Prof Riana Bornman - University of Pretoria

Prof Riana Bornman
UP CSMC Management Committee member
Established researcher (NRF C1)
Faculty of Health Sciences
Department of Urology
Short biography:
Riana Bornman completed the degree in Medicine at the University of the Pretoria (UP) in 1973; DSc
at UP in 1983 and MD at the former University of the Orange Free State, Bloemfontein in 1987. She is
currently Extra-Ordinary Professor in Andrology, Department of Urology at the Faculty of Health
Sciences, UP. From basic scientific research in human male reproductive health (Andrology) her
interest broadened to include animals and wildlife as possible biosentinel species on order to define
health sequelae of environmental pollution and ultimately come up with strategies to mitigate human
health problems. Since 2002 her Public Health focus has been on health effects in malarial areas
where insecticides, including DDT - a known endocrine disrupter and toxicant - are applied for
mosquito vector control with inadvertent exposure of humans and the environment. She has done
extensive research in Thulamela communities of the Vhembe District, Limpopo Province through local
VhaVenda women who were specifically trained for recruitment and data collection in a mutually
beneficial partnership between research staff and study villages. This partnership makes it possible
to collect high quality data and publish in high impact journals, whilst empowering women for remote
rural areas to make a difference for their communities. She is an NRF C1-rated researcher, member
of the UP Centre for Sustainable Malaria Vector Control (UPCSMC) and served on several World
Health Organisation committees. Scientific data from human and environmental studies in Vhembe
were incorporated in the WHO DDT Health Risk Assessment (2011).
FRT (UP CSMC) related research focus / current malaria-related projects:
The NIEHS study on “IRS pesticides and neurodevelopment in Vhembe, Limpopo Province South
Africa”, referred to as the Venda Health Examination of Mothers, Babies and their Environment
(VHEMBE) study, with Prof Brenda Eskenazi, University of California, Berkely Campus, San
Francisco as PI and I am Adjunct Principal Investigator. The study runs over a 5-year period on a
cohort of 750 mother-baby pairs to be followed up to age two years to assess brain function and
development.
Expertise in malaria-related research:
Environmental exposure and health
Malaria awareness
Community Health Research
Animal-Human interaction
Key publications:
1. Bornman MS, IEJ Barnhoorn, L Dreyer, C de Jager, DNR Veeramachaneni: Neoplastic
lesions of the rete testis and seminiferous epithelial degeneration including microlithiasis in
the common eland (Tragelaphus oryx): coincidence with fat residues of nonylphenol.
Environmental Research 2010, 100(4):327-333.
2. Bornman MS (Riana), Bouwman H. Environmental pollutants and diseases of sexual
development in humans and wildlife in South Africa: harbingers of impact on overall health?
Reprod Dom Anim 2012 47 (Suppl. 4), 327–332.
3. Maria (Riana) Bornman, Lawrence Schlemmer, Tertia van der Walt, Cobus van Dyk, Hindrik
Bouwman. Implications for health education and intervention strategies arising from
children’s caregivers concerns following successful malaria control. Transactions of the
Royal Society of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene 2012 (106):408– 414.
4. Henk Bouwman, Riana Bornman, Henk van den Berg and Henrik Kylin: DDT: fifty years
since Silent Spring. In: Late lessons from early warnings: science, precaution, innovation.
Lessons from health hazards. EEA Report No1/2013 ISSN 1725-9177 p272-291.
5. Delport R, Bornman MS, McIntyre U, Oosthuizen N, Becker PJ, Aneck-Hahn NH, De Jager
C: 6Changes in retinol-binding protein concentrations and thyroid homeostasis with nonoccupational exposure to DDT. Environmental Health Perspectives Environ Health Perspect.
2011;119(5):647-51.
Contact details:
Campus: Medical (Prinshof)
Building: Steve Biko Academic Hospital
Room #: 71213
Phone: +27 (0)12 354 1281
Fax: +27 (0)12 354 2500
Secretary/ PA phone: +27 (0)12 354 1281
E-mail address: [email protected]

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