Prof Charles Parry (Cape Town)
Director
Alcohol & Drug Abuse Research Unit
Medical Research Council, PO Box 19070
Tygerberg 7505
South Africa
Tel: +27-21-938-0419
Fax: +27-21-938-0342
E-mail: cparry@mrc.ac.za
Prof Charles Parry is a substance abuse epidemiologist/policy analyst. Trained in South Africa and the USA in clinical/community psychology and mathematical statistics he has published over 100 reports/articles and co-authored two books: Alcohol Policy & Public Health in South Africa (1998) and Alcohol and the Developing World: A public Health Perspective (2002). He is a member of the Editorial Advisory Boards of Addiction; Substance Abuse: Treatment, Prevention & Policy; Substance Abuse & Rehabilitation; and the African Journal of Drug & Alcohol Studies. He has advised provincial/national government on a variety of issues related to alcohol and drug policy and was involved in the formulation of South Africa’s National Drug Master Plan in 1999 and its revision in 2005. In 2006 he was appointed to the World Health Organization’s Expert Panel on Drug Dependence and Alcohol Problems.

Dr Neo Morojele (Pretoria)
Deputy Director
Alcohol & Drug Abuse Research Unit
Medical Research Council, Private Bag X385
Pretoria, 0001
South Africa
Tel: +27-12-339-8535
Fax: +27-12-339-8594
E-mail: nmorojel@mrc.ac.za
Dr Neo Morojele (Deputy Director) is a psychologist with experience in conducting substance abuse research in treatment, school, bar and community settings. She is currently involved in studies on adolescent substance use and foetal alcohol syndrome, and has a special interest in studying the links between alcohol and other drug use and HIV-related sexual risk behaviour among young people and adults. Dr Morojele received her first degree in Psychology at the University of Zimbabwe and then completed her postgraduate studies in the United Kingdom (University of London and University of Kent at Canterbury). She is a member of the International Advisory Board of the Journal of Substance Use (formerly the Journal of Substance Misuse: An International Journal for Nursing and Social Care) and an Associate Editor of the African Journal of Drug and Alcohol Studies.

Belinda Chamberlain (Cape Town)
Unit Contracts Administrator
E-mail: Belinda.chamberlain@mrc.ac.za
Alcohol & Drug Abuse Research Unit
Medical Research Council, PO Box 19070
Tygerberg 7505
South Africa
Tel: +27-21-938-0324
Fax: +27-21-938-0342
Ms Belinda Chamberlain is responsible for assisting the Unit Director and Programme Managers with financial/contractual issues. Some of the tasks include keeping an up-to-date database of projects/contracts, monitoring of income and expenditure reports, preparing certain sections of the annual budget application; assisting with the preparation of the annual parliamentary report; ensuring the optimal function of the unit through ongoing development of knowledge management systems. Ad hoc support to the Unit Director on a broad range of issues such as hosting of international seminars, strategic planning and other events, working with programme managers in developing proposals and dealing with funders.

Dr Connie Kekwaletswe (Pretoria)
Senior Scientist
E-mail: Connie.Kekwaletswe@mrc.ac.za
Dr Kekwaletswe completed both her undergraduate and postgraduate training in the USA; she has an MSc and a PhD in Clinical Health Psychology. Dr Kekwaletswe has a myriad of clinical experiences across diverse settings (community mental health centers, public hospitals and major teaching hospitals). She has worked with neuropsychiatric, behavioral medicine and rehabilitation patients across the lifespan. In line with her behavioral medicine subspecialty, Dr. Kekwaletswe currently directs a research project assessing the role of alcohol in adherence to antiretroviral therapy in patients across the various levels of medical care. Furthermore, she coordinates a brief intervention component of the project entitled: Pilot HIV Prevention Intervention in Bars and Shebeens in Tshwane, South Africa. Dr Kekwaletswe has a special interest in the social and behavioral aspects of HIV/AIDS, as well as adapting interventions for HIV/AIDS developed in other contexts to be culture and context sensitive for the local setting. 

Tara Carney (Cape Town)
Senior Scientist
E-mail: tara.carney@mrc.ac.za
Ms Tara Carney graduated with a MA in psychological research from the university from Cape Town and was then employed at this institution in numerous positions, including research assistant, junior lecturer and facilitator.  She was also involved in design work and in course evaluation.  Currently employed as a scientist in the Alcohol and Drug Abuse Research Unit at the Medical Research Council, her primary role is to provide research support for substance abuse projects in the prevention area, specifically the Centre of Disease Control's project on drugs and HIV in southern Africa. Her research interests include harm reduction and injection drug use, as well as substance abuse and HIV/AIDS interventions amongst detained youth.

