“The more efficiently and accurately we can deal with research contracts and satisfy funders' compliance requirements, the more opportunities we can help secure for our researchers," says Naseema Sonday who has served as Deputy Director: Research Contracts & Compliance and Senior Legal Advisor from September 2023 in the Division for Research Development (DRD).
She has a BSc Honours in Chemistry from the University of Cape Town and an LLB through UNISA. She was admitted as an attorney of the High Court in 2020 and is now doing her LLM in commercial law through SU.
“My role as a Senior Legal Advisor is to negotiate and review research contracts, and in my capacity as Deputy Director it is to make sure all research-related compliance requirements are addressed to the finest detail," Sonday explains. “I assist my Director, Cornelia Malherbe in her role as work in this area has intensified with increasingly stringent compliance requirements. Our team has also grown over the past two years, so I assist with management responsibilities as well."
Sonday explains that she always knew she wanted “to be part of a team taking science forward" but in a role that facilitated research as opposed to doing the science itself.
“I have always loved the academic environment and taken to leadership roles – it is something I feel I can do well," she says. “It has been an evolution in finding my way from a scientist initially and then studying for my law degree. What I enjoyed about being a lawyer is that it helped me to use my voice to help others to voice their story." Sonday practised in an intellectual property law firm for two years.
Combining science with law
The notion of combining science with law occurred to Sonday during her Honours programme. “I went to the UK with a group of chemistry students on a trip sponsored by a UK pharma group which exposed us to how drugs are made," she explains “There were also career talks by different professionals and one was by a patent attorney who had studied chemistry. He sparked the interest in me and I started looking into it."
Sonday joined SU in 2021 during the Covid pandemic, as a legal advisor for research contracts and to focus on compliance as SU had recognised they needed dedicated capacity for this. “I was the first person formally in this role and we have built it up considerably since then. I am now assisted by three legal advisors with compliance matters as part of their portfolio," she explains.
“I enjoy dealing with research contracts because I am a scientist at heart and the opportunity to effect change in society through research is very appealing to me. For example, contracts in chemical engineering research where waste products, such as from paper mills, are used as an alternative fuel source. Or research undertaken by our Family Medicine Research Unit that uses AI diagnostic tools for detecting paediatric TB," says Sonday who spends a few days a week at the Tygerberg Medical Health Sciences Faculty as many research contracts originate from research clients in the health sciences.
Increasingly onerous rules, policies and regulations
She explains the reason that research compliance has intensified “is part of the turning of the tide in the way in which business is done in universities. Funders in both the government and private sector have increasingly onerous rules, policies and regulations in order to approve funding. “We have to satisfy all their compliance requirements and due diligence processes," says Sonday, adding: “I think increasing corruption globally may have something to do with this and perhaps some recipients are not complying properly. Also, winning research grants has become increasingly competitive for researchers, so we have to be ready to show we are the best recipient to receive and manage their funding."
Sonday says contract review times vary and can often take months to finalise. “And we are dealing with hundreds of contracts at a time, but we have a wonderful group of people in our division who go all out to makes sure we deliver at the highest level."
Each funder has their own complex requirements plus SU has its own rules, policies and regulations, “We have to review them together and make sure they are aligned and that the requisite processes are in place on our side," Sonday explains. “For example, we recently had to establish an institution-wide position statement on research involving tobacco or being funded from sources linked to the tobacco industry, where we declare our commitment to disengage from such research and funders. This stemmed from a restriction from the World Health Organisation (WHO).
“We were at risk of losing one of our biggest grants to date at the end of 2022 when the WHO put pressure on us to establish this position statement and put in place measures to ensure we comply with our statement. Agreeing on the wording of the position statement was an onerous task, as there were concerns from researchers on how this would restrict academic freedom. But we eventually settled on appropriate wording with input from faculties and Council committees. Council eventually approved the wording and we are now refining the rules on how we implement this statement."
To take a break
To take a break from her work, Sonday enjoys hiking or going for a run near her home in Cape Town. She also enjoys the gym, especially high intensity training, and spends time with her family who all live in Cape Town. She recently got married, and her husband is a paediatrician – “but I didn't meet him through my work" she laughs. To beat the traffic she leaves Cape Town at 6am. “It's about an hour's commute but we also have a hybrid work policy so I am also able to work from home some days, which is wonderful. I am very happy in my position and I hope to stay with the University for many years."
