About h3d foundation
Leadership team/ board of directors
Kelly Chibale
CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER
He is also a Full Member of the UCT Institute of Infectious Disease & Molecular Medicine, a Tier 1 South Africa Research Chair in Drug Discovery, founding Director of the South African Medical Research Council (SAMRC) Drug Discovery & Development Research Unit at UCT and the Founder and Director of the UCT Drug Discovery and Development Centre (H3D).
Kelly obtained his PhD in Synthetic Organic Chemistry from the University of Cambridge in the UK (1989-1992). This was followed by postdoctoral stints at the University of Liverpool in the UK (1992-94) and at the Scripps Research Institute in the USA (1994-96).
He was a Sandler Sabbatical Fellow at the University of California San Francisco (2002), a US Fulbright Senior Research Scholar at the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine (2008) and a Visiting Professor at Pfizer in the UK (2008).
In 2018 Kelly was recognized by Fortune magazine as one of the World’s 50 Greatest Leaders and in 2019 he was named as one of the 100 Most Influential Africans by New African magazine.
Susan Winks
ChIEF Operations Officer
Dr Susan Winks is currently employed as the Head of Research Operations and Business Development at H3D and manages the team of professional staff that support the interdisciplinary drug discovery work at H3D. She has been operating in a project management and operations role for the past 9 years, setting up organisational systems and working to support the various projects across the centre. Prior to this, Dr Winks worked as a medicinal chemist focused on drug discovery for neglected diseases, first at iThemba Pharmaceuticals for 3,5 years and then at H3D for a year
The transition away from laboratory science was precipitated by the completion of her MBA in 2014 and an ever-increasing interest in optimizing the environment for scientific efforts to maximize the impact.
Ayesha banderker
ChIEF FINANCIAL Officer
The position also ensures adherence to statutory requirements, assess risk and strives for operational efficiencies across the entire unit. She has been operating in the finance position for 7 years, setting up organisational systems and working to support the Centre.
He was a Sandler Sabbatical Fellow at the University of California San Francisco (2002), a US Fulbright Senior Research Scholar at the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine (2008) and a Visiting Professor at Pfizer in the UK (2008).
In 2018 Kelly was recognized by Fortune magazine as one of the World’s 50 Greatest Leaders and in 2019 he was named as one of the 100 Most Influential Africans by New African magazine.