Tafadzwa Machipisa

Postdoctoral Research Fellow

Research Interest

Education

Research Experience

Awards and Scholarships

Publications

Detailed Profile

Research Interest

Exploring the genetic underpinnings of diseases and traits within a range of underrepresented groups, particularly among individuals with various African ancestries. This research is pivotal for gaining a deeper insight into the unique physiological norms of these populations, as well as the specific pathologies of diseases affecting them, such as cardiovascular disease.

Key Terms: Human population genetics, genetic epidemiology, infectious diseases, computational genomics, bioinformatics, immunometabolism, cardiovascular genetics, and population, global and/or public health research.

Education

2024

Ph.D. in Medicine University of Cape Town (UCT), Cape Town, South Africa (SA)
(Visiting Ph.D. fellow, McMaster University, Canada)
Supervisor(s): Prof. Bongani M Mayosi (late) (SA), Prof. Mark Engel (SA), Prof. Guillaume Paré (Canada), and Prof. Bernard Keavney (UK).

2016

MPhil in Maternal and Child Health (MCH) UCT, Cape Town, SA
Dissertation (with distinction): Preliminary genealogical evidence for the Plakophilin-2 gene, PKP2 c.1162C>T founder mutation in Afrikaner South Africans with Arrhythmogenic Right Ventricular Cardiomyopathy (ARVC).
Supervisor(s): Prof. Bongani M Mayosi (late) (SA) & A/Prof. Gasnat Shaboodien (SA)

2014

Visiting Fellow: Global Health/Public Health, Emory University, Atlanta, Georgia, USA
Graduate Exchange Programme

2012

BSc Hons in Chemical Pathology, University of Pretoria (UP), Pretoria, SA
Thesis: Analysis of the exons of the GNAS gene in a patient with suspected Pseudohypoparathyroidism (PHP) Type Ib.
Supervisor: Dr. Chantal Van Niekerk (SA)

2011

BSc in Biomedicine, Midrand Graduate Institute (MGI), Johannesburg, SA

Research Experience

2023-Present

Postdoctoral Researcher, Tishkoff Lab, Department of Genetics, Perelman School of Medicine
University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA

2015 – Present

RHDGen Fellow, Mayosi Research Group, Cape Heart Institute (CHI), UCT, SA and Clinical Research Lab & the Genetic Molecular and Epidemiology Lab (CRLB-GMEL), Population Health Research Institute (PHRI), Canada
Human Hereditary Health (H3Africa) & Wellcome Trust Project

2012

Undergraduate Student Lab Research Assistant, The Department of Chemical Pathology, UP, Pretoria, SA

Awards and Scholarships

2023-Present

• University of Pennsylvania, Penn Center for Global Genomics & Health Equity Postdoctoral Fellowship sponsored by Genentech
• Sigma Xi, The Scientific Research Honor Society, Full member (Invited & Accepted)

2021-2022

• Department of Medicine PhD Top-up Scholarship Award
• JAMA Cardiology 2021 Editor’s note and AMA module: Expanding Discovery in Cardiovascular Genome-Wide Association Studies. Citation: Natarajan P, McNally EM. JAMA Cardiol. Published online June 09, 2021. doi:10.1001/jamacardio.2021.1635. AMA Module (1 Credit CME)
• Science World Museum, Canada: Black History Month Ambassador, 2021.

Publications

Karthikeyan, G., Watkins, D., Bukhman, G., Cunningham, M. W., Haller, J., Masterson, M., Mensah, G. A., Mocumbi, A., Muhamed, B., Okello, E., Sotoodehnia, N., Machipisa, T., Ralph, A., Wyber, R., & Beaton, A. (2023). Research priorities for the secondary prevention and management of acute rheumatic fever and rheumatic heart disease: a National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (NIH NHLBI) workshop report. BMJ global health, 8(Suppl 9), e012468. Watkins et al Published: 31 October 2023

Mayanja, R., Machipisa, T., Soremekun, O., Kamiza, A.B., Kintu, C., Kalungi, A., Kalyesubula, R., Sande, O.J., Jjingo, D., Fabian, J. and Robinson-Cohen, C., 2023. Genome-wide association analysis of cystatin-C kidney function in continental Africa. EBioMedicine. 95. Published: 26 August 2023

