Medical Geology of Africa: A Research Primer

Theophilus Clavell Davies is a Research Professor (Medical Geology), a Chartered Geologist, and Environmental Consultant, currently based at the Mangosuthu University of Technology in South Africa. Formerly Council Member and Trustee of the Geological Society of London (1996 - 2000), he is presently Regional Councillor for southern Africa of the Association of Applied Geochemists (AAG), former member of the Supervisory Board of the International Medical Geology Association (IMGA), Member of the Scientific Committee of the UNESCO International Centre for Global-Scale Geochemistry (ICGG) and Former Member of the IUGS Commission on Geosciences for Environmental Management (GEM). Prof. Davies’ abiding interest centres around the role of geoenvironmental variables as causal co-factors in the aetiology of some obscure diseases (of unknown aetiology) in Africa. He has taught and carried out research, community engagement and consultancy in Germany, Great Britain, Kenya, Nigeria, Sierra Leone, South Africa and Zimbabwe. Prof. Davies’ consultancy for the National Bank of Kenya in 1993 led to the discovery of huge gemstone deposits in the Tsavo National Park in southern Kenya, and the commissioning of a mine. Prof. Davies has published over 200 papers (peer-reviewed manuscripts, edited books and book chapters, abstracts, conference papers and reports) in course of these activities, some of which appear in the most reputable international geoscience journals. Prof. Davies is Associate Editor, Guest Editor or Reviewer for several high impact journals, including the Journal of Geochemical Exploration, GEEA and China Geology. He has singly or jointly edited six ‘Special Issues’ of these journals and is the author or co-author of chapters in the inaugural books: “Essentials of Medical Geology - Impacts of the Natural Environment on Public Health” (2005) and “Medical Geology - A Regional Synthesis” (2010). Prof. Davies currently holds the status of “Experienced Researcher” according to the National Research Foundation (NRF) of South Africa ‘Rating System’. Major awards include two from the prestigious Alexander von Humboldt Foundation of Germany (1986; 1988) and another from the NMGS/Shell Petroleum Ltd. (2014) in recognition of “… persistent and consistent excellent research on the environmental geology of the African continent” [Sic].