Two weeks ago we had Prof Monique Zaahl joined us in studio to talk about ancestry testing, before she left she took our mouth swabs along with her to her lab. She’s back to share the findings…
Post Heritage Day, we thought we’d deep dive into our roots genetically. We’re joined in studio by Prof Monique Zaahl, Owner of Gene Diagnostics.
A little bit about Gene Diagnostics:
We focus on DNA. We specialize in the following:
1. Ancestry Testing
2. Pharmacogenetic Testing
3. Paternity Testing
4. Genetic Testing.
The “exciting” part about having these test done, is that they can show you where you and your family originate from i.e Country and how many years ago.
e.g Peters family originate from Sweden, and started in 1756.
These results they can received within 10 working days.
Bio: Prof Zaahl completed her PhD in Human Genetics in 2003. As a Commonwealth Split-site scholar, she completed most of her study at Oxford University. She was appointed Head of the Genetics Department at Stellenbosch University in 2011.
Strategic positioning of the department within the national context was key to her role. She has published 26 research articles in international peer-reviewed journals (8 first author publications and 18 co-author publications), one book chapter, a review article in the field of human genetics, holds 5 patents and has trained numerous postgraduate students (24 HonsBSc, 12 MSc and 3 PhD).
Her entrepreneurial skills were evident with the establishment of GENEdiagnostics (Pty) Ltd in 2010, a genetic testing company. GENEdiagnostics were awarded the SMME Award for most innovative company (awarded by AfricaGrowth) in 2013, was selected to form part of a Bridge International Bootcamp (sponsored by ABSA, Barclays, CEDAR and Stellenbosch University) in 2014 and has recently (2018) been selected as a Shanduka Blackumbrella company (previous Cyril Rhamaphosa foundation).
Listen to the podcast here with Aden Thomas
