Four leading scientists of Stellenbosch University's (SU) Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences (FMHS) were recently awarded prestigious accolades in recognition of the profound impact that their research has had on the health and lives of South Africans.
The South African Medical Research Council (SAMRC) honoured Prof Marlo Möller (silver award), Profs Tulio de Oliveira and Grant Theron (gold awards), as well as Prof Andre Kengne, extraordinary FMHS professor (platinum award), at its 8th Scientific Merit Awards ceremony held at its head office in Cape Town on 10 March.
SAMRC President and CEO, Prof Glenda Gray, told the mainly virtual audience that scientific research remains fundamental to reduce South Africa's burden of disease and preventing mortality. “The knowledge produced by these exceptional scientists will carry our country's legacy of science forward and continue to improve the lives of citizens, as is evident with Covid-19."
She added that their work is testimony to the country's ingenuity, saying that “it was scientists in South Africa who first discovered and sounded the alarm on Omicron, which rapidly became the dominant variant of concern".
SAMRC awardees in all categories were identified last year through an open public nomination process and adjudicated by the SAMRC Awards Nominations Committee.
Prof Marlo Möller (silver medal)
In her acceptance speech, Möller, head of the TB Host Genetics Research Group within the Division of Molecular Biology and Human Genetics of the FMHS, thanked her team. “Research is very much a team effort, and I am so privileged to accept this award on behalf of the TB Host genetics research group."
She also emphasised the importance of resources in the fight against TB and highlighted the celebration of World TB Day on 24 March with the theme “Invest in TB and save lives". “We have to invest resources to ramp up the fight against this terrible disease to achieve the commitments that global leaders make to end this pandemic," she told the audience.
The SAMRC's silver medal is awarded to emerging scientists and those committed to capacity development. Criteria include research contributions that impact on health, especially in developing countries.
Möller's primary research focus is on finding the human genetic underpinnings of infectious diseases, especially TB. Major research topics include common genetic variants that predispose the general population to pulmonary TB, as well as individuals that display extreme forms of TB resistance and susceptibility.
Möller is a National Research Foundation (NRF) C3-rated researcher who has won several awards, including the NRF Research Career Award and the SU Rector's award for general performance. Her qualifications include a PhD in medical biochemistry. She is also a member of the SAMRC Centre for Tuberculosis Research.
Watch a YouTube video of Möller's research and nomination here.
Prof Tulio de Oliveira (gold medal)
“This is just the beginning. I think South Africa is really going to lead the world in infectious diseases," the world-renowned bioinformatics scientist predicted after having accepted a medal in the gold category, which is bestowed on established senior scientists who have made substantial and influential contributions.
The criteria for this award include a recent exceptional accomplishment, breakthrough, or contribution to research which is acknowledged at an international level. This contribution must have clearly enhanced the prestige of South African medical research and extended medical knowledge.
According to the SAMRC an attempt in 2022 to describe De Oliveira in one sentence would probably read something like “the man who facilitated the identification of the SARS-CoV-2 variants of concern Beta and Omicron in South Africa … but this description does not even begin to scratch the surface to capture his journey".
Most recently De Oliveira, who has worked with viral outbreaks throughout his career, has cemented his place as one of the top scientists in the forefront of South Africa's fight against Covid-19. He collaborated with leading research organisations to create the Network for Genomic Surveillance in South Africa (NGS-SA), which started producing genomes as early as March 2020 and sequenced the first Covid-19 case in South Africa.
He wears different leadership hats, including as professor of bioinformatics, School for Data Science and Computational Thinking at the FMHS, and as Director of the FMHS' proposed Centre for Epidemic Response and Innovation.
In his acceptance speech, De Oliveira stressed the efforts in collaboration with the SAMRC to create a Centre for Epidemic Response and Innovation that can challenge the status quo and really make South Africa and Africa a leader in science.
“The last two years were extremely busy, but it was very exciting to see how South Africa really came together to almost lead the world in scientific research," he said.
Watch a YouTube video of De Oliveira's research and nomination here.
Prof Grant Theron (gold medal)
Theron, a professor of molecular biology and human genetics in the FMHS' Division of Molecular Biology and Human Genetics, is also a member of the DST/NRF Centre for Excellence in Tuberculosis Research and the SAMRC's Centre for Tuberculosis Research, both of which are embedded within the FMHS.
He holds a P-rating from the NRF (the highest rating available to researchers younger than 35).
His core research interests are the design and field evaluation of improved diagnostics for tuberculosis and drug resistance, the transmission and aerobiology of tuberculosis, including drug-resistant tuberculosis, and most recently the microbiome in the context of tuberculosis.
He has led several projects on tuberculosis diagnostics, which have measured their impact on long-term patient outcomes. He has also held several fellowships. In a relatively short period, he has published approximately 60 papers in international peer-reviewed journals and has registered one patent.
Named one of the Top 200 Young South Africans by the Mail & Guardian in 2014, his sterling work has attracted international recognition including the Gertrud Meisner Award by the European Society of Mycobacteriology; the TW Kambule Emerging Researcher Award by the NSTF-BHP Billiton; and the Meiring Naudé medal in recognition of outstanding early career contributions to the furtherance of science by the Royal Society of South Africa.
Theron is a member of various local and international organisations, including the American Society of Microbiology and the European Society for Mycobacteriology.
Accepting his gold medal, Theron thanked all the awardees, “since it's been a really hard couple of years to be a scientist, especially if your research is Covid adjacent and not on Covid itself".
Watch a YouTube video of Theron's research and nomination here.
Prof Andre Pascal Kengne (Platinum medal)
The SAMRC's platinum medal was awarded to Kengne, an internationally renowned non-communicable diseases epidemiologist.
Kengne holds a PhD in medicine from the Sydney University, Australia. His major focus is on cardiovascular disease, diabetes, metabolic disease and chronic kidney disease. He is the current Director of the SAMRC's Non-Communicable Diseases Research Unit and holds conjoint appointments as professor of medicine at the University of Cape Town, as well as extraordinary professor of Global Health at SU's FMHS.
Platinum medals are awarded to accomplished South African scientists for outstanding lifetime scientific achievements in the field of health, who have raised the profile of South African science and helped build the foundations of health research in the country for future generations.
Over the course of Kengne's journey, he has co-authored numerous peer-reviewed articles, book chapters and monographs on chronic diseases in Africa and at a global level.
Kengne's immense contribution to research has earned him multiple awards and recognition from local and international bodies, including the Sir Alberti Award for excellence in research on diabetes in Africa, the SAMRC Gold Award for Scientific Excellence, and the International Society of Hypertension Research Scholar Award.
In his acceptance speech, Kengne paid tribute to everyone who supported him on his scientific journey, including his family, friends, and colleagues all over the world.
Watch a YouTube video of Kengne's research and nomination here.
Additional source: SAMRC
Caption: Profs Grant Theron, Marlo Moller, Andre Kengne and Tulio de Oliveira receiving their respective awards at the SAMRC's 8th Scientific Merit Award Ceremony.
