Winner Dr Tiisetso Lephoto
Dr Tiisetso Lephoto obtained her PhD in molecular and cell biology from the University of the Witwatersrand (Wits) in 2016, focusing on microbiology, biotechnology, genomics, nematology and bioinformatics. Lephoto is a member of the Golden Key International Honour Society, and is a One Young World Ambassador.
For her PhD research, Lephoto isolated novel insect-killing nematodes (entomopathogenic nematodes), and analysed and annotated whole genomes of these and their endosymbiotic bacteria. Her current postdoctoral research, which she is continuing at Wits, is aimed at increasing the knowledge of the molecular genetics and biochemical mechanisms underlying the dynamics associated with the insect-killing nematodes. The research also aims to investigate nematode product formulation strategies, which is critical for the in vitro production and application of the nematodes. The ultimate aim is to create a biological control agent that will reduce the use of synthetic chemical pesticides in farms and agricultural industries.
Lephoto has published three papers in international journals and has presented her research at national and international conferences, including the Agricultural Bioscience International Conference in Australia (2015). She has supervised four honours stu- dents, and is currently supervising five master’s and three honours students.
In 2016, Lephoto was selected as one of 87 women in the world who participated in the TechWomen Emerging Leaders Program in the US. During the programme, she was professionally mentored as a consultant in the informatics department of Illumina Inc in California. Lephoto is the chief operations officer of the GoMaths Foundation, the secretary of Katleho Pele Education, a mentoring and tutoring non-profit organisation (NPO), and the founder of Tii Moves (nutritional advice and physical training), and the NPO “Yes we are moving”.
Lephoto was selected for the Mail & Guardian’s annual 200 Young South Africans supplement in 2017, the Youth Village 100 Young Inspirational Men and Women in South Africa (2017), and the Top 20 Inspirational Youth in South Africa (2015). She won the Biotech Fundi Best Researcher Award (2017), the National Research Foundation-Green Fund postdoctoral forum award (2016), the Best Young Researcher Award at the Agricultural Research Symposium (in 2015 and 2016), the Best New and Upcoming Researcher Award from the Gauteng department of agriculture and rural development (2014), the Falling Walls Lab Science Award (second place) (2013), and NRF scholarships.