Polokwane – The nation’s most outstanding minds were celebrated at the 2016 National Research Foundation (NRF) Awards in Polokwane, Limpopo, on Thursday.
Professors and doctors from various research faculties of South African universities gathered at the Ranch Protea Hotel in Polokwane for the ceremony, which was addressed by Science and Technology Minister Naledi Pandor.
“I have been really pleased to note that our scientists have been globally competitive for many decades and that we compete in the global market for talent,” the Minister said.
In her congratulatory note to award recipients, the Minister said her department will continue to invest in emerging research fields that can increase South Africa’s competitiveness and contribute to the country’s economic growth.
Dr Sanjaya Rajaram from Mexico was the guest speaker at the awards ceremony. He is a world renowned scientist, who developed 58% of all the wheat varieties that exist today.
The winners
Professor Chabani Manganyi from the University of Pretoria received the 2016 Lifetime Achievement Award. The award is conferred on someone who is considered to have made extraordinary contributions of international standard and impact to the development of science in and for South Africa over an extended period of time.
Professor Manganyi is currently a Professor at the University of Pretoria’s Centre for Advancement of Scholarship. He has had a distinguished career in psychology, education and government.
Professor Valerie Mizrahi, who is a Director at the Institute of Infectious Disease and Molecular Medicine at the University of Cape Town, received the A-Rated Researcher Award for the second time, alongside researchers from other universities. The A-Rating is attained by researchers who are unequivocally acknowledged by their peers as leading international scholars in their respective fields for the high quality and impact of recent research outputs.
Professor Mizrahi is currently working with a team of researchers on discovering a new drug to treat, and perhaps cure, tuberculosis (TB).
“For the past 20 years, I have worked on TB. The problem of TB is an enormous one in this country,” Professor Mizrahi said, noting that South Africa has the double challenge of TB-HIV co-infection.
She hopes that when her research is complete, there will be a new drug that will treat TB more effectively and quicker than the current six months. An even bigger hope is that the drug will also treat a drug-resistant TB, which claims many lives in South African.
“There is a growing number of people who are diagnosed with drug-resistant TB. This is a form of TB that is much more difficult to treat. I am very interested in trying to develop or discover new drugs for TB,” she said.
NRF Group Executive Dr Beverly Damonse said A-Rated researchers are at the top of the NRF rating category, as they are internationally recognised. - SAnews.gov.za
