Nthabeleng Hlapisi took to heart the adage that one’s background should not determine one’s destiny. Coming from a deep rural area with very little development and where poverty is rife, Hlapisi’s life could have turned out differently, maybe a direct contrast of what she is today. “I was born in a small town Morija in Lesotho. I come from a place where you may think that your dreams can be shattered easily,” says Hlapisi.
Currently, Hlapisi is a medicinal chemistry PhD student at KwaZulu-Natal and was named as one of the 30 winners of the L’Oreal-UNESCO for Women in Science Young Talents sub-Saharan Africa Awards last year in November. She is also the first Lesotho national to be among the winners of this distinguished accolade. The award was conferred in recognition of her compelling research aimed at delivering effective and less invasive cancer treatment solutions.
Solution Maker in Africa
Explaining her research entails, Hlapisi says her focus on cancer was motivated by the fact that it is one of the leading causes of high mortality rates both in Africa and globally. She says what gave further impetus to her research is the fact that Lesotho does not have a cancer research laboratory and most cancer patients have to travel into South Africa for treatment. “A few years ago, a cousin of mine passed on because of cancer. She was very young. She had to go to Bloemfontein in South Africa for this treatment; that is why I decided on cancer research as one of the solution-makers in Africa,” she said.
Combination Therapies
Hlapisi says the key focus of her research is combination therapy whereby both photo thermal and photodynamic therapies, are used. “In photodynamic therapy, I use a dye which, in the presence of oxygen and light of a specific wavelength, will produce toxic oxygen which specifically kills the cancer cells. In photo thermal therapy, I use nanoparticles which, when irradiated with light of a specific wavelength will, in turn, produce localised heat and kill only the cancerous cells. Both these methods are used as alternatives to conventional methods to treat cancer and bacterial infections,” Hlapisi says.
She says what makes her therapy unique is that both these methods are non-invasive, specific, bio-compatible and have high efficacy. In addition, she says, the nanoparticles will be synthesised using green synthesis methods incorporating traditional medicine. Hlapisi explains that this enables them to document traditional medicine and also make use of what it is already available locally.
Award’s Financial Boost
Hlapisi is grateful for the L’Oreal-UNESCO grant, saying it is crucial considering that most African academic institutions do not have sufficient equipment to conduct research. “I will be using the funds for that, as well as to visit other labs and some for my research. The prize money for this award will help me to equip myself in different courses.”
Coming from a deep rural area, Hlapisi said the award also places a huge responsibility on her shoulders. “I believe that, with me being the first, it gives me a huge responsibility to help other people and inspire and mentor young girls to become better versions of themselves to dream big and to want more. It means that, as they say, when you rise, you rise by lifting others. I believe in that so much,” Hlapisi says, adding that her dream is to build a cancer or infectious diseases or research institute in Lesotho.
Books as Life Map
She attributes her academic trajectory to her regular visits to a bookstore in her hometown, Morija. “This is where they built the first bookstore, the first church, the first publishing company, so I was very lucky in that, in this place, the house we lived in was literally three minutes away from where all the old books were stored,” explains Hlapisi. She developed a love for reading about different subjects.
While at primary she started to do research for a variety of science projects including the mystery behind the Bermuda Triangle. “I was fascinated by what this triangle was and I read every physics book to understand why ships disappeared there. That was one of the turning points for me; I loved science, because I wanted to read more. I wanted to know why these things disappeared. What was the physics behind it?” she says.
Getting more women into STEM
Hlapisi says she wants to see more women getting involved in STEM. Asked how this objective can be achieved, she says: “I think what can be done is what L’Oréal-UNESCO is doing; recognising females in science all across Africa. When somebody who comes from Lesotho or a rural area like I do, reads my story and relates to who I am, they will be inspired to think that, “I too can make it.”
