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Dr Gladys Belle’s research dedicated to reducing impact of COVID drugs on water resources

11 February 2024 | Story Leonie Bolleurs | Photo SUPPLIED

Beyond the destruction caused by the Coronavirus during the COVID-19 pandemic, it continues to impact not only the lives of many people but also the environment.

Dr Gladys Belle, a postdoctoral researcher in the Centre for Environmental Management at the University of the Free State (UFS), is currently focusing her research on the risk assessment of pharmaceuticals of emerging concern in water resources, specifically concerning human health and aquatic ecosystems. She explains that her research investigates the occurrence, fate, and behaviour of four drugs used during COVID-19 and assesses the risk these drugs pose to human health and the aquatic ecosystem within the Orange-Senqu River Basin.

“I am passionate about water research and more passionate about human health. My interest in water and health-related research grew due to the health crisis caused by human exposure to contaminated water sources in South Africa,” she states.

Dr Belle adds that she wants to raise awareness and shape the behaviour of local communities in South Africa regarding safe disposal methods. Through programmes such as take-back initiatives, the research seeks to reduce the impact of pharmaceuticals on water resources. She states, “My research will also influence the implementation of various preventive measures, including policies regulating the disposal of drugs into the environment. This research may serve as the basis for better sanitation solutions within communities and improving wastewater treatment processes in the country.”

Focusing on women scientists such as Dr Belle, the UFS will be celebrating the United Nations International Day of Women and Girls in Science on 11 February, commemorating women in the field of science and encouraging girls to pursue careers in this field.

A passion for academia and science

From a young age, Dr Belle was deeply enthusiastic about academia, particularly in the field of science. She studied Environmental Sciences at a university in Cameroon, earning her BSc in 2003. Taking a ten-year break, she focused on being a mum and also worked as Biology teacher in Lesotho.

Despite staying away from the university for an extended period, Dr Belle never let go of her passion and vision to one day become a renowned researcher and academic. In 2012, she enrolled for her honours degree in Environmental Health, followed by her master's in 2013, which she passed with distinction. Immediately after, she enrolled for a PhD and successfully graduated in 2021.

She mentions that her PhD journey came with various challenges, balancing responsibilities as a part-time lecturer, a mother, and a wife while pursuing her studies. “Regardless of all those challenges, I never gave up. Instead, they kept me motivated to get going,” she says.

The same year that she obtained her PhD, Dr Belle joined the university as a postdoctoral researcher. “Being a researcher at the UFS has allowed me to advance my research career and provided a platform for me to meet and learn from the gurus in my field,” she comments. Dr Belle considers Prof Paul Oberholster, the Dean of the Faculty of Natural and Agricultural Sciences and her current supervisor, as a true mentor. He not only teaches her the skill of hard work, but he also encourages her to aim high in research. She also expresses great appreciation to the Directorate of Research Development for its support during her research journey, providing her with access to tools and resources to effectively pursue her work as researcher.

As postdoctoral researcher, Dr Belle expanded her research expertise by publishing in peer-reviewed journals and gaining experience in writing grants and managing projects. In 2023, she received two prestigious research grants. In the Water Research Commission grant, she is leading a team of six national and international experts in risk assessment of emerging contaminants in water resources.

Furthermore, Dr Belle received the Innovation Postdoctoral Fellowship award for 2023 from the National Research Foundation (NRF). She explains that the project focuses on investigating sources, pathways, occurrences, and potential risks of pharmaceuticals of emerging concern on potential receptors in water resources. “This study targets the different wastewater treatment plants (WWTP) in Mangaung, as these plants pose a potential risk of introducing pharmaceuticals into water systems,” she remarks.

Strengthening capacity development

Focusing on understanding the risks of new pollutants in water resources, Dr Belle is well on her way to becoming one of the leading researchers in water and health, a long-standing aspiration of hers. “I see myself working with top researchers in my field, both nationally and internationally, to be part of important international research projects, including working with the European Union and the United Nations,” she says.

In addition to making an impact on the international stage and collaborating with experts in her field, she also aims to transfer and share her skills to the postgraduate students working with her, thereby strengthening their development.

For girls and young women aspiring to embark on a journey in any field of science, her message is that it is possible. “Whatever career path you wish to pursue in sciences, put your mind to it and be passionate about what you do; ultimately, you will testify that ‘it is possible’,” Dr Belle concludes.

