Meet the Team

VanessaLynch

(Founder & Executive Director)

Vanessa Lynch is the founding member of the DNA Project, and has been with the organisation since August 2004. She qualified as an attorney from The University of Cape Town in 1993 and after completing her articles, she worked as a Commercial Attorney in London. On returning from London in 1998, she entered the Corporate World and worked as the Legal Advisor in Smart Card Company which she helped to set up. She left this position in 2005, in order to undertake the DNA Project on a full-time basis. She works on a daily basis from her office in Cape Town and frequently travels to Johannesburg and Pretoria to attend meetings, workshops, presentations and congresses.

vanessalynch@dnaproject.co.za

(Director)

Carolyn Hancock

Carolyn studied at the University of KwaZulu-Natal where she obtained a B.Sc. Agriculture degree, followed by a Masters and Ph.D. in Genetics.  In 2007 she joined the DNA Project and is now a Director of this non-profit organization, the aim of which is to facilitate the expansion of the South African National Criminal Intelligence DNA Database. She has been primarily concerned with the development and implementation of a post-graduate qualification in Forensic Biology. More recently she has worked extensively on the DNA Project’s nationwide DNA awareness campaign.

carolynhancock@dnaproject.co.za

Renate Rebello

Renate earned her National Diploma in Human Genetics at WITS Technikon in 1986 and earned a GIBio in Applied Cell and Molecular Biology at Surrey University in the United Kingdom in 1991. Subsequently, in 1997, she earned a Ph.D in Molecular Biology at the University of London. She is currently an educational consultant. Renate conducts many DNA awareness workshops in the Western Cape for the DNA Project and also helped to prepare some of the course material for the forensic honours degree.

TanyaMottalini

Tanya is a trainer based in Pretoria. She studied at the Pretoria Technikon pursuing Medical Technology, later obtaining her Master’s Degree (M. Tech:  Biomedical Technology).  Majoring in medical microbiology, she worked in the Medical Microbiology Department, Institute of Pathology, University of Pretoria for eight years prior to moving to the forensic DNA field.  She worked in the SAPS Biology Unit, Forensic Science Laboratory eleven and a half years before venturing out by herself.  Using her knowledge, skills and experience Forensic Blueprints was started, specializing in forensic DNA training and consulting

Valerie Corfield

Valerie Corfield is a medical scientist and Associate Professor at the University of Stellenbosch, where she has worked for 25 years. She holds a BSc Honours degree from the University of Bristol (UK), an MSc from Wright State University (USA) and a PhD from Wits University (SA). Her academic career spans five decades, three continents and the three main branches of life, bacteria, plants and animals (human) – causing her to describe herself as the person who knows the least about the most! Now that she is ‘semi-retired’, she has more time to indulge in her scientific hobby which is giving talks and developing and presenting interactive workshops and exhibits which engage the general public, of all ages, in a greater appreciation of science, medicine and technology, as well as their societal implications.

MayaMoodley

Maya has been invaluable in our Cape Town office where she co-ordinates and schedules all our DNA awareness workshops. Maya is also based in Cape Town at the head office of The DNA Project. She previously worked at a smart card company. Although she does not have any forensic or lab experience, she is a highly skilled and is able to assist wherever she is needed.

Kusha Kalideen

Kusha is currently finishing her PhD at UCT, but in her spare time she volunteers for The DNA Project. She says she believes in the cause wholeheartedly will be a constructive front against crime but also to educate people in the “non-scariness” and value of DNA and genetics.

David Swanepoel

David received a B.Sc. Molecular and Cellular Biology in the fields of Genetics and Biochemistry from WITS followed by a B.Sc. (Hons.) in Biochemistry and Cell Biology. He currently works as a forensic analyst contracted out to the SAPS FSL as well as a technical operator for the fully-automated GSPS (Genetic Sample Processing System) in Pretoria. David’s forensic interests also extend to the legal sphere as he is associated with the use of forensics in assisting to solve cases. He is keen to further his studies in law and use that knowledge, together with his scientific skills and understanding to assist the South African forensic community to make sound and top-class policy decisions to expand and further the use of forensic science in South Africa.

Grant Godsmark

Grant is based in Durban, he joined The DNA Project at the beginning of 2011. He received a B.Sc. in genetics and microbiology from UCT and went on the get a Med Hons in Human Genetics. “After studying I was grateful to get this position, to be able to use my knowledge and skills to benefit society. You always hope you can do something altruistic with what you have learnt and I now am by creating awareness about DNA forensics and hopefully someone I teach will go on and use that information to help someone else.”

grant@dnaproject.co.za

Debby is a trainer for the DNA Project based in Hoedspruit, Limpopo. She joined this organization to tackle the “crime challenge” in SA as result of the brutal murder of her brother in Sept 2007. Debby has many years experience in training, as well as development, management and organization of NGO’s.