Name: Khanyisile Kgoadi
Role/Occupation: Researcher at the Immunology Division
Country: South Africa
Khanyisile Kgoadi is a researcher in the Division of Immunology, Institute of Infectious Disease and Molecular Medicine (IDM) at the University of Cape Town. She investigates neuro-immunological mechanisms associated with detrimental effects of central nervous system tuberculosis (CNS-TB); which is the deadliest form of tuberculosis mainly affecting children and immune-compromised adults such as those infected with HIV/AIDS.
Kgoadi grew up in Soweto, a famous township in South Africa. Her country has the highest HIV epidemic in the world and she witnessed the indignity and health deterioration experienced by people infected and affected by the disease, she was deeply moved by their plight felt and decided to help improve their health and life expectancy. She pursued studies in biological sciences and completed a BSc in Biochemistry and Human Physiology at the University of Johannesburg, followed by a BSc (Honours) and MSc in Biochemistry at the University of Pretoria, where I conducted research that found potential metabolic biomarkers associated with HIV/AIDS and antiretroviral treatment (HAART). Kgoadi’s PhD research focuses on tuberculosis as those infected by HIV have a high rate of TB co-infection and mostly die from this opportunistic infection and she wishes to tackle both the diseases simultaneously. The far reaching effects of her work motivates her, “knowing that I am working towards contributing to finding health solutions to global health problems that will impact and improve people’s lives on a large scale keeps me excited about my job.” Her biggest dream is to run her own HIV-TB coinfection laboratory as a principal investigator within the next ten years.
Kgoadi’s hard work and determination have always paid off and her efforts have been earmarked by professional milestones. Milestones which range from meeting and engaging with Timothy Ray Brown, “the Berlin Patient – first person to be cured of HIV” to being elected as an executive board member of South African Immunology Society (SAIS) and then receiving the 2015 South African Women in Science award (TATA Doctoral fellowship) and the 2016 Margaret McNamara Education Grant for empowering children and women through education and the list just goes on and on. However for Kgoadi, her biggest career milestone thus far has been “during my HIV/AIDS research, we were fortunate to discover potential biomarkers for HIV/AIDS that could be used for disease prognosis, this still stands as my eureka! moment.”
Despite all that she has been doing Kgoadi manages to maintain a fair work-life balance which she attributes to time management; “when research life gets too hectic... I remind myself that I must take care of my physical well-being to keep fit, nurture my mental health and feed my spiritual being. You cannot pour from an empty/broken glass because both work and personal life are important.”
Although she cannot describe her experience as a woman in the STEM space as having been smooth sailing due to the numerous obstacles, she still feels that it has been largely positive and rewarding, “I have been fortunate enough to be in the care of supervisors/mentors... that have been supportive of my career growth... having supervisors that not only trained me but also believed in me and trusted me has served as a huge boost to my self-confidence as a scientist.” She understands that many other women in STEM have not been as fortunate as her and have been demoralised, discouraged and denied opportunities. Kgoadi thus understands the value of what she represents, “it makes me proud to be a representation of #BlackExcellence as a woman scientist that is thriving in the early stages of her career, someone young African girls can familiarise with and be empowered.”
Her advice to young girls is to “believe in yourself, surround yourself with positive people and take advantage of opportunities that support your dreams... the STEM field is always evolving thus making it fun and exciting. Hard work always pays off!” She foresees great things for STEM in Africa such as “women representation increasing and with them [women] assuming more influential and executive roles that will further transform the African continent into a pioneer of research in the STEM field... Through collaborations with other continents, Africa is in a process of taking the lead in solving problems that mostly affect Africa using the STEM field.”
Kgoadi aims to change the world and help as many people as possible through her research, delve further into the interview below and allow her vision to change your day, to brighten your outlook.
Khanyisile Kgoadi was interviewed by Dhruti Dheda, the founder of the African Steminist on behalf of Geeky Girl Reality. The full interview can be found here.
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