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Prof Jo-Anne de la Mare

Lab

Lecturer in Biochemistry

 

Research Interests                                                                                                           

•    Female cancers
•    Triple negative breast cancer 
•    Preclinical drug discovery and mechanistic analyses
•    Drug resistance
•    Establishment of cervical cancer cell lines from patient biopsies of Eastern Cape women
•    Development of disease models for the African context 
•    Prognostic and diagnostic markers

 

Biography:

Prof Jo-Anne de la Mare is an Associate Professor and Head of the Department of Biochemistry, Microbiology and Bioinformatics at Rhodes University and President of the South African Society of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology. She obtained her PhD in Biochemistry from Rhodes University in 2012. As the Principal Investigator of the Female Cancers Research at Rhodes University (FemCR2U) group, her research focuses on preclinical drug discovery for female cancers including triple negative breast cancer (TNBC) and cervical cancer.

The development of drug resistance models for triple negative breast cancer and cervical cancer cell lines from South African women is funded by National Research Foundation CSUR and MRC-EC-SHIP programme grants and is geared towards developing more relevant disease models for the African context, as well as allowing for genetic characterization of the cervical cancer lines towards the identification of novel driver mutations for this disease. She has established a network of collaborators both here at Rhodes and from eight national universities across five provinces working in the fields of chemistry and pharmacology, providing libraries of novel natural product compounds from medicinal plants and synthesized metal complexes for anti-cancer screening and mechanistic analyses.

 

Academic Qualifications:

PhD in Biochemistry (2012)
M.Sc in Microbiology with Distinction (2009)
B.Sc Hons. In Microbiology with Distinction (2006)
B.Sc in Microbiology and Biochemistry with Distinction (2005)

 

Positions and Awards

•    Head of the Department of Biochemistry, Microbiology and Bioinformatics (2023-current)
•    Associate Professor in Biochemistry (2025 – current)
•    President of the South African Society of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology (2025-current)
•    Head of Biochemistry (2019-2022)
•    Senior Lecturer in Biochemistry (2019 - 2024)
•    Vice-President of the South African Society for Biochemistry and Molecular biology (current)

 

ORCID: 0000-0003-3808-6287

 

Recent publications

  1. Sanam Maikoo, Bheki Xulu, Allen Mambanda, Ntando Mkhwanazi, Candace Davison, Jo-Anne de la Mare*, Irvin Noel Booysen* (2022). Biomolecular interactions of new cytotoxic ruthenium compounds with thiosemicarbazone or benzothiazole Schiff base chelates. Polyhedron 245:116640 https://doi.org/10.1002/cmdc.202200444
  2. Richwell Mhlanga, Mziyanda Mbaba, Ronald Tonui, Adrienne L. Edkins, Setshaba D. Khanye,* and Jo-Anne de la Mare*(2024). Ferrocenyl Aminocresols Display Multimodal Activity Against Triple-Negative Breast Cancer Cells In Vitro. Chemistry Select 9, e202403731

https://doi.org/10.1002/slct.202403731

  1. Deborah Kajewole, Ho Ning Wong, Alexander von Kriegsheim, Richard K. Haynes, Jo-Anne de la Mare, Adrienne Lesley Edkins (2025). The novel amino-artemisinin derivative WHN-11 disrupts mitochondria and protein homeostasis, and induces autophagy and apoptosis in cancer cells. Scientific Reports 15:21406

https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-025-05284-7

  1. Nyeleti Vukea, Ogunyemi Oderinlo, Matshawandile Tukulula, Setshaba David Khanye, Adrienne Lesley Edkins, Jo-Anne de la Mare* (2025). Ferrocene thiazolidine-2,4-dione derivatives cause DNA damage and interfere with DNA Repair in triple-negative breast cancer cells. PLOS One https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0328155
  2. Candace Davison, Shabaaz Abdullah, Irvin Noel Booysen ,* Christie Jane Smit , Jo-Anne de la Mare* (2025) Probing the anticancer activities of facial trioxorhenium and tricarbonylrhenium compounds with heterocyclic ligands. Chemico Biological Interactions. 406: 111351

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cbi.2024.111351

 

Contact Information

Telephone: +27-46-603-7332

e-mail: j.delamare@ru.ac.za

Location: Rm 235, 2nd floor of Biological Sciences Building, Cnr Artillery and Prince Alfred rd

 

 

Last Modified: Mon, 16 Mar 2026 15:13:20 SAST