Senior Lecturer (Biochemistry), University of KwaZulu-Natal, SA, Carola Niesler is an established NRF-rated scientist who leads a Stem Cell Research laboratory in the Department of Biochemistry, University of KwaZulu-Natal. She started her stem cell research career analysing adipose-derived stem cells during her PhD at the Department of Clinical Biochemistry, University of Cambridge, UK, and subsequently spent two years in a Centre of Excellence for wound healing research at the School of Biological Sciences, University of Manchester.
In 2001 Carola joined Stellenbosch University to establish a Stem Cell Biology Group in the Department of Physiological Sciences. During this time, she also acted as a Director of Virtus Clinical Development, a clinical research organization based in Cape Town.
In her current position as Senior Lecturer at UKZN, her research area centers on understanding how the extracellular environment influences stem cell activities such as proliferation, migration and differentiation. She has published 27 papers in international peer-reviewed journals and has graduated 15 PhD/MSc students over the last 10 years.