About us
The deNovo Medica team are established professionals with extensive experience in the medical publishing industry. Owner and founder, Julia Aalbers, having previously co-ordinated multiple medical journals, conceptualised the deNovo Medica platform after realising the need for a digital South African-centric healthcare CPD forum. The purpose of deNovo Medica is to provide current and contextual medical education that is accessible to healthcare professionals across South Africa, including rural areas.
deNovo Medica is a leading digital CPD community and publishing platform that provides free CPD-accredited clinical programmes, videos and webinars to healthcare professionals in South Africa. Current, concise and convenient reports are published every week.
Our Mission
To help South African healthcare professionals deliver best medical services in everyday practice by providing current South African-centric clinical programmes.
Our Goal
To provide free medical education and updates on the newest medical advances to all South African healthcare professionals in different fields of medicine, from remote to urban areas.
To increase the range of topics on offer, to encompass a broader spectrum of healthcare professionals, and to keep innovating and developing unique clinical programmes.
Meet the writing team
Julia Aalbers
Founding Director
Experienced science writer and editor.
Worked with Cardiovascular Journal of Africa and the South African Journal of Diabetes and Vascular Disease for 20 years.
Glenda Hardy
BSc(Hons) Medical Cell Biology
Has more than 25 years’ experience in medical science education. Her early work included being a junior lecturer (University of the Witwatersrand) and a specialist HIV sales representative (Roche).
Worked on the Cardiovascular Journal of Africa and the South African Journal of Diabetes and Vascular Disease as development editor.
Peter Wagenaar
Holds an Honours degree (English Language and Linguistics) and a MA (English Literature). He has more than 25 years’ experience in the publishing industry
Worked as copy editor on the South African Medical Journal and its satellite publications, deputy editor of Medical Chronicle, the Cardiovascular Journal of Africa and the South African Journal of Diabetes and Vascular Disease.
Dr David Webb
General Practitioner, BSc(Hons), MBBCh, National Certificate in Exercise Science (HFPA), qualified personal fitness trainer (HFPA), and has completed the two-year postgraduate certificate in mindfulness through the Department of Family Medicine, University of Stellenbosch.
Dr Hilda Ganesen
Family Physician, MBCHB, MMED FAM MED, University of KwaZulu Natal.
She is a member of SAHPRA’s Clinical Trials Unit reviewing new clinical trial applications in South Africa.
Dr Carin Retief
Medical Officer at Cachet-Nel Oncology, Life Rosepark Hospital, Bloemfontein.
MBChB (Stellenbosch University), DTMH (University of the Witwatersrand), and currently completing a Masters in Medical Oncology (University of Buckingham).
Carol-Louise Sendall
Medical Affairs and scientific communications professional with over 25 years in academia and the pharmaceutical industry.
Worked as a lecturer and researcher in Clinical Pharmacology (University of Cape Town), Senior Scientific Specialist and Medical Advisor at MSD, and other senior positions at Aspen Pharmacare and Janssen-Cilag.
Meet the production team
Debbie O’Sullivan
Debbie has extensive experience supporting senior corporate leaders, building a career on expectational communication, rapid problem-solving, and reliability.
Bringing this wealth of communication and administrative expertise to digital publishing, she plays a crucial role with user queries and submissions ensuring our audience receives the same elite level of care, clarity, and support.
Wendy Wegener
Wendy has more than 20 years’ experience in publishing, having worked for Media24’s magazine division and several other publishing companies, specialising in production, copy co-ordination and advertising. With experience as picture editor for a popular weekly family magazine, her range embraces weekly and quarterly magazines, specialist magazines, higher education books and newspapers.
Further experience gained in the publication of journals and digital publishing arise from her work at the Cardiovascular Journal of Africa and the South African Journal of Diabetes and Vascular Disease, before the start of deNovo Medica at its inception.
With Business Management qualifications, Wendy works on the day-to-day administration and assisting in marketing of deNovo Medica.
Jody Reid
Jody plays a key role in seamlessly co-ordinating the production workflow of all modules and webinars published by deNovo Medica.
With a background in marketing and creative experience, alongside her ongoing studies in communication science, she brings a fresh perspective to marketing campaigns and digital communication while contributing new ideas to improve production workflows and enhance the website and overall user experience.