Ed Rybicki | Biopharming Research Unit
| Research | Publications | Patents | Collaborations | Lab members |
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| Research |
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Vaccinology / protein expression Marine Viromics / Virus Diversity  |
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| Selected publications |
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I have authored or co-authored over 120 articles and 19 reviews in peer-reviewed journals, and about 20 book chapters, as well as a number of popular or opinion articles and conference report-backs in journals. A comprehensive and up-to-date list is available via Google Scholar citations. Books Sadly, neither is available on the South African store, so if you would like one, go to the US/UK stores via iTunes. If you would like a promotional code in order to assess the books for recommendation to students or colleagues, please contact me directly. Online Additionally, I maintain a university-level Virology teaching resource called ViroBlogy, as well as a general public information site called Virology News. I also run the International Society for Plant Molecular Farming site, co-curate an information page on aquatic viruses and another on virology and bioinformatics, and tweet on virology topics (and other things) under @edrybicki. I have also written a number of stories, essays and songs for the Web over the last 20 years. |
| Patents |
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I am listed as an inventor on some 17 patent families, with around 44 country patents published (see Google Scholar). |
| Collaborations |
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Prof Vernon Coyne, MCB |
| Lab members |
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 Prof Ed RybickiPrincipal Investigator Office 303A Tel +27 21 650 3265 Fax +27 21 650 2646 ed.rybicki@uct.ac.za |
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 Dr Inga HitzerothSenior Research Officer Lab 304 | Tel +27 21 650 5712 inga.hitzeroth@uct.ac.za Own website |
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Dr Ann Meyers Research Officer Lab 304 | Tel +27 21 650 5712 ann.meyers@uct.ac.za Own website |
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 Dr Renate LamprechtHonorary Research Affiliate renate.lamprecht@uct.ac.za |
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Dr Megan Hendrikse Post-doctoral fellow megan.hendrikse@uct.ac.za |
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Dr Guy Reynard Post-doctoral fellow GLRegnard@gmail.com |
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Dr Alta van Zyl Post-doctoral fellow alta.vanzyl@uct.ac.za |
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Dr Rosemary Meggersee Post-doctoral fellow rosemary.meggersee@uct.ac.za |
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Sandiswa Mbewana Post-doctoral fellow mbwsan001@myuct.ac.za |
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Aleyo Chabeda Post-doctoral fellow aleyo.chabeda@uct.ac.za |
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Emmanuel Margolin |
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Maureen Baloyi Scientific officer maureen.baloyi89@gmail.com |
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Francisco Pera CGEX Intern dfgfra001@myuct.ac.za |
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Scott de Beer CGEX Intern Scott.DeBeer@alumni.uct.ac.za |
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Sue Dennis PhD student suedennis7@gmail.com |
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Jennifer Stander PhD student jennifer-wayland@hotmail.com |
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Phindile Ximba PhD student xmbphi001@myuct.ac.za |
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Dylan Stevens PhD student d.s.troy@icloud.com |
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Corrie Gunter NRF Intern Corrie.Gunter@alumni.uct.ac.za |
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Ayesha Adams MSc student admaye004@myuct.ac.za |
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Shelley Fearon MSc student smtshe005@myuct.ac.za |
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Steven O'Connor MSc student thestevenoconnor@gmail.com |
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Raygaanah Jacobs MSc student Raygaanah.Jacobs@alumni.uct.ac.za |
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Hendrik Els MSc student Hendrik.Els@alumni.uct.ac.za |
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Matt Verbeek MSc student vrbmat001@myuct.ac.za |
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Inge Pietersen MSc student Inge.Pietersen@alumni.uct.ac.za |
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Asanda Matiso MSc student asandamatiso0@gmail.com |
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Siphomelele Ndlovu MSc student ndlsip021@myuct.ac.za |
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Paulina Naupa MSc student npxpau002@myuct.ac.za |
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Frances Lees MSc student lsxfra001@myuct.ac.za |
