Dr Sashrika Pillay
Judge
Dr Sashrika Pillay
Department of Anatomy
Dr. Sashrika Pillay-Addinall is a dedicated anatomical scientist, educator, and academic leader with over a decade of experience in teaching and research within the health sciences. She currently serves as a Lecturer in the Department of Anatomy at Sefako Makgatho Health Sciences University (SMU), where she has demonstrated excellence in undergraduate and postgraduate instruction, curriculum development, student supervision, and research leadership.
She holds a PhD in Anatomy from the University of the Witwatersrand, where her doctoral research focused on the comparative neuroanatomy of the ferret and banded mongoose. This work contributed significantly to the understanding of carnivoran brain architecture and resulted in several peer-reviewed publications in high-impact journals, including The Journal of Comparative Neurology and Chemical Neuroanatomy. Her current research continues to be impactful, with a focus on neurodevelopmental disorders—particularly autism spectrum disorder.
Dr. Pillay-Addinall’s supervisory portfolio includes PhD, Master’s, and Honours-level projects across a broad spectrum of topics, from sonographic and clinical anatomy to anatomical variation and neuroanatomical structure-function relationships. Her mentorship has fostered research capacity in both clinical and preclinical domains, with several of her students publishing their findings. She has also supervised integrated literature reviews and research selectives in collaboration with the Department of Family Medicine and the MBChB program.
Beyond her teaching and research roles, Dr. Pillay-Addinall is actively engaged in academic service and institutional governance. She serves on the SMU Research and Ethics Council and the Risk Management Committee, and is a peer reviewer for the SAMA Undergraduate Journal. She has chaired academic symposium sessions, coordinated outreach events such as World Anatomy Day, and participated in community health awareness campaigns.
Her professional development includes a range of short courses in pedagogy, curriculum design, child and adolescent psychology, and sonographic techniques—all of which inform her interdisciplinary teaching approach. In the laboratory, her technical expertise spans histological techniques, immunohistochemistry, and stereological analysis using advanced platforms such as the MBF Biosciences system.
Dr. Pillay-Addinall is an active member of several national and international scientific bodies, including the Anatomical Society of Southern Africa and the South African Neuroscience Society. Her commitment to academic excellence is reflected in her scholarly publications, successful grant applications, mentorship, and community engagement.