Petro Terblanche

Petro Terblanche has a track record in the successful strategic management of technology based organizations and the translation of research into innovation. She has extensive experience developing and managing research portfolios for clinical research projects for single and/or combination therapy in the field of medical oncology, and in planning, executing and publishing original research aimed at decision support and policy development in the field of environmental health. She has been the lead negotiator on several licence agreements in the field of food, fine chemical and pharmaceuticals and has been instrumental in the creation of start-up companies for profit and non –profit purposes. She has played a key role in the development and implementation of South Africa’s Biotechnology strategy since 1999.

Prior to her positions as a Part time full Professor at North-West University (NWU) and Afrigen Biologics (MD, start-up Biotech Company), she was the Managing Director of Pelchem SOC Ltd a high technology fluorochemical production, sales and distribution Company (2011 – 2015), she held the position of Group Executive: Research and Development, South African Nuclear Energy Corporation (2010-2011), Executive Director for Technology and Innovation in the SA Medical Research Council (2004-2010), she was the Executive Director of the Food, Biological and Chemical Technologies Division (Bio/Chemtek) at South Africa’s Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR), one of the leading scientific and technology research, development and implementation organizations in Africa from 1995 to 2004. From 2007 to 2009 she was the President of the Stakeholder Association of the Global Alliance for TB Drug Discovery and Development based in New York. she has also been Extra-ordinary Professor at the University of Pretoria in the School of Health Systems and Public Health since 2008.

Terblanche holds a BSc degree in Botany and Zoology and a MSc and DSc in Medical Oncology from the University of Pretoria. She has post-doctoral training in Environmental Health Management from Harvard University. She authored more than 200 publications and conference paper. Terblanche is member of the Academy of Sciences of South Africa (ASSAf) since 2000 and was honored in the recent “Legends of Science” publication from ASSAf.

She currently holds the following Board/Committee positions: Chairperson Bone SA NPC Board of Directors, Board of Directors Afrigen Biologics Pty Ltd, Industrial Advisory Group Molecular Sciences Institute at Wits School of Chemistry, Advisory Committee for the University of Pretoria’s Center for Sustainable Malaria Control and the Institute of Molecular and Cellular Biology. She also served on the Board of the Technology Innovation Agency from 2010 -2016 and the National Intellectual Property Management Organization Board from 2011 to 2017 (both Cabinet appointed positions).