Prof Paula Melariri

Professor Paula Melariri is an Associate Professor and researcher with 22 years of experience in tertiary institutions and research councils. She boasts exceptional teaching and mentoring skills, having guided students at both undergraduate and postgraduate levels. As a research team leader at the CSIR (2011- 2013), Prof Melariri led a malaria drug development project that earned acclaim from the World Health Organization.

At Nelson Mandela University, she has driven human capacity development within her department (Environmental Health) and, as Director of Research for the Faculty of Health Sciences, has spearheaded research development through various internal, national, and international initiatives. Her goal is to build on existing foundations, enhancing skills acquisition and human capacity development for staff and students, with a focus on producing tangible research outputs and throughput.

Prof Melariri has published extensively in accredited journals and book chapters, supervised numerous postgraduate students, and reviews for top journals and institutions globally. Paula Melariri’ s goal is to contribute meaningfully to public health using her expertise.

Designation:

Director of Research

Email:

paulaezinne.melariri@mandela.ac.za

Contact Number: 

0415043501

Faculty:

Health Sciences

Department:

Environmental Health

Qualifications:

PhD Pharmacology (UCT)

Professional Memberships:

Public Health Association of South Africa; Eco Health International; Parasitological Society of Southern Africa

Orcid ID:

https://orcid.org/0000-0003-3612-8578

NRF Rating: 

N/A

Research Interests:

  • Water quality and Health

  • Communicable diseases

  • Neglected tropical diseases (Public health parasites)

  • Infectious diseases of poverty

  • Infectious diseases of poverty

Current non-degree Research Projects:

  1. Water quality and Health

  2. Water Sanitation and Hygiene (WASH)

  3. Impact of Climate Change and WASH Infrastructure on Infectious Disease Transmission

Current Final Year Undergraduate/Honours Research Projects:

  1. The projects are in the following categories: Water quality and Health, Water Sanitation and Hygiene, Neglected tropical diseases, Communicable diseases

Number of currently supervised Masters and PhD candidates (2023 to 2024):

  • Masters: 7

  • PhD: 1

Research Output 2023 to 2024:

  1. Nundze, S., Ogunlaja, A., Eastwood, K., Thwala, M., & Melariri, P. (2024). Investigation of nanomaterial and hazardous emissions at coal-fired power stations in Mpumalanga, South Africa. South African Journal of Science, 120(11/12). https://doi.org/10.17159/sajs.2024/16062

  2. Campbell PS, Ham-Baloyi WT, Adams JB, Thwala M, Vere TM, and Melariri PE. The Effect of Physicochemical Properties of Water Bodies on Schistosomiasis Intermediate Host Snails’ Distribution in Sub-Saharan Africa: A Systematic Review. Advances in Public Health Volume 2025, Article ID 7477359, https://doi.org/10.1155/adph/7477359

  3. Hambury SD, Grobler AD, Melariri PE. A Retrospective prevalence Study of Urinary Schistosomiasis in Nelson Mandela Bay Health District from 2014 to 2018. Nigerian Journal of Parasitology 45 (2) eISSN: 1117-4145

  4. Melariri PE, Teare J, Oyedele O, Eastwood K, ten Ham-Baloyi W (2024) Impact of an educational intervention on water, sanitation and hygiene knowledge, attitudes, and practices in early childhood development centres in low-socioeconomic areas in the Nelson Mandela Bay, South Africa. PLoS ONE 19(5): e0303077. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0303077

  5. Vere M, ten Ham-Baloyi W, Melariri PE (2024) Effects of paediatric schistosomiasis control programmes in sub-Saharan Africa: A systematic review. PLoS ONE 19(5): e0301464. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0301464

  6. Herbert Melariri, Robert Freercks, Elizabeth van der Merwe, Wilma ten Ham-Baloyi, Opeoluwa Oyedele, Richard Murphy, Clarissa Claasen, Paschal Etusim, Maureen Achebe, Shadrach Offiah, and Paula Melariri. The burden of hospital-acquired infections (HAI) in sub-Saharan Africa: A systematic review and meta-analysis. eClinicalMedicine 2024;71: 102571 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.eclinm.2024.102571

  7. Paula Melariri, Chioma Ihemanma, Udoka Chigbo, Kirstie Eastwood, Chika Uche, and Paschal Etusim. Plasmodium Parasitaemia and Urine Alterations among Pregnant Women Attending Antenatal Care in Aba Metropolis, Abia State, Nigeria. Journal of Parasitology Research, Volume 2024 | Article ID 6681943 | https://doi.org/10.1155/2024/6681943

  8. Etusim, P.E., Ihemanma, C.A., Victor, C.N., Ogbuka C.E., Arunsi., U.O. and Melariri, P.E. (2023). Urinalysis, Malaria Random Diagnostic Methods And Clinical Symptoms In The Prediction Of Malaria Parasitaemia Among Pregnant Women In Umuahia And Ikwuano, Abia State, Nigeria” Nigerian Journal of Parasitology 44(2) 316 -326 https://dx.doi.org/10.4314/njpar.v44i2.4

  9. Herbert Melariri, Timothy Els, Opeoluwa Oyedele, Tessa K. Suttle, Kim Theresa Bermosky, Adelaide De Freitas, Amir Murtaza, Mohamed Moosajee, Paula E. Melariri, 2023. Prevalence of locoregional recurrence and survival post -treatment of head and neck cancers in Africa: a systematic review and meta -analysis eClinicalMedicine Volume 59, May 2023, 101964 ISSN 2589 -5370, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.eclinm.2023.101964

  10. Getse, L, Kihara, J.H, Govender, S, Campbell, P.S, Oyedele, O. and Melariri, P.E. Knowledge, attitudes, and practices on urogenital schistosomiasis among adult community members in Nelson Mandela Bay, South Africa. Nigerian Journal of Parasitology (Accepted)

Current Research Collaborations within your Department or Discipline:

  1. Cross-Departmental Collaborations: I encourage collaborations across different departments. Currently, I have a few projects which involves colleagues from other departments represented in the faculty.

  2. Interdisciplinary Research Projects: My research collaborations extend across multiple faculties, including Business and Economic Sciences, Science Faculty, and several others.

  3. Industry-Academia Partnerships: I am dedicated to community-centered research and actively collaborate with stakeholders to drive meaningful impact and enhance sustainability.

  4. Student-Faculty Research Collaborations: I encourage students to participate in research projects alongside faculty members. These collaborations provide students with hands-on research experience and help faculty members in turn to achieve the project deliverables.

Current Inter-Disciplinary/Multi-Disciplinary/Trans-Disciplinary Research Collaborations:

  1. Water Quality and Health

  2. WASH projects

  3. Neglected tropical diseases

  4. One health Approach

  5. Nanoparticles and health

  6. Pollutants and Health