Dr Retha Visagie holds numerous leadership positions, both locally and internationally. She is a non-executive director and the chairperson of the Board of the not-for-profit company, EthiXPERT. This company’s specific focus and contribution are to enhance responsible and ethical research capacity in and for Africa. She played a leading role in the establishment of the Research Ethics Committee Association of Southern Africa (REASA) as a founding member, non-executive director, and the former chairperson of the Board. She was recently appointed to serve as a member of an international Pool of Experts under the auspices of Globethics.net and is a member of the Technical Sub-committee for Good Research Management Practice led by the African Academy of Sciences. Retha was the co-chair of the 6th International Association for Ethics Education Conference, which was held in Stellenbosch in October 2018. She is also a member of the Advisory Panel of the Seventh World Conference on Research Integrity, which will take place in Cape Town in 2021.

Retha established the Research Integrity Office at the University of South Africa in 2014 and is serving on many high-level committees. She chairs the Academic Integrity Committee, is the deputy chairperson of the Unisa Research Ethics Review Committee, and a member of the Unisa Senate Research Committee and Unisa Social and Ethics Committee of Council. She develops policy, leads inquiries into alleged cases of research misconduct, and represents the university as an expert witness during disciplinary hearings.

With a doctorate in Advanced Psychiatric Nursing Science and recognition as a UNESCO-trained ethics educator, Retha is well-equipped to conduct research in the interrelated fields of research ethics and integrity in Social and Health Sciences. She has a keen interest in Positive Psychology and Appreciative Inquiry, as seen in previous research, and is an advanced business coach. Retha completed a postgraduate diploma in Health Research Ethics (Cum Laude) through the University of Stellenbosch, receiving the prestigious title of Fogarty Fellow. In 2018, SARIMA recognised her contributions in the field through the Department of Science and Trade/SARIMA Award for Professional Excellence in Research Management. She is the author of several accredited peer-reviewed articles and book chapters, and the co-editor of a scholarly book focusing explicitly on Social Science Research Ethics in Africa. Retha remains active as a postgraduate research supervisor and is a sought-after research ethics facilitator who has trained more than 1200 academics, research professionals, and members of research ethics review committees over the past five years.

Mr Harry Maishe Bopape joined EthiXPERT as a Director: Business Development responsible for pinpointing growth drivers that will help EthiXPERT to grow.  Harry holds a Science degree in Physics, and a Diploma in Datametrics, having specialised in Decision Modelling and Information Technology. He also holds a Masters’ in Business Leadership (MBL), specialised in Strategic Management. He has more than 20 years’ experience in academic administration, the last eight years of which has been in research management, where he is responsible for the operationalisation and execution of the research and innovation strategy of the university. He oversees various aspects in research management, including Research Ethics and Integrity, Research Information, External Funding and Research Support Projects and Programmes.

Jannie Dannhauser is a Chartered Accountant (South Africa) and Registered Auditor.

He has 34 years’ experience in financial audit, audit regulation and investigations internationally and locally, for large and small audit practices, and directorships in commercial businesses from listed companies to SMEs. He is a non-executive director of the non-profit company, EthiXPERT. This company’s specific focus and contribution are to enhance responsible and ethical research capacity in and for Africa. Jannie is also the Founder and CEO of Leaf Quality Systems, serving audit firms on audit regulation compliance in South Africa. He has been instrumental in establishing the practice review department in Zimbabwe while in the employ of the IRBA in South Africa and have established the Botswana practice review department for the Botswana Accountancy Oversight Authority (BAOA) as consultant for the World Bank.

With his wealth of experience in both business and audit investigations and disciplinary matters, Jannie is well equipped to provide oversight to the financial strategy plan and financial performance as compered to management’s milestones and goals.

