User:Delene Bartie

Catheleen Bartie started her career as a medical technologist specializing in microbiology at the Universitas Hospital academic laboratory where she worked in the routine bacteriology and serology departments. After seven years at this institution she was approached to start a sexually transmitted diseases section at a private laboratory in Johannesburg, an opportunity she welcomed with open arms. She worked at this laboratory for one year before taking a position as chief medical technologist in the Immunology and Microbiology Section of the National Institute for Occupational Diseases (NIOH) in Johannesburg. While at NIOH she alo obtained a Medical Technology Diploma specializing in Immunology (University of Johannesburg), a MSc (Med) degree (University of the Witwatersrand Medical School) and a PhD degree (University of Pretoria; full academic colors). Her MSc focused on the prevalence of Legionella pneumophila and Chlamydophila pneumoniae in mine workers as opposed to factory workers and hospitalized patients. For her PhD thesis she evaluated various detection methods for Legionella species in cooling water systems. During her 30+ years at NIOH she organized the first Legionella seminar in Africa in collaboration with the CSIR and founded the Legionella Action Group both in 1995. She published the first guideline on the prevention and treatment of legionellosis in Africa in 2007, as well as several peer reviewed articles on Legionella. Her Legionella work sparked her interest in the effects of free living amoebae and amoeba resistant bacteria and she supervised numerous postgraduate projects looking at their effects in water distribution systems of health care institutions, wastewater and drinking water treatment systems and borehole water. Her work in this field was novel in Africa and published in peer reviewed journals. Other career highlights include chairing the NIOH Research Committee, editing and guest editing academic publications, standards and guidelines for SABS and ASHRAE, membership of advisory panels for the WRC and NRF and project leader of several WRC funded research projects. She currently works as a private consultant under the trade name CB Scientific.