Etheresia Pretorius is a South African scientist. She is Distinguished Professor and head of the Department of Physiological Sciences at Stellenbosch University. Her research deals with coagulation in a variety of medical conditions including type 2 diabetes, chronic fatigue syndrome, Alzheimer's, Parkinson's, COVID-19 and Long COVID.
Pretorius earned a BScHons (cum laude) and MSc from Stellenbosch University, then a PhD from the University of Pretoria in 1998. [1]
Following her doctorate, Pretorius became a lecturer in the Department of Anatomy at the University of Pretoria, and later joined the Department of Physiology. [1] She now works at Stellenbosch University, where she is Distinguished Professor and head of the Department of Physiological Sciences. [2]
Her research deals with coagulation in a variety of medical conditions including type 2 diabetes, chronic fatigue syndrome, Alzheimer's, Parkinson's, COVID-19 and Long COVID. [3] [4] Her 2021 study was the first to propose microclots could play a role in Long COVID. [3] She often collaborates with biochemist Douglas Kell and they led the first team to visualize microclots in Long COVID. [5]
According to Scopus, Pretorius has an h-index of 45. [6] In 2011, she won the African Union Kwame Nkrumah Scientific Awards for the Southern Region in the Basic Science, Technology and Innovation Sector. [1]