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Health Sciences
Metropole, an area comprising approximately 4,5 million
persons, stretching from Atlantis on the West Coast, the
Peninsula, the City, to everything south of the N2 up to, but
not including, Khayelitsha. Our clinical services are based at
Salt River Mortuary and we perform approx 3 500 autopsies
per annum. The Division does not yet have a dedicated
research laboratory, but this should be established in
2011. We do provide a clinical teaching neuropathology
laboratory with a specialist neuropathologist. This,
together with the heavy investigative service load and
a critical shortage of pathologists, has limited research
activities within the Division, but this will change with the
establishment of our research laboratory and our proposed
Master’s course in Forensic Science (2012).
There are active collaborations with the departments
of Anatomical Pathology, Surgery, Obstetrics and
Gynaecology, Human Genetics, Paediatrics and Psychiatry;
and EMS and the Law faculty.
Divisional Statistics
Permanent and Long-term Contract Staff
Head: Clinical Department/Professor
1
Head: Clinical Unit
1
Specialists
3
Medical Officer
1
Senior Lecturer / Course Convener
1
Chief Medical Technologist
1
Medical Technologist
1
Administrative and clerical
5
Admin & Clerical (part-time)
1
Laboratory Assistant
1
Total
16
Students
Master’s (M Med)
5
Biomedical Forensic Science (M Phil)
16
Undergraduate (MBChB) - Year 5
179
Undergraduate (LLB) - Final year
13
Special Study Module – Year 2
8
Total
211
Research Fields and Staff
Permanent Staff
Professor L.J. Martin
Head of Clinical Department & Professor: Management
protocols for rape survivors; domestic homicide;
monitoring implementation of rape law reforms; domestic
violence guidelines for the health sector; epidemiology
of female murder; aortic disease; indicators for the Lodox
Statscan in children; age estimations for children using
Lodox statscans; paediatric trauma and World Cup Soccer;
National study of female and children homicide in South
Africa; identification of areas for quality improvements in
preventable trauma deaths at Groote Schuur Hospital.
Dr G.M. Kirk
Head of Clinical Unit & Senior Lecturer: Sudden deaths
in sport; firearm injuries; death notification; drug-related
deaths; forensic histopathology; history of forensic medicine
Dr Y.Y. van der Heyde
Senior Specialist & Senior Lecturer: The effects of pre-natal
alcohol exposure; paediatric mortality; animal bites in
children; early adolescent suicide, child homicide including
child abuse; sudden unexpected death in childhood
including SIDS.
Dr L. Liebenberg
Senior Specialist & Senior Lecturer: Firearm fatalities and
final judicial outcome; aortic disease project; mast cell
Tryptase; case studies – curious deaths; atherosclerotic
disease prevalence in the Cape Town population; Lodox
X-ray application in the forensic setup.
Dr I.J. Molefe
10 year retrospective study of epidemiology and analysis
of injury patterns of femicide and rape homicide in Cape
Town: A follow-up study.
Dr S. Maistry
Deaths on Table Mountain: A retrospective analysis 2000-
2011
Dr S. Mfolozi
Development of the NecroChronometer: determining
the post-mortem interval using a combination of three
methods and location-specific weather information
Dr E.B. Afonso
Identifying trends and risk factors for deaths in police
custody in the Cape Town Metropole, 1999-2008
Dr A. Khan
SNP genotypes and skin tone variation in South Africa; male
sexual assault; maternal deaths (a forensic perspective)
Contact Details
Postal Address: Division of Forensic Medicine and
Toxicology, P O Box 13914, Mowbray, 7705
Telephone: +27 21 406 6110
Fax: +27 21 448 1249
E-mail: june.mehl@uct.ac.za; lornaj.martin@uct.ac.za
Web: www.forensicmedicine.uct.ac.za