Dimpho Ralefala
Dimpho Ralefala is a Postdoctoral Fellow at the Berman Institute of Bioethics, Johns Hopkins University, and serves as Assistant Director for Research Ethics at the Office of Research and Development, University of Botswana. She holds a PhD in Medicine (Bioethics) from the University of Cape Town, South Africa, and was awarded the Golden Key Membership by the Golden Key International Honour Society in recognition of her PhD achievement. She also holds a Masters of Social Science degree in Health Research Ethics from the University of KwaZulu Natal in South Africa, and has participated in several bioethics training initiatives including the year-long Fogarty African Bioethics Training Programme at Johns Hopkins University, USA (2010), and a UNESCO Ethics Teacher Training Course (2017).
She is a certified Research Management Professional (by the International Professional Recognition Council) and has over a decade of experience in Research Ethics administration at the University of Botswana. She has also served as a member of the Ethics Working Group of the Human Heredity for Health in Africa (H3Africa) Consortium, African Research Integrity Network, and a Steering Committee member of the Northern Regions Community of Practice for Ethics and Integrity in South Africa. In 2017, she received an award in Professional Excellence in Research Management from the South African Department of Science and Technology in partnership with the Southern African Research Management Association.
Her research focuses on the ethics of emerging biomedical technologies including genomics and biobanking, informed consent, and the ethical conduct of research involving children.