In precision medicine
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but there was no laboratory, so it was all theoretical. By his matric year, in the late 1990s, his grasp of English was still rudimentary but he achieved good marks. Encouraged by his maths teacher, he applied to tertiary institutions around the country. The first response was from Rhodes. However, once there, he realised what an uphill battle awaited him.
Finding a passion
“Only one other student there spoke isiZulu. Fortunately, I could do a bridging course for English and I did extended studies too. They introduce you, slowly, to some of the courses that you are going to be doing.”
Once he settled into chemistry, Mashazi realised he had found his academic home.
“You find a subject that speaks to you. Chemistry was that for me.”
For his honours degree, he came under supervision of department legend Professor Tebello Nyokong.
“From the moment I stepped into her lab, S22, I witnessed how excited her students were to be doing research.”
He was keen to carry on studying, but his family wanted him to find a job. So he tried hard, with no success.
“Then my dad said, right, what is Plan B? The only Plan B I could think of was getting a bursary for my master’s.”
Nyokong helped him land a small bursary and a stipend for tutoring, lab demonstrations for first-year students, marking papers and so on. It was enough for cheap accommodation and basic food.
During his Master of Science (MSc) degree, Mashazi worked on electro-chemical sensors, some of which included precious metals. His work attracted the attention of Mintek, the national mineral research organisation. It offered him a bursary and the promise of a job after he graduated.
“It was an absolute dream come true.” But he remained in his cheap digs to “save my money and devote my life to study”.
Atomic resolution in Ghent
Mashazi went on a four-month study exchange trip to Belgium, became fond of Belgian footlong sandwiches and saw nanobiosensor equipment for the first time.
“I saw XPS, Raman spectroscopy and the atomic force microscope. I realised they could assist my research in helping me to ‘see’ the interface surface of the biosensors at sub-molecular and atomic resolution.”
Mashazi booked use of the instruments at Ghent University and ran tests. “I presented the data to my supervisor, Professor Tebello Nyokong, who was surprised at what we can see under spectrometers ... what was postulated could be proven spectroscopically.”
Unbeknown to Mashazi at the time, Nyokong wrote proposals to acquire some of the machines.
Mashazi obtained his MSc with distinction and headed to Gauteng to work at Mintek in 2007. Two years later, there was a national outbreak of measles in South Africa.
“I found a way to diagnose the virus via electro-chemical tests, where you simply take a throat swab and use that to get a positive or negative result for measles. That became the subject of my PhD.”
By 2013, Mashazi had his doctorate. He enjoyed the challenges at Mintek, but eventually found the lure of academia too strong to resist.
“I was inclined towards knowledge generation, imparting knowledge, not doing research to make money in the short term.”
He returned to Rhodes as a senior chemistry lecturer. Mashazi loves working with postgraduate students and postdoctoral fellows.
“We are attracting researchers from all over the
world. We’ve had students recently from Belgium, just to access facilities we have here. We have had researchers from Poland recently, too.
“I’ve got a Malawian, a Zambian, a Zimbabwean, and a number of South African students. Diversity brings excellence. In Professor Nyokong’s group, which I also work with, are students from all over Africa.”
Africa has a diverse genome
This is an important knowledge hub for the continent. “Africa has a far more diverse genome than Europe and North America, where most drugs are developed and tested. What works on one continent might not work in Africa. We are looking at patient-specific treatment and levels of toxicity, which is often indicated by weight loss and hair loss in cancer treatment. It’s becoming more important that we don’t just adopt medication. Instead, we get the regime and then adjust it internally to see what works. It really is very exciting.”
Mashazi envisages individualised or precision medicine, where every individual has their levels of biological markers mapped. An annual visit to a doctor, a few drops of blood, saliva or tears, and the doctor can see a picture emerge of a person’s health.
“The doctor would tell you your body is showing biochemical reactions that are producing certain molecules. You might be predisposed to a certain kind of cancer. Or a biomarker might show cardiac arrest is a danger, long before you clutch your chest and fall to the ground. You can treat and monitor health issues before they become a problem. You can lengthen and improve the quality of your life.
“This could transform doctor-patient relations. It’s going to be revolutionary, but obviously it will take some years.”
His research shows detection could be done far more cheaply than is now the case.
Imagine a world where a few small drops of blood on a piece of paper could give you early warning of impending threats via a smartphone. If a biomarker indicates a heart attack is imminent, you could book yourself into a clinic for observation.
“Thanks to Professor Tebello Nyokong, Rhodes has all these specialised pieces of equipment under one roof. It is one of our selling points and the reason we attract students from all over the world.”
A biomarker might show cardiac arrest is a danger, long before you clutch your chest and fall to the ground. You can treat and monitor health issues before they
become a problem