Vanessa started her career in marketing in 1997 before focusing on health communication in 2013. After an extensive recovery from a car accident and an antibiotic-resistant infection she was motivated to advocate about the need to improve AMR awareness. She is an advisor to numerous organisations including the South African Antibiotic Stewardship Program and ASPIRES research collaborative. She also won the FINDdx Voices for Diagnosis Award and Antibiotic Guardian Community Communications Award