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24 October 2023 | Story André Damons | Photo SUPPLIED
Samantha Mc Carlie
Samantha Mc Carlie, a PhD candidate, was awarded the prestigious SASM bronze medal for publishing in an outstanding publication.

Three postgraduate students in the Department of Microbiology and Biochemistry at the University of the Free State (UFS) were honoured with awards for their research at the recently concluded Biennial Congress of the South African Society for Microbiology (SASM) in Stellenbosch.

Samantha Mc Carlie, a PhD candidate, was awarded the prestigious SASM bronze medal for publishing in an outstanding publication, while Azil Coertzen, a first-year master's student, won the prize for the best poster presentation at the congress for her work on infectious coryza. Tyla Baker, who is currently studying towards her MSc degree in Microbiology under the supervision Prof Carlien Pohl-Albertyn, National Research Forum (NRF) SARChI Research Chair in Pathogenic Yeasts, won the prize for the best BSc honours student.

Both Mc Carlie and Coertzen are students of Prof Robert Bragg’s Infection Control Group within the Veterinary Biotechnology Research Group, Department of Microbiology and Biochemistry. He is also their supervisor.

Source of motivation 

“I am very excited and honoured to have received this award. It's a moment of immense joy and pride for me. The bronze medal signifies not only recognition for my hard work and dedication but also validation of the passion and effort I've put into my work,” says Mc Carlie.

“Winning this award reinforces the importance of perseverance, continuous learning, and pushing boundaries. It’s a testament to the support and inspiration I’ve received from my colleagues and mentors at the University of the Free State. Ultimately, this award serves as a source of motivation to keep striving for excellence and contributing positively to my field,” says Mc Carlie, whose research focuses on antimicrobial resistance in bacteria.

The bronze medal is awarded only in meritorious cases on the basis of fully confidential recommendations when a deserving recipient is nominated. This award is presented if there is an outstanding publication in the field of Microbiology. 

This work she published was done as part of her MSc focusing on antimicrobial resistance in bacteria. This article was published in 2020 in the Journal Drug Resistance Updates with an impact factor of 24 and 98 citations thus far. Since then, it has been highlighted by the journal as one of the articles from the past three years that has received the most social media attention. In addition, even though it was published in 2020, it is still currently within the Top 10 most downloaded articles of the journal. 

Outstanding achievement

For Coertzen, who is currently working on the bacterium, Avibacterium paragallinarum, winning an award was unexpected. She says: “It came as a total surprise to me to have won the best poster out of 168 different candidates from different universities. I have always been excited and enthusiastic about my project, so I always make sure to give my best. I really enjoy what I am doing but I could not have won this achievement without the help of Professor Bragg and my laboratory members. They have made a huge contribution to this award, and I am so happy that I get to share this achievement with the Veterinary Biotechnology Laboratory at the University of the Free State.”

A proud Prof Bragg says, “This (SASM bronze medal) is a very prestigious award and is not awarded at every conference. This is a major achievement and highlights the high standard of the work which Samantha is doing. Azil winning the best poster presentation is also an outstanding achievement as there were more than 100 posters from universities all over the country. She is a first-year master’s student, and the poster presentation was open to all levels of study – including postdoctoral students.” 

Excellent academic record

Baker is studying yeast and other filamentous fungi in various drinking-water sources such as ground, spring, surface, and tap water which poses great risk to immune-compromised individuals. She says the award came unexpected. 

“I knew my supervisor nominated me, but I never expected to receive the award, considering that numerous students from universities across South Africa applied. I was overwhelmed with excitement, pride and joy. Receiving this award has motivated me now more than ever to deliver top-quality research and to leave my mark on microbiology in South Africa. This has made me eager to develop and further contribute to research focusing on pathogenic yeast and its impact on the health of humans and the surrounding environment.