Soremekun, C., Machipisa, T., Soremekun, O., Pirie, F., Oyekanmi, O., Motala, A. A., Chikowore, T., & Fatumo, S. Multivariate GWAS analysis reveals loci associated with liver functions in continental African populations. PLoS ONEPublished: February 21, 2023

Machipisa, T., Chishala, C., Shaboodien, G., Zühlke, L. J., Muhamed, B., Pandie, S., de Vries, J., Laing, N., Joachim, A., Daniels, R., Ntsekhe, M., Hugo-Hamman, C. T., Gitura, B., Ogendo, S., Lwabi, P., Okello, E., Damasceno, A., Novela, C., Mocumbi, A. O., Madeira, G., Musuku, J., Mtaja, A., ElSayed, A., HM Alhassan, H., Bode-Thomas, F., Yilgwan, C., Amusa, G., Nkereuwem, E., Mulder, N., Ramesar, R., Lesosky, M., Cordell, H. J., Chong, M., Keavney, B., Paré, G., Engel, M. E. & the RHDGen Network Consortium. Rationale, Design, and the Baseline Characteristics of the RHDGen (The Genetics of Rheumatic Heart Disease) Network Study. Circulation: Genomic and Precision Medicine, 16(1): e003641 Published Feb 2023

2024	Ph.D. in Medicine University of Cape Town (UCT), Cape Town, South Africa (SA) (Visiting Ph.D. fellow, McMaster University, Canada) Supervisor(s): Prof. Bongani M Mayosi (late) (SA), Prof. Mark Engel (SA), Prof. Guillaume Paré (Canada), and Prof. Bernard Keavney (UK).
2016	MPhil in Maternal and Child Health (MCH) UCT, Cape Town, SA Dissertation (with distinction): Preliminary genealogical evidence for the Plakophilin-2 gene, PKP2 c.1162C>T founder mutation in Afrikaner South Africans with Arrhythmogenic Right Ventricular Cardiomyopathy (ARVC). Supervisor(s): Prof. Bongani M Mayosi (late) (SA) & A/Prof. Gasnat Shaboodien (SA)
2014	Visiting Fellow: Global Health/Public Health, Emory University, Atlanta, Georgia, USA Graduate Exchange Programme
2012	BSc Hons in Chemical Pathology, University of Pretoria (UP), Pretoria, SA Thesis: Analysis of the exons of the GNAS gene in a patient with suspected Pseudohypoparathyroidism (PHP) Type Ib. Supervisor: Dr. Chantal Van Niekerk (SA)
2011	BSc in Biomedicine, Midrand Graduate Institute (MGI), Johannesburg, SA

2023-Present	Postdoctoral Researcher, Tishkoff Lab, Department of Genetics, Perelman School of Medicine University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA
2015 – Present	RHDGen Fellow, Mayosi Research Group, Cape Heart Institute (CHI), UCT, SA and Clinical Research Lab & the Genetic Molecular and Epidemiology Lab (CRLB-GMEL), Population Health Research Institute (PHRI), Canada Human Hereditary Health (H3Africa) & Wellcome Trust Project
2012	Undergraduate Student Lab Research Assistant, The Department of Chemical Pathology, UP, Pretoria, SA

2023-Present	• University of Pennsylvania, Penn Center for Global Genomics & Health Equity Postdoctoral Fellowship sponsored by Genentech • Sigma Xi, The Scientific Research Honor Society, Full member (Invited & Accepted)
2021-2022	• Department of Medicine PhD Top-up Scholarship Award • JAMA Cardiology 2021 Editor’s note and AMA module: Expanding Discovery in Cardiovascular Genome-Wide Association Studies. Citation: Natarajan P, McNally EM. JAMA Cardiol. Published online June 09, 2021. doi:10.1001/jamacardio.2021.1635. AMA Module (1 Credit CME) • Science World Museum, Canada: Black History Month Ambassador, 2021.