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Tim Plasket MSc student plstim001@myuct.ac.za |
| Dr Inga Isabel Hitzeroth Senior Research Officer |
 I grew up in Namibia and studied in South Africa at the University of Cape Town in Cape Town from 1980 - 1986. I did my undergraduate studies in Microbiology and Biochemistry and my PhD on hake population genetics while working for Sea Fisheries in Cape Town. My post-doctoral years I spent at medical school at UCT working on gonadotropin releasing hormone. In 2000 I started to work in Prof Rybicki’s group in a then very new and novel field of expression of viral proteins in plants.We are specifically working on production of vaccine candidates against Human papillomavirus (HPV) and development of second generation vaccines that will be cheaper by production in plants and will protect against more than one type of HPV. HPV is the cause of cervical cancer the second most prevalent cancer in women in developing countries. Other diseases that we are working on are: rotavirus, which causes severe diarrhoea in children; Beak and Feather Disease Virus (BFDV) which causes Psittacine Beak and Feather Disease (PBFD) in all psittacine birds (parrots); and Avian influenza. The research that I have been involved in over the last thirteen years has come a long way from just being an idea to produce viral proteins in plants to becoming a reality with proteins being expressed in high enough levels to make it feasible to produce them as vaccines. Go to Dr Hitzeroth's webpage |
| Dr Ann Meyers Research Officer |
 I have been in Prof Ed Rybicki’s group since February 2000 initially as a postdoctoral fellow and currently as a Research Officer. My research interests lie mainly in the expression of recombinant proteins in plants and in particular, vaccines for humans and animals which provide a cheaper alternative to industrially-produced vaccines. I have worked on the production of HIV-1 Gag virus-like particles (VLPs) in plants with a view to using these as an HIV-1 vaccine candidate as well as the production of Bluetongue virus (BTV) particles for a potential vaccine.I am currently also working on a Rift Valley Fever Virus vaccine. Work includes the expression of VLPs in Nicotiana benthamiana and preliminary testing of their ability to stimulate an immune response in mice. Since 2000, 8 honours students, 3 MSc students and one PhD student have graduated under my co-supervision and I am currently co-supervising 2 MSc students and 3 PhD students. Go to Dr Meyers' webpage |
I completed my BSC, BSc Hons and MSc degrees in Microbiology at University of Pretoria during 2003 to 2008. In my initial post-graduate years I have characterized two new plant rhabdoviruses. After University of Pretoria, I moved to Somerset West and started my PhD in Genetics at Stellenbosch University. During my PhD I characterized two South African isolates of Grapevine fanleaf virus, by determining their the full-length genome sequences. These full-length genome sequences were the first GFLV isolates to be completely sequenced from Africa. One of these two isolates was found to be associated with a satellite RNA, which was only the second Grapevine fanleaf virus satellite RNA to be described worldwide. I constructed a fully functional full-length infectious cDNA clone based on the newly described satellite RNA, which may in future studies prove to be a powerful molecular tool in the grapevine research community. Currently, I am a Post-Doctoral Fellow in Prof Ed Rybicki's group, working on recombinant HPV protein production in plants, for the development of cheaper vaccines to protect against multiple HPV types. 
I am originally from Port Elizabeth in the Eastern Cape where I completed my MSc at NMMU (Formerly UPE). After moving to Cape Town, I undertook my PhD in Medical Biochemistry in the receptor biology group (UCT Medical Campus).
My research interest is in applied science specifically virology and using virus genetic elements to build protein production platforms that can be applied in human and animal health, and industry. In addition, I am interested in viral replication of RNA and DNA viruses. To this end I have published 9 research articles in peer-reviewed journals. I am an associate member of the American Society of Virology and a member of the International Society for Plant Molecular Farming.
I obtained my honours degree in Biochemistry at the University of the Free State in 2006, after which I completed my MSc degree (also at UFS) in the Veterinary Biotechnology research group. I relocated to Cape Town to pursue a PhD degree in the Biopharming Research Unit under the supervision of Prof Rybicki and Dr Meyers.
I completed my undergraduate studies in the Molecular and Cell Biology department at UCT. My postgraduate studies, including my PhD, were completed in MCB under the supervision of Dr V. Abratt and investigated the antibiotic resistance present in the anaerobic bacterium Bacteroides fragilis. My first Post-Doctoral research project was under the joint supervision of BRU and Assoc. Prof V. Coyne and involved the development of a phage display library which could be used to develop DNA vaccines for farmed fish. 
