Privacy Policy

1. Introduction

The Ramsuran Lab ("we", "us", "our") respects your privacy and is committed to protecting the personal information of everyone who visits this website, contacts us, or applies to join the lab. This Privacy Policy explains how we collect, use, store and protect your personal information in accordance with the Protection of Personal Information Act 4 of 2013 (POPIA).

By using this website, you agree to the collection and use of information in line with this policy. If you do not agree with this policy, please do not use this website or submit your information to us.

2. Who we are

The Ramsuran Lab is a research group led by Prof. Veron Ramsuran, based within the Medical Microbiology Department at the University of KwaZulu-Natal (UKZN), Howard College Campus, Durban, South Africa.

3. Information we collect

We only collect personal information that you choose to give us, or that is automatically generated by your use of this website. This may include:

Information you provide directly

• Your name and email address, when you submit our contact form or email us directly.
• Any details you include in a message — for example, whether you're a prospective postgraduate student, postdoctoral candidate, research collaborator, or general enquirer.
• Your CV, academic transcripts or supporting documents, if you apply for a position or opportunity in the lab.

Information collected automatically

• Standard technical data such as your IP address, browser type, device type, and pages visited, collected via cookies or similar technologies (see Section 8).

We do not knowingly collect sensitive personal information (such as health, biometric, or genetic information about website visitors) through this website. Any such information collected as part of the Lab's research activities is governed by separate research ethics approvals, informed consent processes, and institutional data protocols — not by this website policy.

4. How we use your information

We use the personal information we collect to:

• Respond to your enquiries, applications, or collaboration requests.
• Communicate with you about opportunities to join or work with the lab.
• Maintain accurate records of correspondence.
• Improve the content, usability and security of this website.
• Comply with our legal and regulatory obligations.

We do not sell, rent, or trade your personal information to third parties for marketing purposes.

5. Our legal basis for processing

We process your personal information on one or more of the following grounds recognised under POPIA:

• Consent — where you have voluntarily submitted your information to us, such as through our contact form.
• Legitimate interest — where processing is necessary to respond to your enquiry or manage our relationship with prospective students, staff or collaborators.
• Legal obligation — where we are required to process or retain information to comply with UKZN policy or South African law.

6. Sharing your information

We do not share your personal information with third parties, except in the following limited circumstances:

• Service providers — such as our website hosting provider and email service provider, who process data on our behalf and are contractually required to keep it secure.
• University of KwaZulu-Natal — where relevant to formal applications for postgraduate study, employment, or research collaboration administered through UKZN.
• Legal requirements — where disclosure is required by law, court order, or a South African regulatory authority.

We do not transfer personal information outside South Africa except where a service provider's infrastructure requires it, and only where appropriate safeguards are in place as required by POPIA.

7. How long we keep your information

We retain personal information only for as long as necessary to fulfil the purpose it was collected for, or as required by law or UKZN institutional policy. General enquiry and contact form submissions are typically retained for [insert retention period, e.g. 12 months] before being securely deleted, unless a longer period is required — for example, for ongoing recruitment, collaboration, or record-keeping purposes.

8. Cookies and similar technologies

This website may use cookies and similar tracking technologies to improve your browsing experience and understand how visitors use our site. Cookies are small text files stored on your device. You can control or disable cookies through your browser settings at any time; please note that some parts of the site may not function as intended if cookies are disabled.

9. How we protect your information

We take reasonable technical and organisational measures to protect your personal information against loss, misuse, unauthorised access, disclosure, alteration or destruction. These include restricting access to personal information to individuals who need it to perform their role, and using secure, reputable third-party providers for website hosting and email.

No method of transmission over the internet or electronic storage is 100% secure. While we strive to protect your personal information, we cannot guarantee its absolute security.

10. Your rights

Under POPIA, you have the right to:

• Request confirmation of whether we hold personal information about you.
• Request access to the personal information we hold about you.
• Request correction of any inaccurate, incomplete, or outdated information.
• Request deletion or destruction of personal information that we are no longer authorised to retain.
• Object to the processing of your personal information on reasonable grounds.
• Withdraw consent, where processing is based on consent, at any time.
• Lodge a complaint with the Information Regulator of South Africa if you believe your personal information has been processed unlawfully.

To exercise any of these rights, please contact us using the details in Section 13. The Information Regulator can be contacted at inforegulator.org.za.

11. Children's privacy

This website is not directed at children, and we do not knowingly collect personal information from children under the age of 18 without the consent of a parent or guardian. If you believe a child has provided us with personal information without appropriate consent, please contact us so we can remove it.

12. Changes to this policy

We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time to reflect changes in our practices, technology, or legal requirements. Any updates will be posted on this page with a revised "last updated" date. We encourage you to review this page periodically.

13. Contact us

If you have questions about this Privacy Policy, or would like to exercise any of your rights under POPIA, please contact us:

• Email: [Insert lab contact email once confirmed]
• Phone: [Insert lab contact number once confirmed]
• Postal address: Medical Microbiology Department, University of KwaZulu-Natal, Howard College Campus, Durban, South Africa