Stellenbosch University
Welcome to Stellenbosch University
Three PhD candidates receive prestigious Bongani Mayosi Award
Author: FMHS Marketing & Communications / FGGW Bemarking & Kommunikasie – Susan Erasmus
Published: 07/12/2021

​Three PhD candidates at the Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences, Stellenbosch University, recently received the Bongani Mayosi Award, which will enable them to complete their PhDs.

Dr Donald Simon from the Division of Molecular Biology and Human Genetics is the recipient of the Professor Bongani Mayosi Netcare Clinical Scholarship.

The title of his PhD is 'Validation of mRNA signatures and PET-CT biomarkers to predict tuberculosis treatment'.

“I am astounded and extremely grateful for being awarded such a prestigious scholarship. It has enabled me to immerse myself completely in research. This in turn will equip me with the skills that will enable me to become a mature researcher, subsequent to the completion of my PhD," says Simon.

He summarises the issues he aims to address with this research as follows: “The science underlying positive clinical outcomes of TB remains poorly understood. The current treatment response measurement recommended by the World Health Organisation is still based on sputum microscopy, despite its proven shortcomings. New technologies are urgently needed to monitor treatment response in individual patients, and to evaluate new therapies. This can assist in identifying treatment for non-responders substantially earlier, and, in turn, has the potential to accelerate the evaluation of new treatments. Positron emission tomography (PET) -computed tomography (CT) (PET-CT), cytokines and RNA gene signatures show promise in this regard.

His main aim is to identify better methods to evaluate response to TB treatment using host blood and imaging.

"My passion is personalised medicine.  Therefore, I hope this PhD in Molecular Biology will lay the foundation that will enable me to continue research in South Africa using personalised medicine in lung diseases," he says of his plans for the future.

Gakeemah Inglis-Jassiem, formerly a senior lecturer at Stellenbosch University until January 2019, has a keen interest and clinical experience in neurological physiotherapy and rehabilitation. She is currently enrolled as a PhD candidate – the topic of her PhD focuses on technology to enhance contextually relevant stroke care and support in South Africa.

"When I received the news about the scholarship, I could hardly believe it," says Inglis-Jassiem. "I felt excited, honoured, and grateful about the opportunity to do justice to this project. I am constantly aware of the high cost of research activities."

She mentions that this scholarship will allow her to complete her PhD, which focuses on research with regard to a feasible and appropriate stroke support digital intervention for the local context.

In the future she plans to remain affiliated with the Department of Health and Rehabilitation Sciences. She intends to continue her research in a post-doctoral research capacity, focusing on the roll-out and wider feasibility testing of stroke support Digital Health Interventions.

Berte van der Watt holds an MA in Psychology and is currently working on her PhD with the following title: 'The trauma of non-marital romantic relationship breakups among emerging adults: Associations with posttraumatic stress symptoms and underlying neural circuitry'.

“I was delighted to hear the good news that my application was successful," says Van der Watt. “I immediately felt more hopeful about the future."

She describes her future plans as follows: “Following the completion of my PhD in Psychiatry, I want to continue broadening my scope of research (e.g. clinical assessments, interventions for students following non-marital breakups), and get actively involved in evidence-based practices by doing a Masters in Clinical Psychology."

Her study aims to prove that the experience of trauma is subjective and that some non-marital breakups must be considered as serious risk factors for mental health concerns.

The Bongani Mayosi Award

The Bongani Mayosi National Health Scholars Programme (BM-NHSP) was initiated by the National Health Research Committee (NHRC) and a partnership between the following three institutions:

  • The National Department of Health (NDoH)
  • The Public Health Enhancement Fund (PHEF)
  • South African Medical Research Council (SAMRC)

The purpose of this award is to fund the completion of 1 000 PhDs in health and clinical research over the next decade. The scholarships made available for the full degree period for full-time study. The value of the scholarship is equivalent to what the take-home pay of the applicant in terms of the public service pay scales would be. This amount remains fixed for the duration of the scholarship, which is for up to three years.

The Programme was inspired by Professor Bongani Mayosi, the former Dean of the Faculty of Health Sciences at the University of Cape Town, who left a legacy of research excellence, academic development and who did an enormous amount to transform lives and institutions in Africa. 

The aim of this programme is to build capacity in the following four areas:

  • Mental Health
  • Violence, Injury and Trauma
  • Digital Health
  • Rural Health


Caption: Gakeemah Inglis-Jassiem, Donald Simon and ​Berte van der Watt.