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UFS emerging researchers receive first ‘Science Oscars’ nominations

09 May 2024 | Story André Damons | Photo Supplied

Science Oscars Winners 2024 — From top-left to right: Drs Claudia Ntsapi, Mpho Mafa, Angélique Lewies, Yolandi Schoeman, and Bimo Nkhata are dedicated to innovative solutions spanning from addressing brain aging to enhancing food security, developing xenograft scaffolds for regenerative medicine, transforming degraded terrains into vibrant landscapes, and protecting precious water resources. Prof Sandy-Lynn Steenhuisen's research team investigates the dynamics of mountain ecosystems in terms of pollination, seed dispersal and other aspects of plant reproductive ecology and vegetation community, largely assessing the impacts of climate change and invasive alien plants on these systems.

A neuropsychologist, a biochemist, a cell biologist, and an ecological engineer from the University of the Free State (UFS) have all received their first nomination in this year’s NSTF-South32 Awards. The four researchers have been nominated in the TW Kambule-NSTF Award: Emerging Researcher category.

These emerging researchers are part of a group of nine UFS researchers nominated for the ‘Science Oscars of South Africa’. Two other researchers; Prof Sandy-Lynn Steenhuisen, Associate Professor and Subject Head: Department of Plant Sciences and the Afromontane Research Unit (ARU), and Dr Bimo Abraham Nkhata, Senior Lecturer at the UFS Centre for Environmental Management (CEM), have also been nominated in the categories Green Economy and NSTF-Water Research Commission (WRC) respectively.

Preserving human brain health with age

Dr Claudia Ntsapi, who is passionate about exploring innovative solutions to address the gradual decline in normal brain function associated with aging, says the research that led to her nomination focuses on preserving human brain health to delay or prevent age-related conditions, such as Alzheimer's disease.

The nomination, she says, reaffirms the growing impact of their research efforts and reinforces her commitment to contributing toward enhancing the quality of life for individuals affected by age-related neurodegenerative diseases and their families.

“Leveraging advanced cell-based models that mimic human cellular environments, my research investigates the potential benefits of medicinal plants as supplementary treatments for neurodegenerative diseases. By utilising cutting-edge techniques, such as the innovative CelVivo ClinoStar 2 System, we strive to gain insights into the safety and efficacy of underexplored medicinal plants in preserving cognitive function and slowing disease progression.

“By exploring the untapped potential of bioactive compounds found in medicinal plants and nutraceuticals, our research group aims to contribute to the identification of novel therapeutic targets and the discovery of new avenues for intervention to improve the quality of life for individuals affected by age-related brain conditions,” Dr Ntsapi explains.

Improving food security, and renewable resources for circular economy

A humbled and excited Dr Mpho Mafa says his nomination is based on the impact and quality of research his group (carbohydrates and enzymology Laboratory: CHEM-Lab) produced since 2020.

“My research group uses biochemical, enzymological, and biotechnological techniques to study the physiological and biochemical functions of carbohydrate-active enzymes (CAZymes) and carbohydrate metabolism during wheat interaction with rust disease-causing fungi or wheat infestation by a virulent Russian wheat aphid (RWA) biotype,” he said.

“The findings from these studies allow us to identify the key genes, enzymes, metabolites and biochemical processes used by wheat plants to reduce the effects of rust fungi or RWA damage, leading to improved plant health and yield. Thus, my research group uses innovative biochemistry/biotechnology approaches to protect the second-most important grain crop in South Africa against rust diseases and aphid attack.”

In addition, Dr Mafa uses the CAZymes in the field of lignocellulosic biorefinery to produce value-added products (VAPs), such as fermentable carbohydrates used in the production of second-generation biofuel for the circular economy.

“I want to thank the NRF-Thuthuka for funding the lignocellulosic biorefinery project which aims to improve the conversion rate of lignocellulose to VAPs through enzymatic catalysis processes.” Dr Mafa says.

Tissue engineering and regenerative medicine

According to Dr Angélique Lewies, this achievement was truly a team effort from her dedicated colleagues at the Robert WM Frater Cardiovascular Research Centre. She says the nomination validates her team’s hard work and dedication, and recognises their efforts to advance the fields of tissue engineering and regenerative medicine.

