Lisa Roberts

Lisa Roberts moved from Namibia to South Africa in 1994 to begin her tertiary education. She graduated from the University of Cape Town with a Bachelor of Science Degree (majoring in Biochemistry and Microbiology), followed by a BSc (Hons) degree in Biochemistry. Lisa was subsequently employed as a Research Assistant and later a Scientific Officer in the Division of Human Genetics. In 2006, she registered as a part-time student and graduated with an MSc (Med) degree in Human Genetics the same year. Her Master’s thesis was titled “Mutation analysis of important retinal candidate genes: progressing from research to diagnostic service” and the degree was awarded with distinction. Lisa is currently Project Leader of the Retinal Degenerative Disorders research group, and as such is involved in research, diagnostic services, student education and patient awareness. Lisa is also currently a part-time PhD student, investigating the genetic basis of inherited Retinal Diseases in indigenous Africans. She is a registered Medical Biological Scientist with the Health Professionals Council of South Africa and was a committee member of the Southern African Society of Human Genetics (SASHG) from 2009 -2013. In this role of committee member of the SASHG, she provided comment and recommendations on the Forensic Procedures Amendment Act (the “DNA Bill”), which was eventually passed into law in February 2014.