Prof. Ike Iyioke, PhD. has extensive teaching, collaborative research, and administrative experience both in the U.S., Nigeria, and lately in South Africa, that span more than two decades. This includes teaching stints at College of Ecumenical Education, Enugu, Nigeria; and in the US, at Alma College, MI; Department of Public Health, University of Michigan, Flint; Department of Philosophy, Michigan State University (MSU), East Lansing; and Division of Public Health, MSU, Flint. Other work experiences include working as a Correspondent for The Guardian Newspaper in Lagos Nigeria. His interdisciplinary background includes graduate degrees in philosophy, teaching, and international relations. His research interests include issues about research subject/participant selection; biomedical research partnerships between Global South and the North; and environmental science and public policy. He has led and participated in international capacity development/research teams with collaborators in Nigeria, South Africa, Tanzania, Vietnam, etc., and applied for external funding with US government agencies (e.g., NIH). Iyioke has received fellowships from MacArthur Foundation (1996/7) and Carnegie African Diaspora Fellowship Foundation (2022 to University of Cape Town, SA, and 2023 to University of South Africa, SA). Also, he has authored several publications including, Clinical Trials and the African Person: A quest to re-conceptualize responsibility, (2018) and Rethinking clinical trials and redefining responsibility for research participants: A focus on Africa (2023).

Francis Kombe is a Public Health, Community Engagement, Capacity Building, Bioethics and Research Integrity practitioner. He has a wealth of experience working in international health research institutions, where he has held various leadership positions.

Kombe holds a Master of Social Science in Health Research Ethics from the University of KwaZulu-Natal (UKZN), South Africa; Master of Public Health and Postgraduate Diploma in Public Health from London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine-UK (LSHTM). He is currently pursuing a Wellcome Trust funded PhD at UKZN, with a focus on Research Integrity.

Before joining EthiXPERT, Kombe worked as the project lead consultant for the COHRED’S project that aims to build research ethics review capacities in Africa, RHInnO Ethics Africa; and was a training coordinator at the KWTRP where he was involved in the strategic development and planning of health research fieldworkers in the biggest international biomedical research centre in Kenya.

He is a founding and steering committee member of the African Research Integrity Network (ARIN) and chairs the Ethics, Community Engagement and Patients Advocacy and Support (ECEPAS) Working Group under The Global Emerging Pathogens Treatment Consortium (GET). He is a programme committee member of the 7th World Conference on Research Integrity, a member of the Pwani University Research Ethics Committee and an expert committee member of the African Academy of Sciences’ Data And Biospecimen Governance Committee

Kombe is also a UNESCO appointed Member of the International Forum of Teachers of Bioethics and the 2015 Pillars of PRIM&R Award winner (http://blog.primr.org/meet-2014-15-pillars-of-prim-award/). He has published widely in the field of community engagement, performance management of health research fieldworkers, research integrity, fair study benefits and informed consent, among others.

Corline van Rooyen was invited to become a director of EthiXPERT in February 2020, to oversee legal affairs and administrative aspects. Twenty-six years of engagement with Higher Education Institutions (HEIs) and the desire to make an impact where it is most needed led to her decision of accepting the challenge with EthiXPERT to inspire responsible and ethical research capacity in and for Africa.

Her passion and keen interest is in the law, and she thus obtained an LLB degree through UNISA in 2014. What kicked off in 1999 as part-time legal work became a full-time duty in 2018 when she registered a second company, Lynnwood Law Chambers. In 2019 she was admitted to the High Court of South Africa as an advocate.

In September 2017, she registered her own company, Research Management Services SA (RMS SA). The experience and knowledge she gained through her employment first at the National Research Foundation and then at the Southern African Research and Innovation Management Association (SARIMA, a not-for-profit company), led her to the establishment of RMS SA. This company aims to equip academia with the best possible tools available for challenges they are facing in fulfilling their roles; not only as lecturers but also as researchers. Special attention and support are also offered to postgraduate students through HEIs and individually.

It was during her time at SARIMA that she was exposed to Research Ethics for the first time. The importance of understanding and applying Research Ethics and Integrity can never be emphasised enough. As such, Corline is enthusiastic in joining forces with EthiXPERT, to strengthen this subject across the borders.