Dr. Janine Donaldson is a lecturer at the School of Physiology at the University of the Witwatersrand, South Africa. She completed her PhD studies in Physiology at the University of the Witwatersrand. Her primary research interests include the gastrointestinal tract (GIT) and the GIT accessory organs, the liver and pancreas in both normal and diseased states, and the measurement of erythrocyte osmotic fragility in various mammal and bird species. The measurement of hematological parameters, such as erythrocyte osmotic fragility, is an important clinical tool for the assessment of the overall health status of the animal. Erythrocyte osmotic fragility can be affected by various extrinsic and intrinsic factors. The effects of factors such as consumption of a high-fat diet as well as oxidative stress on the ability of the erythrocytes to resist osmotically induced hemolysis are currently being investigated by her research group.