Nadine Harker Burnhams (Cape Town)
Scientist
E-mail: nadine.harker@mrc.ac.za
Ms Nadine Harker Burnhams is employed as a scientist with the Medical Research Council’s Alcohol & Drug Abuse Research Unit (Cape Town). She graduated with a MA in Health and Welfare Management at the University of Port Elizabeth. Before joining the MRC she worked for the South African National Council on Alcoholism and Drug Dependence on a senior management level, and presented undergraduate substance abuse modules at the Nelson Mandela Metropolitan University.  Over the last year, she acted as project director on a study involving the design and implementation of a computerized substance abuse surveillance data capturing system for the department of social development.  Her specific interests are substance abuse treatment and prevention initiatives, particularly in the corporate and industrial sector. She recently completed an audit of primary prevention services targeting youth and children in Cape Town.

Elmarie Nel (Pretoria)
Chief Research Technologist
E-mail: Elmarie.nel@mrc.ac.za
Ms Elmarie Nel is a Senior Research Technologist in the Medical Research Council’s Alcohol and Drug Abuse Research Unit (Pretoria). She is responsible for the coordination and management of fieldwork. This includes personnel, logistic and financial management of fieldwork operations. She studied at the University of Free State and was a Registered Nurse for many years, working in the field of Community Health, as well as being involved in the HIV/AIDS programme of the Bloemfontein Municipality, as a councilor. Currently she is involved in the following projects: Pilot HIV Intervention, Prevention in Bars and Shebeens in Tshwane, South Africa, Phase II of the Fetal Alcohol Syndrome Study, the Adolescent Tobacco Use Study and a study on pathways and current risks and opportunities of street children in South Africa.

Rehana Kader (Cape Town)
PhD Research Intern
Email: Rehana.kader@mrc.ac.za
Ms Rehana Kader has earned an M Psych (Clinical Psychology) degree from the University of the Western Cape.  She is currently registered for a Ph.D. and is a research intern at the Medical Research Council’s Alcohol and Drug Abuse Research Unit. Ms Kader has experience and knowledge in program management, HIV/AIDS and substance abuse, and the organization and delivery of community-based services. In 2006-2007 she was awarded the Hubert H. Humphrey Fellowship and was based at the Institute for Drug and Alcohol Studies at the Virginia Commonwealth University in the United States of America.  Her main focus during the Fellowship was on substance abuse, performance measures and quality improvement methods for community-based addiction treatment programs, and the identification of evidence-based practices that could be adapted to the South African context.

Yolanda Williams (Cape Town)
Senior Officer
E-mail: Yolanda.williams@mrc.ac.za
Ms Yolanda Williams is an Administrative Officer who provides support to ADARU staff by assisting with various tasks which contributes to the smooth and efficient running of the Unit. Her responsibilities includes: organizing the SACENDU meetings; editing and distribution of the 6-monthly SACENDU Proceedings, maintaining databases, leave control and secretarial support. She is also providing support to specific projects by arranging their meetings and making travel arrangements, liaising with NGOs and district social service offices and is responsible for ordering and managing supplies of biological tests.

Puleng Pela (Pretoria)
Pretoria Office Administrator
E-mail: ppela@mrc.ac.za
Ms. Puleng Pela is the Senior Officer/Secretary of the Medical Research Council’s Alcohol and Drug Abuse Research Unit. Her main purpose is to assist, develop, coordinate, maintain and control systems as well as conduct administrative functions within the Pretoria Office of ADARU. Her responsibilities includes: office management, event management, personnel administration, communication, systems and controls, publications and secretarial support.

Siphokazi Dada (Cape Town)
Scientist
E-mail: siphokazi.dada@mrc.ac.za
Ms Siphokazi Dada is a Scientist in the Medical Research Council’s Alcohol and Drug Abuse Research Unit. She has a BSc (Hons) degree from the University of the Western Cape and a Master of Public Health Degree (MPH) from the University of London. Before joining ADARU, she worked as an Intern at MRC’s Gender and Health Unit. She manages the South African Community Epidemiology Network on Drug Use, a drug trends monitoring system operational throughout South Africa’s nine provinces. She coordinates data collection for the SACENDU project in Cape Town and other sites, assists with data analysis and report preparation for this project. She also participates in other epidemiological research being conducted in the unit.

