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Prestigious UK grant equips UFS academic to improve human health

21 June 2021 Photo Supplied

Dr Carmien Tolmie – Lecturer in the Department of Microbiology and Biochemistry at the University of the Free State (UFS) – is one of 30 postdoctoral research assistants in the United Kingdom and Africa who have benefited from the £3,7 M Global Challenges Research Fund (GCRF) START grant over the past three years. The grant was made available by the Science and Technology Facilities Council (STFC) in support of the Synchrotron Techniques for African Research and Technology (START) programme. The STFC is based in the United Kingdom.

The grant seeks to build partnerships between world-leading scientists in Africa and the UK who are working on research using synchrotron science. Forming part of this collaboration is the UK’s national synchrotron, Diamond Light Source (Diamond). The synchrotron, one of about 70 in the world, can be explained as a large machine, almost the size of a football field, which accelerates electrons to nearly the speed of light. According to Diamond, these fast-moving electrons produce very bright light, called synchrotron light. Scientists can use this light to study minute matter such as atoms and molecules.

Celebrating a new generation of scientists

On 7 June 2021, GCRF START celebrated its successes of the past years via a virtual event, including the new generation of scientists they trained. Diamond Light Source (Diamond) hosted the event.

In a statement issued by Diamond Light Source, Dr Tolmie was said to be one of the rising stars in the newly emerging Structural Biology network in South Africa. The statement reads that Dr Tolmie has made great strides with biocatalysis, investigating enzymes as drug targets for fungal infectious diseases that claim many lives, especially among immunocompromised patients.

Dr Tolmie claims that the workings of the natural world have always interested her, especially how it can be used to sustainably improve human health and agriculture. Observing some of the health challenges in Africa motivated her to take the opportunity to work with Prof Dirk Opperman, Associate Professor in the UFS Department of Microbiology and Biochemistry. Prof Opperman is a GCRF START co-investigator in the UFS Biocatalysis and Structural Biology research group, working on various bacterial and fungal enzymes.

Focusing on structural biology, Dr Tolmie is also working on drug discovery projects to find a sustainable solution through novel antifungal drugs.

To conduct the research that can improve the health of so many people suffering from infectious fungal diseases that can be serious, especially for immunocompromised patients living with HIV/Aids, recipients of organ transplants, patients undergoing chemotherapy and many more, Dr Tolmie will be using the drug discovery method of X-ray crystallographic fragment screening at Diamond Light Source (Diamond). “I was introduced to the concept and power of fragment screening techniques during GCRF START meetings,” says Dr Tolmie.

A research visit to Diamond Light Source in the UK in 2019, where she learned more about the experimental workflow of XChem and the i04-1 beamline, also inspired her to embark on XChem projects for antifungal drug discovery.

Exposed to cutting-edge scientific techniques

She attributes her recent appointment as lecturer to the mentoring and training she received through the GCRF START grant, which also funded a secondment to Diamond and the University of Oxford, exposing her to cutting-edge scientific techniques such as XChem fragment screening.

Prof Chris Nicklin, Science Group Leader and Principal Investigator in the GCRF START grant programme, says by providing the new generation of synchrotron users with access to world-class equipment and investing in their skills and capacity, research in the UK and Africa has been enriched and deepened.

“Being involved in the START grant has made a very concrete contribution to my career as a young scientist. GCRF START has also exposed me to many esteemed international scientists and facilities,” says Dr Tolmie.

Specifically alluding to the research that Dr Tolmie is working on, Dr Gwyndaf Evans, START Life Sciences Principal Investigator and principal beamline scientist on Diamond’s VMXm beamline, says: “It has been rewarding to see the relatively modest investment of time and money have such a major impact on the sustainability of research expertise, on the development of careers in Africa, on access to large-scale facilities around the world, and on the nurturing of collaborations and networks in South Africa.”

He continues: “In structural biology, there have been valuable exchanges and collaborations, especially XChem laying the foundations for drug discovery work. START is the beginning of embedding the structural research culture in South Africa and other groups around the world. We look forward to what the future holds.”

Dr Tolmie, who completed her BSc degree in Molecular Biology and Biotechnology at Stellenbosch University, completed her postgraduate studies (BSc Honours degree, MSc, and PhD) at the UFS.

News Archive

UFS receives multimillion rand international funding for Advancement

2013-01-21

21 January 2013

We are one of four South African universities that have been selected to take part in a multimillion-rand programme to bolster private fund-raising and Advancement efforts.

The UFS will receive US$640 000 (R5 612 800) over a period of five years to use in advancement efforts.

In total, the US-based Kresge Foundation will make US$2.5 million available to the four universities, which includes the UFS, Durban University of Technology (DUT), Tshwane University of Technology (TUT) and the University of Johannesburg (UJ), over the next five years as part of a joint initiative with Inyathelo: The South African Institute for Advancement, to support the long-term financial sustainability of higher education institutions in South Africa.

Kresge will also provide programmes and support aimed at enhancing student access to universities and improving graduation rates.

Bill Moses, who directs Kresge’s education programme, says declining government support means that South African university officials need to tap into diversified philanthropic and private funding if they want to enhance their institutions’ ability to serve students better. “Stronger Advancement skills are critical to their success and ultimately to getting more South African students into universities and completing degrees. Advancement is not just about raising funds. It is the practice of building, maintaining and improving support, skills and other resources to ensure the sustainability of an institution,” explains Moses.

This latest Kresge initiative follows the success of a five-year partnership with Inyathelo that helped five high-profile South African institutions - the University of the Witwatersrand (Wits); the University of Pretoria (UP); the University of the Western Cape (UWC); the Cape Peninsula University of Technology (CPUT) and the Children’s Hospital Trust - increase their private fund-raising revenue threefold. The four universities will receive additional funding over the next five years and will serve as mentors to the new group of institutions.

In April last year, Kresge announced a new commitment to South African higher education that builds on its efforts in the United States to improve university access and help students succeed academically. Their ‘Promoting access and success at South African universities’ programme will seek to strengthen pathways to and through universities, especially for students who are often unprepared for university study. Moses says enhancing the ability of universities in South Africa to graduate the next generation of knowledge workers, will make it possible for the country to compete more effectively in the global economy. “Access to higher education in South Africa has improved dramatically since the end of Apartheid. A doubling of enrolment since 1994 has, however, contributed to serious challenges, including under-prepared students and disappointing graduation rates. We are confident that our programme will help address some of these obstacles to success,” says Moses.

Kresge has already funded several efforts that support its interest in strengthening pathways to and through universities this year, including a grant to the University of the Free State to expand the South African Survey of Student Engagement, as well as funding to the University of Pretoria to support a conference in January, which will highlight opportunities to promote access and success at South African universities.

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