Weekend Argus (Saturday Edition)
Scientist scoops top spot for indigenous research
DISCOVERING safe ways to treat diabetes based on indigenous knowledge of medicinal plant remedies earned local scientist Dr Nehemiah Latolla top spot this week in the South African leg of the International FameLab science communication competition.
Latolla will now represent South Africa at the International FameLab 2022 science communication competition next month.
A post-graduate researcher at Nelson Mandela University, Latolla captured the attention of the judges when he told them about his passion for tapping into South Africa’s wealth of indigenous knowledge, including natural remedies to treat diabetes.
His research in phytochemistry – the branch of chemistry concerned with plants and plant products – is focused on evaluating the safety and efficacy of natural products to treat the metabolic disorder.
Latolla said: “SA has about 30 000 recorded plant species, of which about 3 000 have the potential for medicinal use. However, there is a lack in the reported chemistry, safety and efficacy of these medicinal plants.”
Diabetes is the second leading cause of death from illness in SA after tuberculosis.
FameLab, an initiative of Cheltenham Festivals in the UK, has been running in South Africa since 2013, through a partnership between the SA Agency for Science and Technology Advancement and research communication specialists Jive Media Africa.
The national leg of the competition saw at least 10 young scientists
showcasing research from some of the top academic and research institutions across the country.
Each delivered a three-minute presentation on their research, using props and simple language.
Latolla said: “We truly had a team of great ideas and science communicators in the competition this year. I feel very honoured to be able to move forward and represent this group.”
First runner-up was Johanné Marais from Wits, who is investigating sleep deprivation due to HIV treatment through her sleep neurophysiology research.
Second runner-up, Onesimo Mtintsilana, also from Wits, is a particle physicist and the student representative for the Women in Physics in SA Forum.
Mtintsilana is also a tour guide at the European Organisation for Nuclear Research, known as CERN, in Switzerland.