Wamkelekile, Welkom
Davina-Nelson Apiyo’s doctoral research targets recurrent bacterial vaginosis
14 September 2026 | Video Production Team Boikhutso Ntsoko, Ruairi Abrahams and Nomfundo Xolo. Photo Boikhutso NtsokoBacterial vaginosis (BV) affects millions of women and frequently recurs within months of antibiotic treatment, raising the risk of complications for reproductive health. Davina-Nelson Apiyo, who graduated with her PhD from the University of Cape Town’s (UCT) Spring 2026 graduation, spent her doctorate journey building a laboratory model that mimics how human tissue responds to infection – a tool researchers can use to test how promising new treatments might work in the body before they reach clinical trials.
Beyond the science itself, Apiyo says the process taught her something journals rarely show: what research looks like when experiments fail, get reworked, or are abandoned altogether. Her thesis carefully documents that trial-and-error path – what worked, what didn't, and why. With her PhD now complete, she's preparing to take that experience into the next stage of her scientific career.
#UCTGrad2026 #UCT2026SpringGrad #UCTGraduation #UCTResearch #WomenInSTEM #STEM #BiomedicalResearch #VaginalMicrobiome #BacterialVaginosis #ChemicalEngineering
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Videos
UCT hosted a “Three-Minute Thesis (3MT)” competition on 29 September 2026, where both Master’s and PhD research participants were encouraged to do their outmost best to explain their research thesis to a non-specialist audience in under three minutes.
09 Oct 2026
UCT hosted a “Three-Minute Thesis (3MT)” competition on 29 September 2026, where both Master’s and PhD research participants were encouraged to do their outmost best to explain their research thesis to a non-specialist audience in under three minutes.
09 Oct 2026
The University of Cape Town (UCT) hosted the Times Higher Education (THE) World Academic Summit (WAS) in Cape Town from 29 September to 1 October 2026, bringing together university leaders, academics, researchers, policymakers, students and representatives from business and civil society from around the world.
08 Oct 2026
Davina-Nelson Apiyo’s doctoral research at UCT is exploring new approaches to bacterial vaginosis (BV), with a focus on developing laboratory models that can help researchers better understand how potential treatments could work in the human vaginal tract.
14 Sep 2026
