Valerie Mizrahi | |
|---|---|
| Born | 1958 (age 65–66) |
| Citizenship | South African |
| Known for | Tuberculosis |
| Awards | L'Oréal-UNESCO Award, 2000 Order of Mapungubwe, 2007 |
| Scientific career | |
| Fields | Molecular biology |
Valerie Mizrahi FRS (born 1958) is a South African molecular biologist. [1]
The daughter of Morris and Etty Mizrahi, she was born in Harare, Zimbabwe and was educated there. Her family is a Sephardi Jewish family from the Greek island of Rhodes. [2]
She went on to earn a BSc in chemistry and mathematics and then a PhD in chemistry at the University of Cape Town. [3] From 1983 to 1986, she pursued post-doctoral studies at Pennsylvania State University. Mizrahi then worked in research and development for pharmaceutical company Smith, Kline & French. [1] In 1989, she established as research unit at the South African Institute for Medical Research and University of the Witwatersrand, remaining there until 2010. Her research has been focused on the treatment of tuberculosis, and drug resistance. [4] In 2011, she became director of the Institute of Infectious Disease and Molecular Medicine at the University of Cape Town. [5] Mizrahi is director of a research unit of the South African Medical Research Council and leads the University of Cape Town branch of the Centre of Excellence in Biomedical TB Research. [3]
Mizrahi received the L'Oréal-UNESCO Award for Women in Science in 2000. In 2006, she received the Gold Medal from the South African Society for Biochemistry and Molecular Biology for her contributions to the field and the Department of Science and Technology's Distinguished Woman Scientist Award. She is a fellow of the Royal Society of South Africa, a member of the Academy of Science of South Africa [1] and a fellow of the American Academy of Microbiology since 2009. [6] She was named to the Order of Mapungubwe in 2007. From 2000 to 2010, she was an International Research Scholar of the Howard Hughes Medical Institute; in 2012, she was named a Senior International Research Scholar for the Institute until 2017. [3] In 2013, she was awarded the Institut de France's Christophe Mérieux Prize for her work in tuberculosis research. [7] Mizrahi was elected a Fellow of the Royal Society in 2023. [8]
Valerie has two daughters, and her father is the honorary president of the Johannesburg Sephardic Hebrew Congregation. She grew up speaking Judeo-Spanish at home. [2]
Bonnie Lynn Bassler is an American molecular biologist; the Squibb Professor in Molecular Biology and chair of the Department of Molecular Biology at Princeton University; and a Howard Hughes Medical Institute Investigator. She has researched cell-to-cell chemical communication in bacteria and discovered key insights into the mechanism by which bacteria communicate, known as quorum sensing. She has contributed to the idea that disruption of chemical signaling can be used as an antimicrobial therapy.
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Namrita Lall is an Indian–South African botanist and pharmacologist who is professor of plant sciences at the University of Pretoria. She is an expert in medicinal plant science. At the University of Pretoria, she holds the South African Research Chair for Plant Health Products from Indigenous Knowledge Systems and leads a research group that is active in bioprospecting, particularly in respect of cosmeceuticals and tuberculosis and cancer treatments.
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