FIRST FNS PHD GRADUATE DETERMINED TO PRODUCE IMPACTFUL SCIENTIFIC RESEARCH FOR SA COSTAL LAND

Researcher, Nokubonga Mbanzi was capped as the first-ever PhD graduate in the WSU Faculty of Natural Sciences during the 2022 spring graduation that was held in the Mthatha Campus in October.

The 31-year-old strode with confidence and received a standing ovation from an ecstatic audience as she collected her Doctor of Philosophy in Natural Sciences.

“It feels amazing to make history and make my people proud, especially my family, the people who believe in me, and myself. I come from a poor background but that has never stopped me from chasing my dream because I had a vision; I knew what I wanted and all I had to do was to focus on my desires,” said the scholar.

Mbanzi’s PhD desertion focused on the impact of pollution along the Southeast coast of South Africa, especially heavy metals that were consumed by shellfish.

According to Mbanzi, the residents along the Southeast coast have been observed by researchers over the years to harvest shellfish as a source of food to supplement their diet.

“Knowing the status of the marine environment from which these community residents sample shellfish is quite important as it affects their health status,” said the scholar.

According to the world health organisation, some of the pollutants like heavy metals found in shellfish may cause health problems like heart disease, kidney failure, and cancer when consumed above the regulatory limit.

Mbandzi, who was born in Cwebeni, Port St Johns, is a product of Ngubebelu Senior Secondary School. In 2010 she pursued a Bachelor’s degree in Microbiology & Zoology, followed by an Honours Degree in Zoology at the University of Fort Hare.

During her MSc degree, between 2015 and 2016, she was based at the South African Institute for Aquatic biodiversity in Makhanda. In 2017 she  she did an internship at the South African Observatory Network (Elwandle Node) in Gqeberha, in.

“In 2018 I registered at another university to start my first PhD attempt, but along the way my mentor felt that I was not good enough and decided that I should stop and do an internship again, or just leave the PhD program at once because I was never going to finish it. That is when I decided to leave the place and apply at WSU in 2019.”

The scholar was supervised by the Director of Risk & Vulnerability Science Center (RVSC) Dr Motabeng Nakin and esteemed C3 NRF-rated researcher from the Department of Chemistry, Professor Adebola Oyedeji.

By Ongezwa Sigodi