Research

What is ‘cutting edge’ or distinctive about your (your unit’s) research and the postgraduate programmes you offer?

Our unit, jointly owned by UWC and the Agricultural Research Council (ARC), provides state-of-the-art Proteomics research and services, mostly to Agricultural and Biotechnology researchers and private companies in South Africa. This work is mostly funded by the Department of Science and Technology (DST) through the National Equipment Programme (NEP) of the National Research Foundation (NRF).

Proteomics is a collection of relatively new tools and expertise for Biologists and (Bio) chemists and its practical applications are growing fast (see below). Proteomics is the term that describes a multitude of tools and expertise used primarily to profile and identify proteins of interest in any organisation at a large scale. Proteins are the functional/operational units in cells, and ‘proteins of interests’ often include biomarkers for certain diseases or physiological/developmental status. We have post graduate students ranging from BSc interns, Honours, Master's, PhD and Post-­docs applying proteomics in their own various biological experiments.

For example, one could use proteomics to investigate effects of pathogens on cells/tissues/organs/organism, protein expression levels and patterns. This information could be used to identify targets/strategies for the improvement of pathogen resistance by both plants and animals.

How is your (your unit’s) research linked to societal benefit?

• Each year we train dozens of postgraduate students.
• We are lucky in that we are able to attract and retain talented and hardworking students, and most of them are from disadvantaged backgrounds, creating a stable foundation for the next generation of scientists and biotech-­entrepreneurs.
• We provide services (advice/consultation, sample analysis and workshops) to students and researchers from internal and external research groups.
• One of our applications include a brand new MALDI Biotyper App. that enables us to identify microorganisms in a Super-­fast speed. Our MALDI Biotyper App enables us to identify microorganisms  (like bacteria) within 1-­5 minutes and this is achieved relatively cheaply. This has many applications in  food safety and diagnostics related areas of science.
• We are also interested in Biofuels research using the most important grain in Africa, called (Sweet) Sorghum. This research project has already created more than 15 jobs in the Eastern Cape. Our projection is that we’ll be employing an average of 70-­100 rural people per annum within the next 3-­5 years – while producing environmentally friendly fuels and biomaterials such as bioethanol, natural rubber and biomass.

What has been a significant achievement/breakthrough in your (your unit’s) research recently that potential postgraduate students would want to know about?

• Production of MSc and PhD students whose thesis are based on exciting Africa-­centric problems.
• Above average publications in internationally peerreviewed journals.
• One of our post docs (Dr Ngara) was a finalist in an Africa-wide Women In-Science competition. Through this, she received generous funding to attend various workshop/trainings in various African countries including Uganda and Ghana.
• Success of the DST/NRF National Equipment Programme grant and acquisition of state-of-the-art equipment worth close to R10 million.
• The group is relatively young and tries to keep science fun and accessible.

Is there any other information about your (your unit’s) research and postgraduate programmes that you feel is important to showcase?

Our vision is to continue to play a meaningful role in South Africa’s mission of creating a transformed, vibrant and competitive scientific community. This in combination with our national/continental wealth in biodiversity, natural resources and indigenous knowledge of systems, will place us in a strategic position as one of the World leaders in Knowledge Based Bioeconomy (KBBE) by 2030 (in line with our current Nat. Dev. Programme).

~ Prof. Bongani Ndimba~