Vinny Naidoo

Professional standing: Registered as a specialist veterinary pharmacologist with the S.A Veterinary Council,
Authorised to train specialists in Laboratory Animal Science (SAVC).
Professional membership: South African Veterinary Association (SAVA); Wildlife group of the SAVA;
Toxicological Society of South Africa, South African Society for Basic and Clinical Pharmacology; South
African Laboratory Animal Association; Vulture Programme
Biography: Vinny qualified as a veterinarian (Cum Laude) from the Medical University of Southern Africa
(MEDUNSA) in 2001 and finished his post-graduate training (MSc and PhD) at the Faculty of Veterinary
Science of the University of Pretoria (UP). Vinny was awarded specialist status in Veterinary Pharmacology
with the SAVC in 2008. He is currently a Professor in Veterinary Pharmacology within the Department of
Paraclinical Sciences and Director of the University of Pretoria Biomedical Research Centre (UPBRC). He is
also actively involved in the regulatory veterinary activities and holds the positions of: member of the Medicines
Control Council (MCC) of South Africa; Chair of the veterinary clinical committee of the MCC; Technical
advisor to the Registrar of Stock Remedies; Member of the South African Veterinary Council (SAVC); Chair of
the Education Committee of the SAVC; and chair of the Medicines Committee of the South African Veterinary
Association.
Research interests: His research is focused on the mechanistic pharmacology/toxicology of pharmaceutical
products. A large portion of this research is focused on vultures with the aim of finding the means to treating
poisonings through a better understanding of the drug’s mechanism(s) of toxicity. One of these projects, on
diclofenac, was instrumental in leading to a change in policy in India and South Africa by promoting a ban on
the use of diclofenac in veterinary medicine. This project is still actively involved in ensuring that South African
vultures are not exposed to toxic chemicals in their food. To date he has contributed towards 52 peer-reviewed
publications, 6 book chapters, the supervision of 15 post-graduate students (MSc and PhD) and the experiential
training of three veterinary specialists.
Teaching: Vinny is involved in the teaching of selected post-graduate modules in veterinary pharmacokinetics,
pharmacodynamics and drug development. He is also involved in the experiential training of one specialist in
Laboratory Animal Science, and is supervising the research projects of 5 MSc, 2 MMedVet and 3 PhD students.
Contract Research: Vinny also facilitates contract research projects in non-clinical drug developmental, nonclinical drug safety testing, veterinary bioequivalence and veterinary residue depletion under the auspices of the
University of Pretoria. Services related to this include study design, study initiation, data analysis and regulatory
report generation.