R aised with an appreciation for education and living a life that models a good moral compass and taking care of those that report to you , Colin Pillai is a result of nurture and fierce determination . Inspired by his parents who instilled a passion for further education , Colin has gone on to break barriers but hasn ’ t forgotten those left behind .
Growing up in Chatsworth , Durban , Colin ’ s parents were a major influence when it came to pursuing higher education . His father , a policeman who left school in Standard 3 due to financial difficulties and only picked it up again in Standard 6 , having missed all those interleading years , registered with UNISA , and received a mature age exemption , which allowed him to get his matriculation and first degree at the same time . All the while raising a family
Colin Pillai
Colin Pillai - Co-Chair – World Conference on Pharmacometrics ( WCoP )
and holding down a full-time job . It was from this strong example that Colin pursued his career and managed to reach incredible heights working in the pharmaceutical sector and driving programmes that develop scientific capability in low- and middle-income countries . Trained as a pharmacist at the University of Durban Westville , Colin went on to pursue a PhD in Clinical Pharmacology and Mathematical Modelling of Drug Effects .
He acquired clinical and research experience in hospital and community pharmacy and worked as a consultant with the SA Medical Research Council ’ s Tuberculosis Research programme , where he ran a unit conducting Phase 1 clinical trials in Durban . This was a life-changing experience as he worked with volunteers and patients who selflessly participated in clinical studies , knowing that there would be no direct benefit for them . All done in the hope that their sacrifice would one day be able to help other people .
Colin ’ s life took a turn in 2000 when he was invited to Basel Switzerland as a visiting professor at F . Hoffmann-La Roche , a company that was looking to build up the science of pharmacometrics and establish a group of its own .
He later moved to Novartis and headed up the modelling department of the company . When he left the pharmaceutical industry , Colin set up two social ventures – CP + Associates based in Switzerland , and
Pharmacometrics Africa NPC , a non-profit organisation registered in South Africa , whose goal is to build up science in Africa and low- and middle-income countries in terms of the whole spectrum of drug discovery and development .
Now based in Switzerland , Colin , keenly aware that his departure from South Africa made him part of the brain drain , has maintained active academic links with numerous institutions in Africa including via formal Honorary Professorships and Board Member status . He has also dedicated a lot of his activities to finding ways to mitigate the brain drain and build up science in Africa . Since November 2017 , he is a Senior Adviser on capacity development and training programmes for global health to the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation .
Association with South Africa National Convention Bureau ( SANCB ) The association with SANCB was a result of conversations with Lerisha Mudaliar from Wesgro ( Western Cape Tourism , Trade and Investment Promotion Agency ), a partner to SANCB . Though the partnership came about after having already won the bid to run the World Conference on Pharmacometrics , the SANCB gave
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