News Archive

Moshoeshoe film screened at UFS as part of transformation programme

2004-10-14

A ground-breaking documentary film on the life and legacy of King Moshoeshoe I, the founder of the Basotho nation, will be screened at the University of the Free State (UFS) tonight (Wednesday 13 October 2004) at 19:00.

Rector and Vice-Chancellor of the UFS, prof. Frederick Fourie, said the UFS commissioned the documentary as a practical demonstration of the university’s commitment to the continued transformation of the campus and the creation of a new inclusive institutional culture for all staff and students.

It is part of a larger UFS project to honour the Moshoeshoe legacy of nation-building and reconciliation and to explore his role as a model of African leadership.

The documentary tells the life story of the legendary king, with emphasis on his remarkable leadership skills, his extraordinary talent for diplomacy and conflict resolution and his visionary commitment to creating a new nation from a fragmented society.

Almost all the filming was done on or around Moshoeshoe’s mountain stronghold, Thaba Bosiu.

The last part of the documentary explores the lessons for African leadership to be learnt from Moshoeshoe. The hour-long documentary film was produced by the well-known journalist Mr Max du Preez and was commissioned by the UFS as part of its centenary celebrations.

“Through this documentary film about King Moshoeshoe, the UFS commits itself to developing a shared appreciation of the history of this country,” said prof. Fourie.

“King Moshoeshoe was a great African statesman and leader. He was born in this region of the country, but his influence and legacy extends way beyond the borders of the Free State, Lesotho and even way beyond the borders of South Africa,” said prof. Fourie.

As part of the larger project, the UFS is investigating a possible annual Moshoeshoe memorial lecture that will focus on African leadership, nation-building and reconciliation, possible PhD-level research into the life and legacy of King Moshoeshoe and a literary anthology including prose and poetry.

“We must gain a deeper understanding of what really happened during his reign as king. Therefore the University of the Free State will encourage and support further research into the history, politics and sociology of the Moshoeshoe period, including his leadership style,” said prof. Fourie.

According to prof. Fourie the Moshoeshoe project will enable the UFS to give real meaning to respect for the diversity of our languages and cultures, and the unity South Africans seek to build as a democratic nation through such diversity.

According to the producer of the documentary, journalist Mr Max du Preez, the UFS deserves credit for recognising this extraordinary man and for financing this important documentary.

Du Preez said: “It was about time that South Africa rediscovered Moshoeshoe. Colonialist and Afrikaner Nationalist historians have painted him as a sly, untrustworthy and weak leader. Most historians have preferred to glorify leaders in South Africa’s past who were aggressors and conquerors. In the process most present-day South Africans came to regard Moshoeshoe as a minor tribal figure.”

“Yet this was the man who broke the cycle of violence, famine and suffering during the traumatic time in central South Africa in the early 1800s. During the entire 19th century, Moshoeshoe was virtually the only leader in South Africa who did not answer violence with violence, who did not set forth to conquer other groups and expand his land,” said Mr du Preez.

“I have no doubt that the stability that the Free State region has enjoyed over more than a century was largely due to Moshoeshoe’s leadership and vision. He can quite rightly be called “The Nelson Mandela of the 19th Century,” Mr du Preez added.

Explaining the title of the documentary film, Mr du Preez said: “We decided to call the documentary “The Reniassance King” because whichever way one looks at it, Moshoeshoe symbolised everything behind the concept of an African Renaissance.”

“He was progressive, just and fair; he deeply respected human life and dignity (we would nowadays call it human rights); he embraced modernity and technology without ever undermining his own people’s culture or natural wisdom; he never allowed European or Western influence to overwhelm him, make him insecure or take away his pride as an African,” said Mr du Preez.

“Moshoeshoe was the best of Africa. If only contemporary African leaders would follow his example of what African leadership should be,” Mr du Preez said.

Among the interviewees in the film were Lesotho’s most prominent historian, Dr LBBJ Machobane, the head of the UFS’s Department of History, prof. Leo Barnard, Moshoeshoe expert and Gauteng educationist Dr Peter Seboni, Lesotho author and historian Martin Lelimo and Chief Seeiso Bereng Seeiso, Principal Chief of Matsieng and direct descendant of the first King of the Basotho.

The documentary film on King Moshoeshoe will be screened on SABC 2 on Thursday 4 November 2004.

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