“This award not only reflects the work I have put into my studies but also the quality of education provided by the University of The Free State and I feel immensely proud to have received this award representing UFS. I could not have done so without the unending support and passion of the professors from the Department of Microbiology and Biochemistry who always motivate and encourage out-of-the-box thinking and academic excellence. A special thanks to my supervisor, Prof Pohl-Albertyn, friends and family for their constant support and advice,” says Baker.

Prof Pohl-Albertyn applauded her student, saying: “She achieved this (award) due to her excellent academic record by obtaining both her BSc and BSc (hons) degrees with distinction, achieving an average of 80.7% (unweighted) for her BSc (hons) degree. This adds to her many other awards from the UFS, including Highest Achieving Undergraduate in Microbiology, the Dean’s medal for the 3rd highest achieving undergraduate student in the Faculty of Natural and Agricultural Sciences, and the Best Microbiology honours student at the UFS.”

According to Prof Pohl-Albertyn, further motivation for this prize was the fact that Baker had also presented her work as an oral presentation at an international conference (Canadian Fungal Research Network Conference), where she received a Top Presenter Award and already has two manuscripts (including one from her honours research project) under review for publication in peer-reviewed scientific journals. 

Tyla Baker

Tyla Baker, who is currently studying towards her MSc degree in Microbiology, won the prize for the best BSc honours student.

Azil Coertzen

Azil Coertzen, a first-year master's student, won the prize for the best poster presentation at the congress for her work on infectious coryza. 

News Archive

Open Day engulfs Bloemfontein Campus with colour, crowds and cheer
2013-05-04

 

08 May 2013
Photo: Lelanie de Wet


   Open Day YouTube video

The procession – comprising of Prof Jonathan Jansen and the Deans of all the UFS faculties – stately entered a packed Callie Human Centre on Saturday morning 4 May 2013. As everyone took their seats, all the lights were abruptly cut, leaving the hall in a stunned silence. Suddenly brilliant beams of green, blue and red lights cut through the dark, exploding into a spectacular laser show.

Open Day 2013 on the Bloemfontein Campus was officially under way.

The audience of parents and prospective students were awe-struck by a transfixing electric guitar performance, dancers lit up by LED suits, pulsing music and finally Corneil Muller singing to the accompaniment of Prof Jansen behind the piano.

Vice-Chancellor and Rector, Prof Jansen immediately made attendees from across all nine provinces, Namibia, Lesotho and several other countries feel at home and embraced by the university. During his welcoming address, Prof Jansen referred to the fact that Kovsies places the bar high when it comes to achievement. “We expect more of our students,” he said. “Passing is not important, passing wéll is important.” He stressed that at the university we teach students to be decent, to be exceptional people. “We place a high premium on being an outstanding human being.” He went on to say that our students are better than the previous generation – they do not carry the baggage of the old.

Prof Jansen also communicated the university’s commitment to developing leaders with an understanding of the world. This is why the university afford students the opportunity, amongst other things, to study abroad. Students have access to a wide variety of organisations and the privilege to have access to leaders who they can converse with. Kovsies strives to produce leaders, not only in the community, but on a global platform.

To demonstrate this last point, top Kovsie achievers joined Prof Jansen on stage to relay their stories of perseverance, courage and success. Included among these stars, were athlete Danél Prinsloo; Varsity Cup Player that Rocks 2013 Oupa Mohoje; DW Bester, a Rhodes Scholar currently studying at Oxford University in the United Kingdom; and Jurie Swart, who ranked under the top five in the 2012 International Graduate Architecture Student Design competition.

The residences pulled out all stops when it came to the presentation of their individual stalls. The gardens in front of the Main Building burst with colour, sound, dancing and laughter as the residences competed to draw the most visitors. The faculties also opened their doors for a glimpse at the exciting opportunities awaiting prospective students.

A record amount of visitors went home with the words of Rudi Buys, Dean of Student Affairs, inscribed in their minds summing up what the UFS is all about: “Where a sense of community matters more than the colour of your skin.”

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