“Our team has developed xenograft tissue scaffolds from non-human sources with a reduced potential to induce immune responses in human recipients, which are common causes of calcification, degradation, and failure of surgical scaffolds. We pioneered a processing technique that promotes cell infiltration, remodelling, and regeneration of the tissue. These xenografts are versatile, showing promise for use in various surgical disciplines, including cardiac and plastic surgery,” Dr Lewies says.

Induced pluripotent stem cells created from recipient skin cells, she explains, can be combined with the processed tissue, creating custom tissue products for improved patient-specific outcomes. Their research has successfully developed a method for processing bovine pericardium that not only mitigates calcification but also preserves mechanical properties and enhances host cell infiltration, significantly increasing the longevity of the tissue when used clinically.

Environmental and sustainability challenges

“This nomination is both an honour and an affirmation of the importance of ecological engineering in addressing today’s environmental challenges,” says Dr Yolandi Schoeman.

“It represents a recognition of the value and impact of integrating natural processes with engineering principles to create sustainable and resilient ecosystems whilst addressing some of our most pressing sustainability challenges,” Dr Schoeman says.

Her work primarily revolves around ecological engineering — a field that combines natural processes with engineering principles to address environmental and sustainability challenges. “I lead projects that transform degraded terrains into vibrant, functioning landscapes through bio-intelligent design, essentially converting ecological liabilities into assets. These systems are in many cases designed from microscopic level into mega supercell systems. We've developed over 20 conservation blueprints that integrate these principles at a landscape level, also preparing them for biodiversity financing.”

By founding and institutionalising the Ecological Engineering Institute of Africa (EEIA), the EEIA aims to spread this innovative approach, emphasising the importance of both scientific rigour and ecological viability continent-wide in Africa. The goal is to create sustainable, economically sound, and ecologically robust solutions that not only regenerate but enhance environmental health and resilience for the benefit of ecosystems and communities.

Addressing water challenges in South Africa

Dr Bimo Nkhata sees his nomination as a personal milestone and as a reflection of the importance of the work he is doing to address water challenges in South Africa. The nomination also reinforces his commitment to the cause, and inspires him to strive for even greater achievements in the future, he says.

“My research and work on sustainable water management is of utmost importance for South Africa because the country faces significant water quality challenges due to pollution from various sources, including agriculture, industry, and urbanisation. Sustainable water management practices ensure the availability of sufficient and clean water for various sectors, supporting economic growth, job creation, and poverty alleviation.

“My research and initiatives contribute to protecting and preserving the country’s precious water resources, ensuring they remain clean and safe for both human consumption and ecosystem health,” explains Dr Nkhata.

Ensuring a sustainable future for the earth

For Prof Steenhuisen, this nomination is a humbling experience which will go a long way to highlighting her research group’s research.

“This nomination was certainly not earned alone; I have a fantastic collaborative support team being recognised for all the late nights and monumental efforts of the team is a huge privilege and honour. It will hopefully attract funders and interest to further support our project needs,” she says.

According to her, their research team, dubbed the QPAIR lab for Qwaqwa Plant-Animal Interactions Research lab, investigates the dynamics of mountain ecosystems in terms of pollination, seed dispersal and other aspects of plant reproductive ecology and vegetation community, largely assessing the impacts of climate change and invasive alien plants on these systems.

Prof Steenhuisen says everyone should be working towards ensuring a sustainable future for the earth in terms of conservation of biodiversity and ecosystem services that can lead to food security, resilient ecosystems and healthy human livelihoods. Climate change, the loss of biodiversity due to land degradation and the spread of invasive alien species threaten these services and especially sensitive systems such as those found in our mountains.

• The awards ceremony will take place on 11 July 2024.

News Archive

Open letter from Prof Jonathan Jansen to all UFS students

2014-02-22

Dear Students of the University of the Free State

In the past four years there has emerged a new consensus on the three campuses of the University of the Free State (UFS) about the things that divide us – such as racism, sexism and homophobia. Students and campus leaders have worked hard to develop this new consensus in residences and in the open spaces on campus. There can be no doubt that new bonds of friendship have developed across the markers of race, ethnicity, class, religion and sexual orientation. I bear witness to these new solidarities every day on the campus.