I am a Biotechnologist specializing in Plant Biotechnology.
I am from Nairobi, Kenya. I completed my BSc in Biochemistry and Microbiology from Nelson Mandela Metropolitan University and a BSc (Hons) in Molecular and Cell Biology from the University of Cape Town (UCT). On completion of my Honours, I remained at UCT to do a MSc in the Biopharming Research Unit and upgraded to PhD. My PhD research focused on the development of potentially broadly protective prophylactic virus-like particle (VLP) vaccine candidates for Human papillomaviruses (HPV), and the production of synthetic HPV viruses for the delivery of a DNA vaccine.
I completed my undergraduate studies in the Molecular and Cell Biology department at UCT before moving to Medical School for postgraduate training. I am currently working for the HIV Vaccine Development Group at Medical School on a MRC- funded project which aims to develop next generation HIV vaccines, for the induction of neutralizing antibodies. During the course of the project I was responsible for the development of a transient expression system for the production of HIV-1 Envelope glycoprotein trimers in plants and their immunogenicity testing in animals. This aspect of the project is hosted in the Biopharming research unit where I work closely with Dr Ann Meyers and Prof Ed Rybicki. 
I am currently employed as a Scientific Officer in the Biopharming Research Unit (BRU) at the University of Cape Town, where I assist the Postdocs with research work affiliated to their particular projects and also do admin related work for the lab. I have obtained my B.Sc degree and Honours degree in Biotechnology at the University of the Western Cape. My honours project was based on investigating drought and salt stress related proteins in Sorghum varieties. I have also completed my MSc degree in Biochemistry at the University of Johannesburg. The project was based on plant innate immunity, focussing on identifying plasma membrane responsive proteins as well as LPS receptor(s) in Arabidopsis thaliana.
I was born in Lisbon, Portugal and lived there until I was 17. After finishing high-school, I decided to go to France to start university. I did my first BSc year (biology) in the Universite du Havre (Northern France) and then moved to Toulouse where I did my consecutive two years BSc in bio-engineering applied to plants in the Universite Paul Sabatier, Toulouse 3.
I was born in KwaZulu-Natal and raised in Johannesburg for 16 years, then we moved to the Middle East (Qatar) for three years, where I completed my secondary education.
I completed my undergraduate studies at Stellenbosch University in 1985 followed by an Honours degree in Molecular Biology in Prof Ed Rybicki's lab in 1986. I moved to Pretoria in 1987 to work on Bluetongue Virus at the Onderstepoort Veterinary Research Institute and while there, obtained an MSc degree in 1990 from the University of Pretoria. I then worked for a brief period as a scientific officer in Prof Rybicki's lab before travelling overseas. Since then, I have been busy assisting my husband, David, with the administration of his medical practice and being a Mom to our four children.
I grew up in Gauteng and completed my BSc, BSc Honours and MSc in Microbiology at the University of Pretoria. My studies focused on establishing a high-throughput sequencing-based diagnostic system for the detection of grapevine viruses. My fascination with viruses and their diagnosis led me to BRU at the University of Cape Town, with their new and exciting approaches to serological reagent and vaccine development.
I am a Belgian Vet. I completed my Masters in Veterinary Science at Ghent University 2010. I then went on to open my own veterinary practice. After 4 years of running my own business I decided I wanted to further my studies and embark on obtaining my PhD.
I am originally from the small town in the Northern side of KZN. I completed my B.Sc in Biochemistry and Chemistry at University of KwaZulu Natal in 2011. I then completed MSc in Biochemistry in 2014, also at UKZN. My MSc project focused on recombinant expression and characterisation of trypanosomal cysteine proteases for the development of point-of-care diagnostic tests for animal trypanosomiasis.
I obtained my undergraduate degrees in human genetics and phylogenetics from the University of Pretoria. I did a master’s degree in Molecular Biology at the University of Gothenburg, Sweden.
I am currently a DST-NRF intern in the Biopharming Research Unit at the University of Cape Town.
