SUCCESSFULL SAHETIANS

Dr Joanne Karzis

CLASS OF 1998

Veterinary Researcher and Quality Manager of the Milk Laboratory

Dr Joanne Karzis is employed as a veterinary researcher and is the Quality Manager of the Milk Laboratory, at the Department of Production Animal Studies, at the Faculty of Veterinary Sciences, University of Pretoria, Onderstepoort.

Joanne attended SAHETI School and then completed a BSc degree with Honours in Zoology (cum laude) from Rand Afrikaans University (RAU). After obtaining her MSc Degree from the University of Pretoria (cum laude) 2005, she continued to conduct research for 18 years in the following areas: udder health field; pro-active approach; mastitis; microbiology; antibiotic resistance; and One Health at the Milk Laboratory.

Joanne obtained her PhD degree from the University of Pretoria in April 2020 with honorary academic colours, where her Thesis was titled: "Antibiotic resistance of coagulase positive staphylococci isolated from milk of South African dairy herds". During the course of her doctoral studies, Joanne discovered a new strain of S. aureus ST 2992, with an abnormal stop codon, which has been deposited in Genbank (accession number, MN531305).

Joanne has published a total of 27 papers in peer-reviewed journals that include: numerous congress proceedings and semi-scientific articles; and posters and presentations at national and international congresses. Dr Joanne Karzis is one of only two experts at the Faculty of Veterinary Science whose research is largely focused in the field of Udder Health. She has been a registered Professional Natural Scientist with SACNASP since 2017, as well as a Y2-rated NRF (National Research Foundation) researcher since 2021.