A third year PhD student at Stellenbosch University (SU) was recently promoting gender diversity within tertiary institutions after being awarded an R80 000 research grant for women in science, by L’Oréal and the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (L’Oréal-UNESCO). This is according to Dr Katherine De Villiers, Jessica Thibaud’s supervisor and senior lecturer in bioinorganic chemistry at SU.
The L’Oréal-UNESCO grant forms part of a larger project that aims to bridge the gender divide within South Africa’s science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) field, said Thibaud.
“I was always interested in science,” said Jessica Thibaud, PhD student at Stellenbosch University, and recipient of a research grant from L’Oréal and the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (L’Oréal-UNESCO). She explained that after completing her PhD, she aims to do postdoctoral work for her supervisor, Dr Katherine de Villiers, while working at the Holistic Drug Discovery and Development Centre (H3D), based at the University of Cape Town (UCT). PHOTO: Talia Kincaid
“Hopefully this grant will bring more [female PhD] students,” said Thibaud.
Thibaud is pursuing her PhD in anti-malarial drug discovery at the department of chemistry and polymer science, explained De Villiers.
“We [SU’s chemistry department] could definitely use more people of colour, and women in higher levels of our system,” said Thibaud.
“It’s particularly inspiring, I believe, to other young women in science, to read about Jessica’s research, and her path to success,” said De Villiers.
A third year PhD chemistry student at Stellenbosch University (SU) recently received a R80 000 research grant through a joint project between L’Oréal and the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (L’Oréal-UNESCO), said Dr Katherine De Villiers, Jessica Thibaud’s supervisor and senior lecturer in bioinorganic chemistry at SU. Thibaud aims to use the funding to invest in advanced technology, she explained. Her research on anti-malarial drug discovery is largely reliant on machine learning that uses algorithms to detect treatments. AUDIO: Talia Kincaid
Gender diversity
Covid-19 played a big role in reducing the number of female students enrolled in the university, due to the gendered societal structures that are still present within South African society today, explained Dr Barbara Pool, senior director of strategic initiatives and information governance at SU.
The distributive ratio between female and male students cannot be viewed independently of context, said Pool.
Gender diversity transformation within the tertiary education sector relies on the reconfiguration of institutional structures and systems, said Dr Zamambo Mkhize, African feminist studies lecturer at the University of Cape Town (UCT), and expert in ‘STEMinist’ research.
South Africa’s past injustices largely affect the institutional and systemic barriers faced by women in STEM fields today, said Mkhize.
“[Jessica Thibaud] is researching the potential for polypharmacology, where one drug candidate shows activity against multiple targets. If successful, such a strategy is likely to reduce the chances of the parasite developing resistance to the new compound,” said Dr Katherine de Villiers, senior lecturer in bioinorganic chemistry at Stellenbosch University.
Thibaud, who recently received a grant of R80 000 for women in science is a PhD chemistry student, and researches anti-malarial drugs. PHOTO: Talia Kincaid