Pioneering research team and emerging scholars lead UCT's success at NRF Awards

Researchers from the University of Cape Town (UCT) were among South Africa's leading academics honoured at the National Research Foundation (NRF) Awards in Gqeberha on 3 September 2026, recognised for research that is expanding the boundaries of knowledge while helping shape a more inclusive and impactful future.

The annual NRF Awards celebrate outstanding scholarly achievements, innovation and leadership. The ceremony spotlights researchers whose work strengthens South Africa's national research system and contributes to the public good.

In keeping with this year's theme, “Building an inclusive, impactful and transformed research system”, UCT's awardees are advancing discovery across a range of disciplines, generating insights that resonate far beyond the laboratory, classroom and field site.

“This year's awards are a powerful reminder that excellence and transformation are not competing goals, but mutually reinforcing ones,” said Vice-Chancellor Professor Mosa Moshabela.

“Universities exist to expand the horizons of what we know and imagine possible.”

Science Team Award

Among the evening's winners was the Human Evolution Research Institute (HERI), which received the NRF Science Team Award for its pioneering research and commitment to transforming the study of human origins in South Africa.

Founded in 2016, HERI was established as a bold intervention to advance world-class research and address longstanding inequities in palaeoanthropology at UCT and across the country.

South Africa's fossil and archaeological record is among the richest in the world for understanding human evolution. However, colonial, racial and gender exclusion have historically limited who could participate in and benefit from this research field. By bringing together researchers from diverse backgrounds and disciplines, including evolutionary anthropology, archaeology, geology, and molecular biology, HERI has broadened participation, supported emerging scholars, co-created an award-winning museum exhibition and helped transform human evolution research in the country.

Working across key palaeo sites in South Africa, including the Cradle of Humankind in Gauteng, the southern Kalahari, Kalkkop in the Eastern Cape and the Cango Valley in the Western Cape, HERI researchers have expanded understanding of human origins, while helping to ensure that the story of humanity reflects a broader range of voices, perspectives and experiences.

A defining feature of the institute's work is its integration of field research with cutting-edge laboratory science. One of HERI's recent achievements is the establishment of a R14 million advanced geochronology laboratory, funded through the Department of Science, Technology and Innovation's (DSTI) Biogeochemistry Research Infrastructure Platform (BIOGRIP) programme. The facility provides scientific dating capabilities that were previously unavailable on the continent.

The NRF Science Team Award recognises teams that are pushing the frontiers of scientific research in Africa, generating knowledge with societal impact and enhancing South Africa's reputation as a global centre of research excellence.

Research Excellence Award for Next-Generation Researchers

UCT's emerging scholars were also strongly represented in the Research Excellence Award for Next-Generation Researchers category. Three doctoral candidates among eight recipients were acknowledged nationally.

The award celebrates exceptional research performance by doctoral students from a range of disciplines who are currently funded by the NRF.

Philadelphia Ngobeni, from the Department of Civil Engineering and UCT's Water Research Group in the Faculty of Engineering & the Built Environment, investigates innovative approaches to removing nitrogen from tannery wastewater using a microalgal-bacterial system.

In the Environmental Humanities South (EHS) research unit, in the Faculty of Humanities, Zikhona Ngqula examines how water governance, ecological degradation and urban development intersect to reshape habitability in Cape Town's Diep River Estuary.

Working at the intersection of physiology and cardiovascular health, Marakiya Moetlediwa, based in the Non-Communicable Diseases Research Unit at the South African Medical Research Council (SAMRC) and registered through UCT's Department of Human Biology in the Faculty of Health Sciences, explores how adipocyte-derived biomarkers influence cardiac and vascular function.

“We have pioneering teams such as HERI who’ve made it their mission to ensure equity across race and gender in important fields like human evolution. At the same time, our outstanding doctoral researchers are emerging as future scholars and leaders, collectively demonstrating how world-class scholarship is strengthened when more voices, perspectives and lived experiences are invited to contribute,” said Professor Moshabela.

He noted that building a more representative and inclusive research community remains a strategic priority for UCT, supported through initiatives aimed at recruiting, developing and retaining talented researchers across disciplines and career stages.

“Universities exist to expand the horizons of what we know and imagine possible. To do that, we must invest in nurturing the next generation of researchers and innovators. The achievements recognised by the NRF this year show what is possible when excellence and inclusion go hand in hand, creating knowledge that not only advances discovery but also helps build a more equitable and sustainable future.”