In honour of International Women’s Day, we have launched a dedicated collection of articles from Journal of Developmental Origins of Health and Disease.

In addition to our specially-selected articles, we’d like to share some additional content – a series of Q&A’s with leading figures in the field.

Alta Schutte

How do you describe your work role? What do you call yourself?

I am a Chairholder funded by the South African Department of Science and Technology, focused on the Early Detection and Prevention of CVD. I am also the Unit Director of a South African Medical Research Council Unit for Hypertension and Cardiovascular Disease, and the President of the International Society of Hypertension (2018-2020).

I call myself a research professor, a wife and a mom.

 

Do you have an overarching career goal? Did you set that goal early, mid or late in your career? Did your goals change over your career?

Early on in my career I was asked to provide research momentum to a fairly inactive small group of researchers. Time to focus on research development immediately post-PhD set me up to be fully engaged in research for the past 18 years. Since then my career goal was to develop capacity on the topic of cardiovascular disease in Africa, and to significantly contribute with others to solid research output to improve the dire situation of NCDs in Africa. I set a basic goal early on to build capacity and to develop myself in this area, and as things escalated over time the same focus became stronger and stronger. My goals didn’t change much, but I was able to strengthen and redefine my approaches towards the same goal as I gained experience.

 

If you were an established PI in 1990, what was your initial impression of Barkers hypothesis? Did it make sense or were you sceptical? What evidence convinced you that there was a basis for the hypothesis?

I was in primary school in 1990, but learnt about Barker’s hypothesis during my PhD. Right after my PhD in 2003, I met David Barker and he gave me a copy of his popular book on this theory. I read the book and found it of extreme relevance and interest. The evidence in his book (based on his own earlier work) convinced me.

 

What is your greatest achievement in your career to date? What is your greatest achievement outside your career to date?

Holding several senior scientific positions in the field of hypertension in a country that has been dominated with research expertise in the field of HIV over the past decades. I became the first President of the International Society of Hypertension from Africa, and I’m only the second woman to hold this position. Being able to be a mother of two kids (aged 13 and 10) and a wife – and to enjoy both my family life and career at the same time – is probably a personal highlight. Though not always easy.

 

Looking back, is there an experiment that you wish you had performed 10 years ago?

Should’ve started with a birth-cohort study 10 years ago, and included some of the novel techniques that we only have today …

 

What has been your biggest challenge in achieving your goals?

Not having enough time.

 

Has science changed over your career?

Several new concepts emerged which changed our research focus slightly, but the primary issues remained central.

 

Alta Schutte is Professor of Physiology at North-West University, and President of the Hypertension in Africa Research Team.