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Professor (Prof) Muriel Meiring showed a curious passion and interest in blood and veins from an early age. It seemed bizarre at the time, particularly for someone so young, to think about something that would arguably never have crossed the minds of many of her peers.
Fast forward to today, Professor Meiring is the principal scientist in the Department of Haematology and Cell Biology at the University of the Free State (UFS). She is a respected voice and specialist in Thrombotic and Haemostatic Disorders, the most common bleeding disorder in South Africa. “I have always been interested in blood and veins. Somehow, even from school days, it has interested me and I am going to take you on my journey of Thrombotic and Haemostatic Disorders: Diagnosis and the Treatment thereof,” she stated.
She holds a similar position (principal scientist) at the National Health Laboratory Service and is currently conducting research on Von Willebrand Disease (VWD) a lifelong bleeding disorder in which blood does not clot properly alongside tissue factor, thrombin and endothelial cells, as well as extracellular vesicles, being released into the blood. She also unveiled the future of diagnostic of Thrombotic and Haemostatic Disorders.
The Road to a Possible Cure
Prof Meiring has also helped establish the UF’S Specialised Haemostasis Laboratory which has enhanced the facility’s capacity to diagnose thrombin disorder with better assays providing more information. Said Prof Meiring: “I have developed antithrombotic agents and diagnostic kits to treat and diagnose haemostatic and thrombotic disorders. In regard to the future of diagnostics, thrombin generation is still the important assay here. Thrombin generation assay provides much more information and the amount of thrombin that it generates as well as the level. This is, however, still not being used in South Africa.”
International Recognition
Her specialised laboratory, which is SANAS-accredited, is the only one in South Africa that does all the diagnostic tests needed to accurately diagnose VWF, the most common bleeding disorder in South Africa for both the state and private laboratories. It was recently expanded to a Special Haemostasis Testing Facility and concluded a service level agreement between the UFS and the National Health Laboratory Service (NHLS) to increase diagnostic capability. The laboratory also enjoys international recognition as a reference laboratory. Through the laboratory, Prof Meiring collaborates with laboratories in Belgium, Hungary and Australia on research regarding the role of extracellular vesicles in thrombotic disorders.
Inventor of a South African patent
As the leading authority on VWD research and diagnosis in the country, Prof Meiring enjoys international recognition by the Von Willebrand factor multi-metric analysis assay used by the RCPA for quality assurance programmes. Her pioneering research on the role of Von Willebrand in haemostatic disorders has led to valuable global networks with international and national laboratories. She found that the Von Willebrand factor plays a major role in the pathogenesis of hypertension and strokes.
Prof Meiring is also the inventor of a South African patent and two provisional international applications and developed cost-effective assays to diagnose thrombotic thrombocytopenic purpura (TTP), a thrombotic disorder and VWD.
Praise for an Outstanding Scientist
Prof Meiring recently delivered her inaugural lecture themed: Thrombotic and Haemostatic Disorders: Diagnosis and Treatment. Her colleagues at the UFS heaped praised on her and highlighted her accomplishments in the health sciences field. Professor Nicolas Pearce, Acting Dean of the Faculty of Health Sciences said: “Becoming a professor is not merely an achievement, but a responsibility to uphold the ideals of academia, advance the frontiers of human understanding and inspire a new generation of thinkers and innovators. As one step into the role with a deep sense of purpose that each lecture, each research endeavour and each interaction with students, carry the potential to make a meaningful impact.”
Added Professor Vasu Reddy, Deputy Vice-Chancellor: Research and Internationalisation at the UFS: “This occasion provides a wonderful platform to showcase and celebrate the university’s pride in the achievements of its academic staff and especially as the university aligns to our Vision 130. This is an institution that prides itself on conducting ground-breaking research through disciplinary, interdisciplinary, multidisciplinary and even transdisciplinary domains to address the challenges facing our society, country and even the globe,” he said.
