Danny Meyersfeld pioneers Biotechnology in South Africa
While others might have thought it better to gain work experience before launching a new business in medical technology, passionate microbiologist Daniel Meyersfeld didn’t hesitate.
Daniel Meyersfeld
During his PhD studies in molecular biology, the young student at the University of Cape Town saw the opportunity to use the recent advances in the field of human genetics to improve people’s health and wellness, and took a leap of faith in setting up an innovative new venture, as soon as he finished his post-doctoral research.
“It was quite a steep learning curve,” says Meyersfeld, but his luck paid off and his Johannesburg-based company DNAlysis Biotechnology is now recognised as a global leader in the field of biotechnology.
Based on the scientific discoveries which emerged from the complete mapping of the human genome, first announced in 2003, Meyersfeld set up the venture in 2005 to bring the benefits of these discoveries to the South African health and wellness markets. “I saw how the advances in genetic science were being used to advantage in the US and realised there was an opportunity for bringing these first world technologies to doctors and consumers in South Africa,” he says.
“We have come full circle, and now have doctors all over the world using our service.” With the recent launch of their product in the UK, DNAlysis is becoming an international enterprise. The gene test for detecting which exercise regime is best suited to individual genetic profiles (DNA FIT) has been selected by UK-based Lasarow Healthcare Technologies and is soon to be launched to health and wellness markets globally.
Recent developments in technology have given scientists a new way of understanding the link between genes, nutrition and lifestyle, giving the health aware consumer an individual genetic test. These tests have the unique ability for specific interpretation by a team of scientists with expertise in human genetics, molecular biology, nutritional genomics and dietetics.
By identifying and analysing the genes that predispose us to certain diseases or health conditions, the DNALYSIS team is able to advise on diet, exercise and lifestyle regimes that respond best to a person’s unique genetic profile.
DNAlysis offered a test of eight genes associated with diet and exercise in 2010, and new research that has come out over the past four years has seen the test expand to test 13 genes. While DNA tests for nutrition were based on US tests, the genetic tests for fitness and oestrogen were developed entirely by South African expertise.
The idea came from Meyersfeld’s passion for bridging the space that exists between scientific research that is conducted in institutions and its application in practice. “I loved the challenge of solving research problems in molecular biology, but there is an enormous gap in research and how the consumer benefits from it,” he says.
He realised that a commercial venture would provide the link, with the interest of consumers encouraging scientists to explore deeper into the secrets of our genetic codes. “There is still a lot to know, but there are exciting possibilities based on what we do know,” he says. “We do have interesting research available on genes that relate to diet and exercise. We have known about these genes for 10 years, and it is about taking the best available knowledge and using that.”
The idea came a step closer to reality when he joined forces with Yael Joffe, a Durban-based dietician who is an internationally acknowledged expert of the link between nutrition and genomics. Together they set up the DNALYSIS venture, which operates out a state-of –the-art laboratory in Illovo, Johannesburg. As interpreting the results of the genetic test is a key part of the process, the venture has made training of health practitioners in this interpretation a focus of its practice.
More than 300 practitioners in South African and abroad have gone through the training so far, and the requests from a wide range of health practitioners have increased as the benefits of genetic testing become evident and as awareness grows amongst consumers.
There is still a lot of coding that needs to be deciphered in the human genome, but as this new field of science evolves Meyersfeld expects that it will shed new light on how we can use our awareness of our genetic profile to enhance our health and fitness.
The search for new ways of applying the science is helped by the fact that existing research is for the most part publically available. “We expect a lot of research to come along, especially as many universities now have nutrigenomics departments researching the link between nutrition and genetics,” he says.
“The more information we have the better equipped we are to manage people’s health,” he says. The information can be used by people who battle to lose weight, by athletes wanting to achieve higher levels of fitness, or by those whose busy lives leave little time for exercise, and for whom knowing which type of exercise is best allows them to get as much benefit as they can from the time they have to train.
As for Meyersfeld, the awareness of how best to achieve his own personal fitness is indispensible when a fledgling global enterprise and a two-year-old daughter leave him precious few moments for the gym.
For more information on DNAlysis and its various products visit dnalysis.co.za or call 011 268 0268.
