Masters and PhD students. She is the Principal Investigator of the African PRospective study on the Early Detection and Identification of Cardiovascular disease and HyperTension (African-PREDICT) as well as a nested study, PRospective Effect of COVID-19 on Early cardiovascular disEase Development in Africans (PRECEED-Africa). She serves on the Board of Directors and the Next Generation Committee of the Southern African Hypertension Society (SAHS). As a professional member of the International Society of Hypertension (ISH) she is also involved in the African Regional Advisory Group with the aim to alleviate the burden of hypertension on the African continent. Her research focus is on the involvement of oxidative stress in the development of cardiovascular disease and recently also started to use proteomics and metabolomics to investigate early changes associated with the development of future cardiovascular disease. She also serves on the Editorial Advisory Board of the journal Metabolomics.