Susan J van Rensburg, PhD

Susan J. van Rensburg, PhD, is a Senior Scientist in the Department of Pathology, Stellenbosch University, Tygerberg, South Africa.  She has been involved with neuroscience research since 1986 when she joined the MRC Research Unit for the Neurochemistry of Mental Diseases in the Department of Chemical Pathology, Tygerberg Hospital.

She graduated with a PhD in Medical Sciences (Chemical Pathology) in 1993, investigating the aetiology of Alzheimer’s disease. She collaborated with the Department of Psychiatry to evaluate the efficacy of the fatty acid EPA as supplemental treatment in schizophrenia. In 2003 she joined a research project on multiple sclerosis (MS) and received the Bayer Senior Researcher Award, presented by the SAACB, in 2006 for a publication on iron deficiency in MS. She has co-developed Pathology Supported Genetic Testing for MS. She has co-authored more than 70 peer-reviewed articles, five book chapters and she is a co-inventor of 2 patents registered by the University of Stellenbosch and the National Health Laboratory Service. She has served as a reviewer and editorial board member for international journals. She is a member of the Neuroscience Society of Southern Africa (SANS) and the World Federation of Neurology Dementia Research Group. She served on the SA National Committee for the International Brain Research Organisation (IBRO).

Professor van Rensburg became interested in Alcohol Research when her research showed that moderate alcohol consumption was associated with improved disability outcomes in MS. She retired in August 2015 and was appointed as Scientific Advisor of Gknowmix Pty Ltd, and as an Emeritus Associate Professor by the University of Stellenbosch.