58A DAY IN THE LIFE OF JOHANN C JERLING<strong>Sight</strong> <strong>and</strong> <strong>Life</strong>InterviewA Day in the <strong>Life</strong> of Johann C JerlingJohann C Jerling (PhD)is the Director of TReNDS – Centre of Excellence forNutrition at North-West University (PotchefstroomCampus), South Africa. He talks about his work atTReNDS, as well as his involvement in initiatives suchas the African Nutrition Leadership Program (ANLP).<strong>Sight</strong> <strong>and</strong> <strong>Life</strong> (SAL): Johann, what does your work as the Directorof TReNDS involve?Johann Jerling (JJ): I became the director fairly recently, onJanuary 1, <strong>2011</strong>. I see my role as developing <strong>and</strong> leading a team,which in this case is a team of nutrition scientists. In general,as a group, we spend 40 percent of our time on undergraduatestudent training, 40 percent on research, <strong>and</strong> 20 percent on theimplementation of expertise.SAL: What do you do in the course of a working day, <strong>and</strong> whatimpact does it make?JJ: I aim to create an environment where team members excelat what they do. I also believe that we should really enjoy whatwe do, which is something that is sometimes neglected in ourworld. I aim to create an environment where people enjoy whatthey are doing. I try to achieve this on different levels; the firstthing is to listen to what people have to say, <strong>and</strong> to try <strong>and</strong> solveproblems. I have access to resources, so I try to use these wisely.If you can throw money at a problem, that’s fine, but very oftenit’s about supporting someone, creating energy, <strong>and</strong> then, sometimes,putting a little bit of fun into it, so we don’t take ourselvestoo seriously!We are a group of about 18 academic staff members, as wellas about 30 graduates <strong>and</strong> postgraduates, who form a centralpart of our research effort. We carry out research in variousfields at a level ranging from molecular to societal. The first isin the area of diet <strong>and</strong> hemostasis, or blood clotting. We have aresearch program in nutrigenetics that is fairly new <strong>and</strong> togetherthey form the basis of our molecular work. We also do researchin the area of micronutrients <strong>and</strong> cognition; in body composition,both overweight <strong>and</strong> underweight; <strong>and</strong> we have a research programon nutrition transition, which is an overriding theme thatwe have. As with most parts of the developing world, in SouthAfrica nutrition transition already has a huge impact on thehealth systems of our <strong>and</strong> other countries. We also have a verystrong research program in fatty acids <strong>and</strong> lipids, which is linkedto cognition, micronutrient status, <strong>and</strong> under- <strong>and</strong> over-nutrition.Another theme is best described as nutrition in exercise<strong>and</strong> sport. This is fairly new <strong>and</strong> we are investigating the possibilityof a postgraduate specialization degree in this area.We try to develop track records in all of these areas. I reallybelieve in teamwork. I don’t believe that, as academics, we c<strong>and</strong>o everything well – I’m a big fan of getting strong teams together<strong>and</strong> pooling the expertise that is necessary to do the job <strong>and</strong> doit well. We develop trans-disciplinary research teams around importanthealth themes <strong>and</strong> steer clear from developing researchareas focused on individual capabilities. Sometimes you are ateam member, sometimes you are a leader; it all depends onwhere you are at.SAL: Is there such a thing as a “normal” day for you?JJ: Not at all! Every once in a while, I wish I could have a daywhere I could say, “Now it’s finished,” but that’s not the case inmy role. I work long hours, <strong>and</strong> every day is a mixture of all sortsof things. Some are administrative, others might be researchrelated,but a lot of them are people-related. People come to me⇢
SIGHT AND LIFE | VOL. 25 (1) | <strong>2011</strong>59“Although it’s something thatI haven’t done for three or fouryears, I really enjoy fl y fi shing, asit takes my mind off everything.”A stunning sunset – taken by a team member of theAfrican Nutrition Leadership Program (ANLP)
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