The Wits Department of Family Medicine and Primary Care, and the Adler Museum, invite you to attend our next Pandemic Pangolins Webinar titled "Pandemic Innovations” in this session hosted by Aviwe Mgobozi the speakers Glaudina Loots, Director of Health Innovation and Neo Hutiri, a biotech entrepreneur, will speak about Innovation in a time of pandemic. Focusing on how crises drive innovation. They will focus on the opportunities, challenges, and technology.
Aviwe Mgobozi is currently a Lecturer in the Wits Division of Clinical Associates, in the Department of Family medicine and primary care. She completed an MPhil in Health professions education at Stellenbosch University in 2019 and completed the Diploma in Health Science education in 2016. She is a qualified Clinical associate that graduated in the first cohort of the Bachelor of Clinical Medicine programme at the University of Witwatersrand in 2011. Her interests are in health Innovation, 21st Century Medical education and Professional identity.
Glaudina Loots is the Director for Health Innovation at the Department of Science and Innovation in South Africa and as such is responsible for the implementation of the Health components of the Bioeconomy strategy for South Africa, and concentrates on enabling research and innovation that leads to discovery and evaluation of new drug and treatment regimes, the development of new vaccines and new robust diagnostics, as well as the development of medical devices. Glaudina was instrumental in the creation of the Strategic Health Innovation Partnership Initiative at the South African Medical Research Council. Amongst others, Glaudina is a member of the Ministerial Advisory Committees on COVID-19, COVID-19 Vaccines, as well as Antimicrobial Resistance. She also serves on the South African National Health Research Committee, the South African National AIDS Council, and the Advisory Board of the “Towards and HIV Cure Initiative” of the International AIDS. She is a Board member of The Biovac Institute, a Public-Private-Partnership aimed at the local manufacturing of vaccines and biologics.
Neo is an engineer turned social entrepreneur chasing purpose, meaning and impact. He is the founder of Technovera, a social-tech business developing smart solutions in the public healthcare space. Neo developed Pelebox, a solution that enables patients to collect repeat medication in seconds instead of waiting hours. He is an Ashoka Fellow and winner of the 2019 Africa Prize for Engineering Innovation by The Royal Academy of Engineering. Neo graduated from UCT with a BSc in Electrical Engineering, Wits with an MEng in Industrial Engineering before venturing out into the tech startup scene in Johannesburg.