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22 February 2018 Photo Johan Roux
UFS professor recognised as one of Africa exceptional young scientists Prof Abdon Atangana
Prof Abdon Atangana is from the University of the Free State’s Institute for Groundwater Studies.
Prof Abdon Atangana from the University of the Free State’s Institute for Groundwater Studies was recently announced by the African Academy of Sciences (AAS) as one of 25 early career scientists who were elected to form part of the third cohort of the AAS Affiliates Programme, which recognises exceptional young African scientists.

The Affiliates will be part of the AAS membership pool from 2018 to 2022, during which time they will be supported to attend conferences, symposia and workshops and other activities that will improve their skills in proposal development, grant writing and pitching innovations to help them win more grants, improve their publication records and ensure that their research impacts their communities.

Brilliant minds
“We welcome the new cohort that represents some of the brilliant minds from the continent. The AAS is committed to ensuring that they are provided with the opportunities they need to develop their careers and contribute to the development of the continent,” said AAS Executive Director Prof Nelson Torto.

The third cohort saw the most competitive pool yet with an overwhelming number of nominations from across the five regions of the continent of PhD holders below the age of 40. This year’s Affiliates are also drawn from countries not covered in the previous two cohorts including, Ethiopia, Senegal and Sierra Leone. Other countries from which the 25 were selected are Benin, Cameroon, Egypt, Ghana, Kenya, Nigeria, Tanzania, Tunisia, South Africa and Uganda.

Besides mathematical sciences, Affiliates also represent disciplines that include cultural sciences, humanities and social sciences, medical and health sciences, agricultural sciences, biosciences and geological, environmental, Earth and space sciences.

World class research leaders
The AAS is a pan-African organisation headquartered in Kenya, that aims to drive sustainable development in Africa through science, technology and innovation. The AAS set up the Affiliates programme in 2015 to recognise, mentor and help early career professionals develop into world-class research leaders.

News Archive

An article, co-authored by Kovsies’ own Miss World, Rolene Strauss, was published recently in a medical journal
2015-02-23

Rolene Strauss

The article, which deals with research on the incidence of multiple losses by children, was published in South African Family Practice.

The study was part of the third-year research project for medical students in our Faculty of Health Sciences. Rolene worked with fellow students, Leischen Branders, Mirandie Claassen, Darienne Saaiman, and Andrea van Staden. Prof Gina Joubert from the UFS’s Department of Biostatistics and Prof Hanneke Brits were the module and study leaders.

In this study, a number of cases involving Bloemfontein children experiencing loss, as well as their reaction to it, were examined.

They divided the incidents into categories in order to address the broad definition of ‘losses’.

Approximately 69% of the children in the study have experienced three or more instances of loss in their lives. About 29% of the children have experienced loss in the category Personal Loss (assault, chronic and terminal illness, amputation, malnutrition, disability, abortion, and miscarriage). The greatest number of losses occurred in the category Interpersonal Loss (87%). This group of children has had to deal with the death of one or more parents/caregivers, drug and alcohol abuse, domestic violence, divorce, homelessness, and instability. In the category, Environmental Loss, xenophobia, unsafe living conditions, inadequate support, poverty, and unemployment were looked at. A total of 82% of the children in the group have experienced losses.

Prof Hanneke Brits, study leader of the group, says the extent of multiple losses by children is a topic that hasn’t been investigated widely.

“The study shows that children should receive special attention in order to help them process the trauma. Supportive care and inter-professional services play a major role in this regard.”

 

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