Dr Felistas Mashinya Profile I hold the following academic qualifications: PhD (Health Sciences);MSc (Medical Microbiology); Post Graduate Diploma (Management for Executives); I have worked in a Government Medical Laboratory for over 5 years, before spending another 5 years in the private sector where I worked in a Food Processing Laboratory starting of as a Microbiologist / Processing Plant Hygienist, before being promoted to Laboratory Manager/ Quality Manager and later to a Quality Assurance Auditor. For the last 10 years I have been in Academia, starting off as a Medical Scientist until she became a Senior Lecturer at one of the Universities in South Africa. My 20 years working experience has armed me with the knowledge and skills that are broad. In the Hospital Laboratory I gained the skills that relate to the processing of human samples and got to understand the importance of Laboratory analysis in the diagnosis of diseases. In the private sector, I gained insights into the importance of science in the production of the food that we eat and getting to understand the value of Quality Management Systems in food safety. The last 10 years in academia have developed my analytical skills and I have gained invaluable research skills. In the last 10 years in academia, I published 22 peer-reviewed articles in Local and International Journals. I have also presented papers at local and international conferences. I serve as a reviewer for National Research Foundation South Africa and the Africa Research Excellence Fund (AREF) as well as being a reviewer for local and international journals. I am trained as ISO 9001: 2015 Lead implementer and Lead Auditor. My research output can be found at: http://www.******.***