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Maties among 200 bright young South Africans
Author: Corporate Marketing / Korporatiewe Bemarking
Published: 27/06/2016

​​One current and two former Maties are among the 200 notable South Africans under the age of 35 featured in the Mail & Guardian's annual edition of Young South Africans. The 2016 edition was published in the Mail &Guardian on Friday (24 June 2016).

Making this year's list are Ethan Newman, a doctoral student in the Department of Botany and Zoology at Stellenbosch University (SU), Koot Kotze, an intern at the East London Hospital Complex, and Nadia Carstens of Division of Human Genetics at the University of the Witwatersrand (Wits).

What makes this list impressive is the fact that more than 1000 nominations were received for the 2016 edition. The 200 young men and women were selected across eleven categories ranging from arts and culture, education, sport, health, science and technology to business and law.

According to Verashni Pillay, editor-in-chief of the Mail & Guardian, these young men and women bring new ideas, talent and energy to move South Africa forward.

One of the country's top next generation researchers, Newman is eyeing a career in the biological sciences and wants to set up his own laboratory. The main focus will be on conducting research into evolutionary biology – why things have come to be the way they are. A recipient of various scholarships, merit bursaries and grants, Newman says he hope that his work will help to promote sustainable development and rekindle people's link with nature.

Kotze, a former student in SU's Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences and a recipient of the University's Chancellor's Medal for 2015, made the list for his outstanding academic achievements and for his active role in the launch of the advocacy group TB proof which focuses on greater awareness of and protection against occupational and community-based TB transmission, on shortcomings in prevention and treatment and on the destigmatisation of TB. Kotze is also a member of the Safe Working Hours campaign which seeks to better control the number of consecutive hours doctors must work.2D1A5691.jpg

Although Carstens works as a medical scientist and geneticist at Wits, her academic journey began at SU where she obtained her master and doctoral degrees in the Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences.   

Carstens uses her skills in bioinformatics (the application of computer technology to the management of biological information) to find new disease genes and develop new diagnostic tests.

She says African researchers should use bioinformatics to help advance genetics in Africa.

Photo 1Ethan Newman 

Photo 2: Koot Kotze (right) at his graduation ceremony.