SA women scientists win global recognition
● Two South African women won international recognition this week for their contributions to science — using indigenous plants to treat cancer, and developing a cheap way to make it easier for children to deal with asthma.
At a glamorous reception in Paris on Thursday, organisers of the L’Oréal-Unesco Women in Science Awards named Professor Heather Zar as one of five laureates from around the world this year.
The UN Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation, in collaboration with the L’Oréal Foundation, also named Danielle Twilley as one of 15 “rising talent” researchers.
According to the award citation, Zar, a clinician scientist at the Red Cross Children’s Hospital in Cape Town, was honoured for “establishing a cutting-edge research programme in pneumonia, tuberculosis and asthma, saving the lives of many children worldwide”.
Zar, who has three children of her own, said her research was motivated by need.
“Children can’t use an asthma inhaler so they were getting medicine by mouth,” she told the Sunday Times.
“We took a plastic cold-drink bottle and developed a method for children to inhale the medicine. It is now widely used so that inhaled therapy can be used by children with asthma.”
Twilley, 28, works in the plant science cell culture laboratory at the University of Pretoria. She was recognised for her work in using local plants to inhibit or kill melanoma cells which cause the most dangerous type of skin cancer.
“Because we have such a huge diversity in flora, I think there is an asset we can exploit,” Twilley said.
She said there was a lot of scope for developing natural products from South Africa’s medicinal plants.
Twilley said South Africa should do as
much as possible to raise awareness of careers in science for young women.
The executive vice-president of the L’Oréal Foundation, Alexandra Palt, praised South Africa for its work in promoting science.
Palt said that although there had been progress, more needed to be done to break the “glass ceiling” for women in science around the world.
“There is a lot of scientific excellence in South Africa and among South African women,” Palt said.
“[But] women in science leadership positions are only around 11% [globally] and this is definitely not sufficient.
“For the next 20 years our challenge is to contribute to break the glass ceiling. The world needs science, and science, more than ever, needs women.”
Zar is also chairwoman of the department of paediatrics and child health at the University of Cape Town, and director of the Medical Research Council unit on child and adolescent health.
The award recognised her “outstanding contributions” in her field.