Prof Sylvester C Chima

Prof Sylvester C Chima

 

Person

 Prof Sylvester C Chima

 

Telephone

 +27 (0)31 260 4604

Email

chima@ukzn.ac.za  

Campus

Howard College, Desmond Clarence Building, Traditional Medicine Laboratory

Research Interests

Medical Law, Bioethics, Human Rights,  Neuropathology, Molecular Epidemiology of Human Polyomaviruses (JC Virus)

Designation

Associate Professor and Head: Programme of Bio & Research Ethics and Medical Law, College of Health Sciences
 Biosketch  Professor Chima, who was born in Nigeria, spent more than 20 years of his academic career in the United States, the United Kingdom, and the Caribbean.

Qualifying as a medical doctor in Nigeria, Professor Chima practiced for many years in that country before going to Howard University, Yale University and Mount Sinai School of Medicine of New York University in the USA where he trained as a Pathologist and Neuropathologist

Apart from being a qualified Pathologist, in 2006 Professor Chima received a Master of Laws in Medical Law from Northumbria University, Newcastle-upon-Tyne in England. Professor Chima has worked around the globe in various prominent institutions such Yale-New Haven Hospital in Connecticut, the National Institute of Health in Bethesda, Maryland and Mount Sinai Medical Center in New York, USA.

Prior to joining UKZN, he was Professor of Pathology and Medical Law at the International American Medical University in St Lucia, West Indies. Professor Chima is also featured on the “Who’s Who in the 21st Century” list 2007 and has published papers in International journals such as BMJ, Journal of General Virology, Human Biology, BMC Medical Ethics, and is an author/co-author of two books on Medical Law and Ethics. Currently, Professor Chima is Associate Professor and Head, Programme of Bio & Research Ethics and Medical Law, School of Public Health, Nelson R Mandela School of Medicine, University of KwaZulu-Natal, Durban, South Africa

List of Publications

Peer–Reviewed and Published Journal Articles

 

