From Potch to UCT: Obakeng Jona chooses himself – and earns a PhD

When Obakeng Jona received his PhD in Chemical Engineering from the University of Cape Town (UCT) on 7 September, it was yet another affirmation that he had made the right decision to quit the corporate world and pursue his passion for scientific research in academia.

His journey to becoming Dr Jona was not an easy one, as he lost valuable time in the laboratory during the COVID-19 pandemic, survived financially off scholarships and family, and watched his peers progress in their careers.

He said it required “a particular kind of faith in yourself and in the process” to keep moving forward.

But playing the long game has paid off – for him and for women’s healthcare. His PhD, which took six years to complete, focused on a group of bacteria that naturally reside in the healthy human vagina called Lactobacillaceae. The goal of his work is to produce medicines that could restore vaginal health naturally and affordably.

It takes a village

The 33-year-old Obakeng was born in Potchefstroom in North West. He was raised by a single mother following the passing of his father in a car accident when he was just two-and-a-half years old.

He said he and his younger brother, Andile, were raised with the immense love and support of their maternal grandparents, John and Molly Ramagaga, alongside their mother, Irene Jona.

“Education was sacred in our home. My grandparents were emphatic that we pursue higher degrees and never be complacent. They even set up a home mini library and encouraged us to read from a very young age. That environment planted something in me that never left.

“This degree belongs to all of us. It truly takes a village!”

“I am proud to be the first person in my family to earn a PhD – the first academic; the first doctor. Andile went on to become an attorney in Johannesburg. Between the two of us, I think we have made our family very proud. And I know our late father, Jones, would be too.”

A delegation including his mother, grandfather, aunt, brother and four cousins travelled from Johannesburg and Potchefstroom for his graduation ceremony. “Walking across that stage knowing they were in the audience was one of the most profound moments of my life. This degree belongs to all of us. It truly takes a village!”

Rising star

Obakeng was recognised among the top 20 matriculants in North West in 2011. He said UCT was the only university he applied to study at. “I have always known that UCT is the best university on the African continent, and I wanted to be exposed to the very best – the best minds, the best resources, the best environment. It was an easy decision intellectually.”

He completed his BSc (Eng) in Chemical Engineering in 2016. After a year in management consulting, he returned to UCT in 2018 to pursue an MSc (Eng) in Chemical Engineering, specialising in Bioprocess Engineering.

“I made significant enough progress in my research that my supervisors recommended me for an upgrade. So in 2019, my master’s was formally upgraded to a PhD, which I officially began in 2020.”

Unfortunately, this coincided with the arrival of the COVID-19 pandemic and lockdowns. “I lost the majority of 2020 because I simply could not access the laboratory. Things began moving again towards the end of that year, and from 2021 onwards, I put my head down and pushed hard.”

“I had to choose myself, my aspirations, and my passion.”

Speaking about quitting his job as a graduate management consultant at a boutique firm in Sandton in 2017, Obakeng said: “On paper, the path looked promising – linear progression, exposure to senior business leaders. But something was fundamentally misaligned. I felt like I had not studied a demanding engineering degree to spend my career in a suit behind a desk. My passion was science, and my job felt very far removed from it.

“The turning point came when I reached out to Professor Siew Tai, who had been my lecturer during my undergraduate years and whose research focused on bioproducts and biotherapeutics. That conversation gave me the clarity and the courage to take the leap. My director at the consulting firm was not pleased that I was leaving but I had to choose myself, my aspirations, and my passion. I have never once regretted that decision. Following your heart early, even when it is frightening, is a gift you give your future self.”

The science behind it

Asked to explain bioprocess engineering to people without a scientific background, he said: “Imagine that some of the most powerful medicines in the world are not made in a chemistry lab using test tubes and synthetic reactions – they are made by living microorganisms. Bacteria, yeast, and other tiny biological organisms can be programmed, in a sense, to produce useful products: antibiotics, vaccines, hormones, vitamins, and increasingly, the next generation of treatments for conditions like cancer, HIV, and bacterial infections.

“Bioprocess engineering is the discipline that figures out how to grow these microorganisms reliably, efficiently, and at scale. Think of it like this: if a scientist discovers a bacterium that produces a life-saving compound, a bioprocess engineer’s job is to understand exactly what that bacterium needs to thrive, the right nutrients, the right temperature, the right oxygen levels, the right container, and then to scale that process from a small laboratory flask all the way up to a production tank that can supply medicine to thousands of patients.

“I believe deeply that scientific excellence alone is not enough. Research must reach people.”

“My specific work focused on a group of bacteria that naturally reside in the healthy human vagina – Lactobacillaceae. These bacteria are part of what keeps the vaginal microbiome in balance. When that balance is disrupted, a condition called bacterial vaginosis can develop, which affects more than half of women in Southern Africa and is associated with serious complications including increased susceptibility to sexually transmitted infections and pregnancy-related risks.

“My PhD explored how to cultivate these bacteria in bioreactors, essentially specialised vessels designed for growing microorganisms, establishing their ideal growth conditions and growth media to keep them alive, productive, and scalable. The goal is to develop them into live biotherapeutic products: living medicines that could one day restore vaginal health naturally and affordably.”

In late 2022, Obakeng was appointed as a lecturer in the Department of Chemical Engineering at UCT. So, he was completing a PhD while simultaneously lecturing up to three courses, supervising postgraduate and honours students, managing departmental responsibilities, and applying for research grants.

He thanked his supervisors, Associate Professor Marijke Fagan-Endres and Emerita Professor Sue Harrison, for their extraordinary support while he juggled all these roles and for believing in him and his work.

Beyond the PhD

His goals now are to build a strong, independent research profile in bioprocess engineering and eventually pursue a professorship.

“I aspire to become an internationally recognised researcher and leader in my field, addressing challenges that are particularly relevant to the African context. Beyond the laboratory, I am enrolled in the MPhil in Inclusive Innovation at UCT’s Graduate School of Business because I believe deeply that scientific excellence alone is not enough. Research must reach people. I want to understand and solve the problem of why so many brilliant innovations never leave the laboratory. I am a lifelong learner. I intend to remain one.”