Biography:

• Until end of June 2016, she was the Regional Director of the International Council for Science (ICSU), heading its Regional Office for Africa (ROA), which is in its last 3 years in South Africa before moving to a new host country.
• In this capacity, she has accumulated a vast amount of experience in Global Environmental Change issues, particularly those on Climate Change and adaptation.
• The main highlight of her previous role was driving the establishment of the Future Earth initiative in Africa, which has finally seen two offices being launched in two countries on the continent.
• She has also served as an expert in the UNECA panel for Climate Change and Development. In this capacity, she participated in a series of events and conferences over a 3-year span, for Africa's preparation leading to the COP21 negotiations, coordinated by the African Climate Policy Centre (ACPC) of the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa (UNECA).
• She was mainly addressing the topic of Means of Implementation from a research and technology perspective.
• Current roles include being Vice Chair of both South Africa's Medicines Control Council and Clinical Trials Committee, member of the National Health Research Committee and the Working Group advising on Cannabis for Medicinal Use. She is also a Co-Chair for the Expert Review Committee of the European-Developing Country Clinical Trials Partnership (EDCTP), for setting up Regional Networks for Clinical Trials in sub-Saharan Africa, a European Union funded 5 year project.
• Edith holds a Doctoral degree in Mental Health Nursing from the University of Johannesburg; an Advanced Health Management certificate from the University of Pretoria; a Diploma in Health Outcomes Research and Certificate in Ethical Issues of Clinical Research from the Vienna School of Clinical Research, Austria. She also holds a Senior Management Development Programme (SMDP) certificate from the University of Stellenbosch Business School.
• She was a Steering committee member of the Initiative for Strengthening Health Research Capacity in Africa (ISHReCA), representing the Southern African Anglophone region from 2007 to 2012.
• Recently appointed as Distinguished Member of the External Reference Group (ERG) for the 2016 Africa Capacity Report (ACR). She also served in the Joint Health-Education Technical Task Team of the Departments of Higher Education and Health for unbundling two public universities that were previously merged (Medical University of Southern Africa and University of the North), from 2012 -2014.
• Previous Executive Manager for Human Capital Management and Development at the Medical Research Council from 2005 to 2010, during which she also served as reviewer for research funding organisations at national and international levels. Was a member of the Academy of Science of South Africa (ASSAf) panel that developed the Consensus Report on Revitalising Clinical Research in South Africa (2009).

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