Early 2025 sees ICGEB Cape Town welcoming Professor Nontuthuko (Nontu) Rosemary Ntuli from the Department of Botany at the University of Zululand, recently commencing her Senior Fellowship in the Plant Systems Biology Group, as part of the ICGEB Special Programme with South African HDIs.
The ICGEB Special Programme with South African Historically Disadvantaged Institutions (HDIs), in partnership with the South African Department of Science, Technology and Innovation (DSTI) focuses on capacity development and building synergies with HDIs.
This year, the Programme has awarded nine short-term Fellowships to highly motivated scientists from HDIs in life sciences, human healthcare, and industrial/agricultural biotechnology. Professor Ntuli is the final HDI fellow in this cohort joining ICGEB.
During her Senior Fellowship in the Plant Systems Biology Group with Dr Lara Donaldson, Nontu will study genetic diversity among Strychnos gerrardii morphotypes using the Simple Sequence Repeats (SSR) and Single Nucleotide Polymorphism (SNP) markers. S. gerrardii commonly known as coastal monkey orange is an indigenous species that is locally used for food purposes (particularly fruits) and has some medicinal properties. Morphotypes of this species vary in their fruit (size, shape, texture), and leaves (shape, form) when they grow within the same environmental condition, which needs investigation on their genetic diversity prior to recommendation for domestication and product development.
Commenting on the Fellowship experience and what she hopes to gain during the 2-months at ICGEB Cape Town, Nontu looks forward to being exposed to the state-of-the-art equipment that is used to study plant genetics and biotechnology, as well as to gain experience on the various techniques to study plant genetics from ICGEB researchers. Nontu adds that the Fellowship facilitates the exchange of knowledge with international experts which will lead to future research collaborations through co-supervision and students’ exchange programmes.
‘This ICGEB Special Programme with HDIs is extremely beneficial to students and researchers, as we are exposed to the research equipment and expertise that are of an international standard in a world-class scientific environment. My Senior Fellowship as part of this Programme positively impacts not only my research, but also the students and young researchers which I supervise. I am grateful for this opportunity and look forward to building impactful collaborations with the ICGEB’. Prof. Nontuthuko (Nontu) Rosemary Ntuli
