Zodwa Dlamini | |
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Born | |
Alma mater | University of the Western Cape University of Natal |
Scientific career | |
Institutions | University of Western Cape University of Witwatersrand |
Zodwa Dlamini is a South African biochemist and Ex-deputy Vice Chancellor for Research at the Mangosuthu University of Technology. She researches molecular oncology. She is a former Vice President of the South African Medical Research Council and is a member of the Council for Scientific Advisers for the International Centre for Genetic Engineering and Biotechnology.
Dlamini was born in the KwaZulu-Natal North Coast. [1] She worked as an administration clerk in provincial health before starting a degree in pharmacy. [2] She was not happy, and switched to Biochemistry and Microbiology, earning Bachelor's degrees at the University of the Western Cape. [2] She moved to the University of Natal for her Master's and PhD.[ citation needed ]
After her PhD, Dlamini returned to the University of the Western Cape as a postdoctoral fellow in molecular oncology. [3] In 2002 she joined the University of the Witwatersrand, where she studied the toxicity of traditional African beer. [2] [4] In 2007 she was awarded a National Cancer Institute investigator opportunity award. [5] She joined the University of Limpopo as an associate professor in 2014. [6]
She was appointed the lead of the research directorate at the Mangosuthu University of Technology in 2015. [7] In July 2017 Dlamini was confirmed as a member of the Council for Scientific Advisers for the International Centre for Genetic Engineering and Biotechnology. [3] She is a visiting professor at the University of Bristol. [8]
Dlamini is concerned about education within the local community and supports schools in accounting, maths and physics. [9] She believes that Mangosuthu University of Technology can improve the lives of the people in Umlazi. [2] She is a member of the steering committee of the Academy of Science of South Africa's STEM education group. [5]
In 2017 she led a delegation of Mangosuthu University of Technology scientists to the Dublin Institute of Technology. [10] She is interested in precision medicine. Dlamini has contributed to two books about cancer, including Current Immunotherapeutic Treatments in Colon Cancer and South African Herbal Extracts as Potential Chemopreventive Agents: Screening for Anticancer Splicing Activity. [11] [12] Her current research looks at abnormal MicroRNA in cancers associated with HIV. [13] The project received R6 million over three years from the South African Medical Research Council. [13]