Carnegie-UCT’s ‘institutional ubuntu’ funds African emerging researchers

Dr Phuti Choshi, based in the Division of Allergology and Clinical Immunology (Department of Medicine) with Professor Jonny Peter and team, study drug hypersensitivity in HIV and tuberculosis (TB) to understand why some individuals develop life-threatening cutaneous reactions to medications commonly used in HIV/TB treatment, while others do not.

Dr Choshi described receiving the award as “humbling and affirming” amid scarce research funding. “This recognition brings a profound sense of relief and serves as a powerful signal to a young, emerging researcher to keep believing in the pursuit of scientific discovery,” she said.

“This award sustains momentum and strengthens local expertise,” Choshi added. “Our findings could directly inform better diagnostic tools for identifying causative drugs and guide the development of targeted therapies for vulnerable populations, ultimately improving the safety and effectiveness of treatment for millions of patients.”

Transforming the cancer healthcare landscape in South Africa and beyond

Dr Gael Siwe, a postdoctoral scientist in Chemical and Systems Biology with Professor Stefan Barth, said he received the award with genuine pride and gratitude as a timely intervention amid US funding cuts and UCT budgetary pressures. “It offers much-needed breathing room to continue my work with focus and purpose,” he said. “This support is both a recognition of my potential and an investment in quality research that might otherwise have been interrupted.”

The Medical Biotechnology and Immunotherapy Research Unit (MB&I) develops world-leading immunodiagnostic and therapeutic innovations at the forefront of precision oncology, particularly in cancers prevalent among African women.

“This milestone will position the project to engage with venture capital and philanthropic partners, creating a pathway toward potential first‑in‑human clinical trials,” Dr Siwe said. “Beyond advancing my own research journey, this award could help translate IP [intellectual property] into entrepreneurial solutions delivering innovative, affordable and locally relevant cancer therapies.”

Abstract work with immediate real-world implications

Having just finished his PhD, Mita Ramabulana is at a critical stage of his career, eager to develop a scientific profile and establish himself within the scientific community. Associate Professor Elena Berdysheva in the Department of Mathematics and Applied Mathematics explained that to secure funding in pure mathematics is a very difficult task. This fellowship offers an ideal platform because it not only provides generous funding, but also emphasises the development of the fellow. “We met this news with relief, and of course I was very proud,” she said.

Ramabulana’s research is in Harmonic Analysis. "One of the optimisation problems I considered for my PhD has an application to both geometry and statistical methods that are fundamental in the modelling of geophysical, climatological and atmospheric phenomena,” he said.

Healthcare that makes the future for children, families and communities better

For Dr Shaakira Chaya, it was with both a sense of relief and joy that she received this support after international funding cuts threatened her team’s long-term birth cohort study. “Having worked on this project for six to seven years under Professor Diane Gray’s mentorship, I’m grateful to be able to continue this important work rather than see it come to an abrupt end,” she said.

Professor Gray in the Department of Paediatrics and Child Health explained: “The focus of the work is to improve our understanding of respiratory disease in early childhood, and how to prevent it, identify it and manage it. The skills that Shaakira developed during her PhD are really quite unique internationally. She’ll now be able to continue transferring these skills to other projects.

“Postdoc fellowships are absolutely crucial in changing the story,” Gray added. “It is such a critical point in capacity development because this is the time when postdocs are able to develop their own teams, develop research culture, use the data in its fullness, make their own leadership decisions and drive the research questions.”

Plans for 2016 and beyond

Carnegie has supported fellowships at UCT since 2013, and a fourth and final round of DEAL/HUMA fellowships is currently in discussion with the foundation. This will ensure continued funding until 2028 and provide the resources for institutionalising and mainstreaming key project components so that they become accessible to all postgraduates and emerging researchers at UCT.