Alet Van Staden (Parow site)
Data Collector
E-mail: Alet.vanStaden@mrc.ac.za
Ms Van Staden completed her tertiary education at the Cape Peninsula University of Technology with a Btech: Environmental Health. Currently she works in the Alcohol and Drug Abuse Research Unit of the Medical Research Council as a data collector. Her work entails interviewing study participants during various stages of the research study, editing of study data and also conducting biological screening tests.

Nomha Sitawutawu (Parow site)
Interventionist 
E-mail: Nomalipheze.Sitawutawu@mrc.ac.za 
Ms Nomalipheze Sitawutawu completed a BSc in Health Promotion at the University of Transkei in 2004. In 2005 she started working at the MRC’s Health Promotion Unit as a Fieldworker and in 2006 went on to work as a Senior Research Technician. She currently works in the Alcohol and Drug Abuse Research Unit as an Interventionist.

Jacobs Kgalabi  Ngako (Pretoria)
Chief Research Technologist
E-mail: Kgalabi.ngako@mrc.ac.za
Jacobs Kgalabi  Ngako is a Project Co-ordinator for a bar-based HIV intervention project in Drug and Alcohol Research Unit. His responsibility  is to serve as a Project Manager and conduct project field visits; manage counsellors, peer educators and server intervention process within the Pretoria office of the Alcohol and Drug Abuse Research Unit. Before  joining MRC he worked at Weskoppies Hospital as a Psychiatric Nurse Practitioner and in the United Kingdom as a Mental  Health Nurse Practitioner.  Kgalabi  is currently studying for  a Masters degree in Psychiatric Nursing Science with The University of  Pretoria .Kgalabi obtained his B Cur degree  from Medical University of South Africa; Postgraduate Diploma in Marketing Management, University of South Africa, Certificate in Clinical Research, Leeds University(United Kingdom), and Postgraduate Diploma in Public Health, University of Wolverhampton(United kingdom).

Mrs Eileen Rich (Pretoria)
Senior Scientist
E-mail: Eileen.Rich@mrc.ac.za
Mrs Eileen Rich has a Masters degree in Research Psychology and is looking towards registering for a PhD that will incorporate her research interests. She received her Honours and Masters degree in Psychology at the University of South Africa (Unisa).  Currently she is employed as a Senior Scientist with the Medical Research Council’s Alcohol & Drug Abuse Research Unit (Pretoria) and is involved with a pilot HIV Prevention Intervention study based in bars and shebeens in rural areas in North West Province.  Before joining the MRC she worked for the Unisa Centre for Applied Psychology (UCAP) and managed a variety of projects dealing with discrimination of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people (LGBT) in various sectors of society. She is also a trauma counsellor.

Michelle Schneider
Senior Scientist
Email: michelle.schneider@mrc.ac.za
Ms Michelle Schneider has a Masters degree in Public Health and is looking towards registering  for a PhD that will incorporate her research areas. Prior to coming to ADARU, she worked at the MRC Burden of Diseases Research Unit, with particular interest in the burden of mental health. Currently looking at the role of alcohol in the South African psychiatric population (alcohol abuse co-morbidities), alcohol and the casual linkages of alcohol use and HIV. Specifically alcohol and HIV-related sexual risk behaviour, with a view to evidence-based interventions.

Clement Ntlailane (Pretoria)
Research Technician
E-mail: cntlailane@mrc.ac.za
Mr Clement Ramano Ntlailane is a Research Technician in the Medical Research Council’s Alcohol and Drug Abuse Research Unit (Pretoria). His role is to coordinate the rural bar-based HIV intervention project.He is responsible for various activities which include liaising with community members and stakeholders, transporting project staff and fieldworkers, sourcing and delivering research materials, research administrative duties and generally aiding the smooth and efficient running of a rural bar-based HIV intervention project. He has a Diploma in Project Management and has been intensely involved with the University of Pretoria in coordinating their community project involving the city of Delft in Holland and Tshwane’s twin city relations. His background and experience lies extensively within project coordination in community project.

Nomvula Mdwaba (Parow site)
Outreach worker
E-mail: Nomvula.Mdwaba@mrc.ac.za
Ms Nomvula Mdwaba is an outreach worker. She has been doing extensive outreach for several years mostly on gender and women’s health studies She currently works in the Alcohol and Drug Abuse Research Unit as an Outreach Worker.

Fadwah Vardien  (Parow site)
Outreach worker
E-mail: Fadwah.vardien@mrc.ac.za
Ms Fadwah Vardien is an outreach worker. She has been doing extensive outreach for several years, working mostly on public health studies and HIV education and awareness services. She currently works in the Alcohol and Drug Abuse Research Unit as an Outreach Worker.

Dr Nandi Siegfried