Tertius Kohn, PhD
Founder and director of the MyoLab.
During his studies at Stellenbosch University, he gained expertise in single muscle techniques at the Copenhagen Muscle Research Centre and the Swedish Agricultural University in Uppsala. During his post-doc, he established the permeabilised single fibre contracture test at the University of Cape Town. In 2019, he was appointed associate professor in the Department of Medical Biosciences at the University of the Western Cape, promoted to full professor in 2025 and continues the research on muscle metabolism, contractility and morphology.
PhD students and Post Docs
Dr Kathryn van Boom - PostDoc
Kathryn will be leading an investigation in carbohydrate metabolism in young South African males.
She is also involved in completing the cheetah data analyses and determining muscle structural proteins in ICU patients.
Luqmaan Adamson - PhD candidate
Luqmaan is currently registered as a PhD candidate in the Department of Medical Biosciences, University of the Western Cape. His project focuses on single muscle fibre contractile properties and ATP consumption in various wild animal species.
Brandon Kleynhans - PhD candidate
Brandon has a passion for reptiles and is interested in the muscle properties of these animals. His PhD will focus on selected snake species and compare their muscle structure, metabolism and contractility.
Mahmooda Martin - PhD candidate
Mahmooda's PhD will focus on determining how injections of anti-diabetic drugs in an obese mouse model affects the skeletal muscle structure, metabolism, fibre type and size, and mitochondrial content.
MSc students
Zoë-Lee Appel - MSc candidate
Cardiorespiratory and blood lactate response to submaximal and maximum exercise in healthy, young South African males
Gillian Hermanus - MSc candidate
Elucidating the relationship of diet on carbohydrate metabolism in young healthy South African males
Lesedi Nongawuza - MSc candidate
Phenotypic characteristics of skeletal muscle fibre types from 8 pure ovine breeds
Neha Pillay - MSc candidate
An investigation of glucose disposal during an oral glucose tolerance test in a cohort of healthy young South African men