I completed my undergraduate degree in Biochemistry and Genetics at UCT in 2015. I then did my Honours degree in Molecular and Cell biology in the Biopharming Research Unit (BRU) and I am now doing my masters in the BRU under the supervision of Dr. Megan Hendrikse, Dr. Inga Hitzeroth and Prof Ed Rybicki. My Master’s project focuses on producing high yields of Human papillomavirus (HPV) pseudovirions in tobacco plants.
I completed my BSc in Genetics and Ecology and BSc (Hons) in the Department of Molecular and Cell Biology at the University of Cape Town.
I grew up in Hilton in Kwa Zulu Natal. I attended St Charles College in Pietermaritzburg and then obtained my Bachelor of Science degree in molecular biology and biotechnology as well as Honours in plant biotechnology at Stellenbosch University.
I completed my undergraduate degree in Biochemistry and Microbiology at UCT. I then completed my Honours degree in Molecular and Cell biology in the Biopharming Research Unit (BRU) under the supervision of Dr. Guy Regnard and Dr. Inga Hitzeroth. My Honours project focused on improving the replicating plant expression vector, pRIC, that’s based on a mild strain of the Bean yellow dwarf virus (BeYDV). This was done by manipulating the replication machinery to achieve optimum protein expression in plants.
Originally from Johannesburg, I have done a BSc in Molecular Biology and Biotechnology at the University of Stellenbosch followed by Honours in Molecular Cell Biology at the University of Cape Town. My honours research entailed the production of recombinant Rotavirus virus-like particles in tobacco at the Biopharming Research Unit.
I am a typical Joburg boy having grown up in the Northern Suburbs of Johannesburg. I moved down to Cape Town in 2012 to start my undergrad degree at UCT. I completed my BSc in Chemistry and Biochemistry in 2015 followed by my BSc Honours in Molecular and Cell Biology in 2016. I began my Master's in 2017.
I am currently a DST-NRF intern in the Biopharming Research Unit at the University of Cape Town.
I'm originally from King William's Town in the Eastern Cape. I completed my National diploma in Biotechnology (2010 - 2012) and BTech degree in Biomedical Technology (2013 - 2014) at the Cape Peninsula University of Technology. I first joined BRU in April 2016 as a NRF intern. I am currently pursuing my MSc under the supervision of Dr Ann Meyers, Dr Inga Hitzeroth and Prof Ed Rybicki. My project focuses on the use of a mouse phage display library to generate single chain variable fragments (scFvs) antibodies against Ribulose-1,5-biphosphate carboxylase/oxygenase or RuBisCO which is regarded as the main potential contaminant in plant produced proteins.
I am originally from Durban, KwaZulu-Natal. I completed my undergraduate studies in Biochemistry at the University of Pretoria. I then did my honours in Molecular and Cell Biology at the University of Cape Town, as part of the BRU. I am currently doing my masters under the supervision of Prof Ed Rybicki, Dr Ann Meyers and Dr Rosemary Meggersee. My project focuses on the expression of Horseradish Peroxidase (HRP) and Alkaline phosphatase fused anti-rabbit single variable chain fragments (scFvs), derived from a mouse phage display library, in N. benthamiana.
I was born and raised in the northern part of Namibia. In 2013 I started my undergraduate studies in Bsc Microbiology (honours) at the University of Namibia, which I completed in 2016. My honours project focused on the antibacterial properties of plants. I then moved to South Africa to pursue MSc with the biopharming research unit at the University of Cape Town under the supervision of Dr Inga Hitzeroth, Dr Alta van Zyl and Dr Megan Hendrickse. My Master’s project focuses on the production of Human papillomavirus (HPV) universal L2-based pseudovirions in tobacco plants.
I completed my BSc in Genetics and Biochemistry at UCT. I then completed a BSc (Hons) in Molecular and Cell Biology department at UCT under the supervision of Prof. Nicola Illing, and my project focused on the extraction of ancient DNA from bones that have been excavated from South African archaeological sites. 
I grew up in Grahamstown in the Eastern Cape. I moved to Cape Town to study at UCT in 2014. I completed my BSc with majors in Biochemistry and Genetics in 2016, which I then followed with a BSc(Hons) in Molecular and Cell Biology in 2017.