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17 September 2018
Photo Charl Devenish
Innocensia Mangoato’s research on using cannabis to reverse anticancer drug resistance has been awarded in the prestigious Women in Science Awards.
“There’s this misconception among young people that science is difficult and that it’s somehow a man’s domain,” says Innocensia Mangoato, Masters student in Pharmacology, who has just been awarded in the prestigious Women in Science Awards by the Department of Science and Technology.
Cannabis research
Innocensia won in the Master’s Degree category for her research on the use of cannabis in reversing anticancer drug resistance. Her department had to apply for a special permit to grow cannabis for research and medicinal purposes.
“Her findings have already indicated a promising reversal of resistance to drugs in a variety of cancers. We plan to explore these results further in a possible PhD,” says her study leader, Prof Motlalepula Matsabisa.
Innocensia says she’s always had an interest in science, and initially wanted to study medicine. She ended up doing a BSc in Physiology and Genetics.
She hopes that her research will help government to develop a policy around the use of cannabis for medicinal purposes which could ultimately lead to developing cancer treatment with fewer side-effects.
Female mentors
“My mentor during my Honours studies was Dr Makhotso Lekhoa. Her passion for her field and her patience in conveying it to others really inspired me. We have some very powerful women in our Pharmacology Department,” says Innocensia.
Passion for science
“You know you’re passionate about your work when you find yourself going to the lab on Sunday afternoons!” she says. “I’m happy that I can be contributing to the knowledge production on this campus. And maybe one day I can be a mentor to other girls with that same passion for science.”
Three more Kovsie staff members involved in Olympic Games
2012-05-30
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Dr Derik Coetzee
Photo: Supplied
30 May 2012
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The South African men’s hockey team will practice on our Bloemfontein Campus from 28 May to 8 June 2012, and the team count on the assistance of three Kovsies to prepare them for the Olympic Games taking place in London later this year.
Dr Derik Coetzee, senior lecturer in the Department of Exercise and Sport Science and Head of our High Performance Centre, has been appointed conditioning coach of the team. He will be assisted by Colleen Jones and Riaan Schoeman, also from this department.
The UFS team and Mr Gregg Clark, the team’s coach, will work out a periodisation programme for the team, which will continue until the hockey finals at the Olympic Games. The programme includes the correct exercises, volume, intensity and number of exercise sessions per week.
This is not the first time that Dr Coetzee has assisted sports teams to prepare for important events. In 2007, he was the conditioning coach of the Springbok rugby team that won the World Cup in France. He was also the conditioning coach of the under-21 Springbok team in 2002 that won the Junior World Cup Tournament.
Dr Coetzee says it is a challenge to ensure that the team performs well at the Olympic Games. “The joy on the faces of the coach and players when they qualified in Japan cannot be described because many people thought they would not qualify.”
With the addition of Dr Coetzee, Ms Jones and Mr Schoeman, a total of six staff members from the UFS will be involved with the Olympic Games and the Paralympic Games. The other three are:
- Dr Louis Holtzhausen, Head of the university’s Department of Sports and Exercise Medicine, has been selected as team doctor for the more than 300 athletes that will represent South Africa at this year’s Olympic Games (in London).
- Ms Ebeth Grobbelaar, Assistant Director of the South African Testing Laboratory for Prohibited Substances at the UFS, was invited to be involved in the Drugs Control Centre in the unit against prohibited substances which will test sportsmen and -women during the games.
- Ms Hetsie Veitch, Head of the Unit for Students with Disabilities, has been invited to be a member of the Classification Panel at the final USA Paralympic athletics trials.