You chose a white student to head up the transformation portfolio on the SRC. You chose a black captain to head up the university’s first team in rugby. You chose a white “prime” as head of residence to lead a predominantly black men’s residence. You chose a South African woman of Indian descent as Rag Queen and last week, a black student from Cape Town as the men’s Rag winner—choices not possible and never made before in our campus history. Many of you have intimate friends who come from different social or cultural or religious backgrounds. You learn together, share rooms together, pray together and party together. In other words, in the day to day workings of this university campus, you have demonstrated to campus, city and country that we can overcome the lingering effects of racism and other maladies in this new generation. You have helped create a university community inclusive of people of diverse religions, abilities, class and sexual orientation.

I have said this repeatedly that from time to time this new consensus will be tested – when a minority of students, and they are a small and dwindling minority, still act as if these are the days of apartheid. And when that consensus is tested as it was this week, and as it will be tested in the future, only then we will be able to assess the strength and durability of our progress in creating a new South African campus culture of human togetherness based on respect, dignity and embrace.

The real test of our leadership, including student leadership, is how we respond when our transformation drive is threatened.

Let me say this: I have absolute faith in you, as students of this great university, to stand together in your condemnation of these vile acts of violence and to move together in your determination to maintain the momentum for the Human Project of the University of the Free State. We have come too far to allow a few criminals to derail what you have built together in recent years.

There will, no doubt, be unscrupulous people on all sides of the political spectrum wanting to milk this tragedy for their own narrow purposes. There will be false information, rumours and exaggerations by those who wish to inflame a bad situation to gain mileage for their agendas. That is inevitable in a country that is still so divided.

I ask you, through all of this, to keep perspective. Two or ten or even twenty students behaving badly do not represent 30,000 students; a minority of violent and hateful persons do not represent the ideals, ambitions and commitments of the majority. At the same time, let us be realistic – anyone who thinks you can drive transformation without resistance clearly does not understand the difficult process of change.

The events of the week remind us, however, that we still have a long road to walk in deepening social and academic transformation at our university. Yes, we have invested hundreds of hours in training and mentorship; we have created new structures – such as the Institute for Reconciliation and Social Justice – to capture the energy and imagination of students driving transformation; we have created many opportunities for students to study and travel on this and other continents to enable cross-cultural learning; we have established formal and informal opportunities to dialogue about difficult issues on and off campus between students and their leaders; and we crafted new curricula to enable teaching and learning on the big questions of our times.

But this is clearly not enough, and so I have decided on the following immediate next steps:

We will meet for several hours next week to think about how we can deepen the transformation of our university after this terrible incident.
We will arrange a University Assembly on the events of the past week so that we speak with one voice on human wrongs and to re-commit to human rights and we will continue with open forum discussions during the months to come.
We will review the entire spectrum of programmes, from orientation to residence life to the undergraduate curriculum, to determine how effective our interventions really are in reaching all students with respect to basic issues of human rights.
We will review our media and communications strategy to determine how far and deep our messages on human rights travel across all sectors of the university community. In this regard it is important that the campus be blanketed on a regular basis with our condemnation of human wrongs and our commitment to human rights.
We will commission the Institute for Reconciliation and Social Justice to review the events of the past week and make recommendations on how we can improve the campus environment so that all students are protected from harm inside residences, classrooms and in open spaces of the campus.
We will take the questions raised during this week into the academic community and to the general staff of the university so that all personnel also engage with our own roles and responsibilities with respect to campus transformations.
We undertake to make annual report-backs on transformation to all stakeholders in public forums so that students and staff and external communities can track the progress of the university on matters of human rights on campus.

I wish to thank my staff for acting firmly as soon as this tragic event came to our attention. We worked through the night to find and identify the perpetrators. We traced the two students and immediately handed them to the police. They were expelled. And throughout this process we offered counselling and support to the victim of this violent act.

The two former students were expelled and will now face justice in the criminal courts. It is hoped that in the course of time they will come to their senses and seek restoration and reconciliation with the student they so callously harmed. They are not part of the university community anymore.

That is the kind of university we are.

Jonathan D Jansen
Vice-Chancellor and Rector
University of the Free State
20 February 2014

Note: The use of the word ‘campus’ refers to all three campuses of the UFS, namely the Bloemfontein Campus, South Campus and Qwaqwa Campus.

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