  • Chima SC: Evaluating the quality of informed consent and contemporary clinical practices by medical doctors in South Africa: An empirical study. BMC Medical Ethics 2013, 14(Suppl 1):S3 (pp. 1-17). Available at: http://www.biomedcentral.com/1472-6939/14/S1/S3 
  • Chima SC: Global Medicine: Is it ethical or morally justifiable for doctors and other healthcare workers to go on strike?  BMC Medical Ethics 2013, 14(Suppl 1):S5 (pp. 1-10) Available at:  http://www.biomedcentral.com/1472-6939/14/S1/S5
  • Famoroti TO, Fernandes L, Chima SC: Stigmatization of people living with HIV/AIDS by healthcare workers at a tertiary hospital in KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa: A cross-sectional descriptive study. BMC Medical Ethics 2013, 14(Suppl 1):S6 (pp. 1-10). Available at:  http://www.biomedcentral.com/1472-6939/14/S1/S6
  • Chima SC, Mduluza T, Kipkemboi J: Viewpoint discrimination and contestation of ideas on its merits, leadership and organizational ethics: expanding the African bioethics agenda. BMC Medical Ethics 2013, 14(Suppl 1):S1 (pp. 1-9). Available at: http://www.biomedcentral.com/1472-6939/14/S1/S1
  • Chima SC & Mamdoo F. Ethical and Regulatory Issues Surrounding Umbilical Cord Blood Banking in South Africa. South African Journal of Bioethics and Law (SAJBL),Vol. 4, No. 2 pp. 79-84, December 2011.
  •  Chima SC. Respect for Autonomy as a Prima Facie Right: Overriding Patient Autonomy in Medical Practice. Transactions: Journal of the Colleges of Medicine of South Africa (CMSA) 53: (1) 38-44. Jan-June 2009.
  • Chima SC, Global Medicine: Regulation of Biomedical Research in Africa. BMJ April 2006, 332: 848-51
  •  Jobes DV, Friedlander JS, Mgone CS, Agostini HT, Koki G, Yanagihara R, Hrdy D, Ng TCN, Chima SC, Ryschkewitsch CF, Stoner GL. New JC virus (JCV) genotypes from Papua New Guinea and Micronesia (Type 8 and Type 2E) and evolutionary analysis of 32 complete JCV genomes. 2001. Archiv Virol.146 (11): 2097-2113.
  •  Chima SC, Ryschkewitsch CF, Fan KJ, Stoner GL. Polyomavirus JC Genotypes in an Urban US Population Reflect The History of African Origin and Genetic Admixture in Modern African Americans. Hum Biol. 2000.72 (5): 837-850
  •  Ryschkewitsch CF, Friedlander J, Mgone CS, Jobes DV, Agostini HT, Chima SC, Alpers MP, Koki G, Yanagihara R, Stoner GL. Human polyomavirus JC variants in Papua New Guinea and Guam reflect ancient population settlement and viral evolution. Microbes Infect. 2000 Jul1; 2 (9): 987-996.
  •  Stoner GL, Jobes DV, Fernandez-Cobo M, Agostini HT, Chima SC, Ryschkewitsch CF. JC virus as a marker of human migration to the Americas. Microbes Infect. 2000. 2:1-7.
  •  Chima SC, Lucas SB, Agostini HT, Ryschkewitsch CF, and Stoner, GL. Progressive Multifocal Leukoencephalopathy and JC Virus Genotypes in West African Patients With Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome: A Pathological and DNA Sequence Analysis of 4 Cases Archiv Pathol Lab Med 1999. 123: 395-403
  • Johnson EH, Chima SC, Muirhead DE. A cerebral primitive neuroectodermal tumor in a squirrel monkey (Saimiri sciureus) J Med Primatol 1999. 28: 91-96 
  • Agostini HT, Jobes DV, Chima SC, Ryschkewitsch CF, Stoner, GL. Natural and pathogenic variation in the JC virus genome. Recent Research Developments in Virology Vol. 1, Pt.111 Transworld Research Network, Trivandrum, India. 1999. Pp. 683-701.
  • DV Jobes, Chima SC, CF Ryschkewitsch, GL Stoner. Phylogenetic analysis of 22 complete genomes of the human polyomavirus JC. J Gen Virol. 1998. 79: 2491-2498. (Co-author, participated in study design and write-up)
  • Chima SC, Ryschkewitsch CF, Stoner GL. Molecular epidemiology of human polyomavirus JC in the Biaka Pygmies and Bantu of Central Africa. Mem Inst Oswaldo Cruz, Brazil. 1997. 93: 615-62 (Principal author- designed study, carried out research and wrote paper)Peer-reviewed and Published Conference Papers
  • Chima SC.  Towards a more effective regulation of biomedical research in Africa. Proceedings of the International Conference on Bioethics Organized by the UNESCO Regional Centre for Documentation and Research on Bioethics at Egerton University, December 2009. Pp. 120-129 ISBN 9966052135
  • Chima SC. Overriding patient autonomy in medical practice: Bests Interests, necessity, therapeutic privilege and public policy. Proceedings of the International Conference on Bioethics Organized by the UNESCO Regional Centre for Documentation and Research on Bioethics at Egerton University, December 2009. Pp. 1-10 ISBN 9966052135
  • Chima SC. Editorial: Closing Speech. Proceedings of the International Conference on Bioethics Organized by the UNESCO Regional Centre for Documentation and Research on Bioethics at Egerton University, December 2009. Pp. 130-135 ISBN 9966052135
  •  Chima SC. A brief overview of the ethical and legal challenges surrounding the practice of informed consent in South Africa. Proceedings of the Clinical Medicine Update Symposium. Department of Medicine, University of KwaZulu-Natal, November 2011.
  • Chima SC, The molecular epidemiology and neuropathology of JC polyomavirus in a West African City. J. Neurovirol. (August 2003).
  • Chima SC, Lach B, Ryschkewitsch CF, Ressetar HG, Stoner GL. Primary progressive multifocal leukoencephalopathy (PML) due to JC virus Type 1 in a schizophrenic patient. J Neuropathol Exp Neurol. 2000 59: (5) 436
  •  Shajenko L, Davidson RM, Chima SC. Amyloid beta-peptide alters calcium channels in neuroblastoma cell lines: A possible neurotoxic mechanism in Alzheimer’s disease. J Neuropathol Exp Neurol 2000 59: (5) 425
  • Stoner GL, Friedlander JS, Jobes DV, Agostini HT, Chima SC, Mgone CS, Yanagihara R, Ryschkewitsch CF. JC virus in the South Pacific: New variants with an unusual regulatory region rearrangement in Papua New Guinea. J Neurovirology 2000 Oct.6 (5): 435
  •  Chima SC, Ng T, Ryschkewitsch C, Stoner GL, Fan KJ. (1998). Molecular epidemiology of human polyomavirus JC in a US urban population: Survival of strains from Africa in modern African Americans. Brain Pathol 1998 8:580
  •  Chima SC, Lucas SB, Agostini HT, Ryschkewitsch CF, Stoner GL. (1997). Progressive multifocal Leukoencephalopathy and JC virus genotypes: Pathological and DNA sequence analysis of four cases in West African AIDS patients. Brain Pathol 7: 1021.
  •  Jobes DV, Chima SC, Ryschkewitsch CF, Stoner GL. Molecular phylogeny and genotype specific differences of the human polyomavirus JC (JCV). Society for Neuroscience Abstracts, Los Angeles, CA. November 19997.
  •  Chima SC, Lucas SB, Agostini HT, Ryschkewitsch CF, Stoner GL. (1997). Progressive multifocal leukoencephalopathy (PML) due to JC virus, an emerging opportunistic infection in African AIDS: Neuropathology, PCR and immunohistochemical analysis of six cases from East and West Africa. Proceedings of the Xth International Conference on STD/AIDS in Africa.Op-Ed Editorials/ Newspaper publications
  • Chima SC: All equal before the law. Daily News Newspaper, South Africa (Late final Edition), O3 May 2013, p.12
  • Chima SC: Prof Karabus: Comments on doctors boycotting Africa Health. Medical Chronicle-The Doctor’s Newspaper, April 15, 2013. Available at: http://www.medicalchronicle.co.za/prof-karabus-comments-on-doctors-boycotting-africahealth/