Three University of KwaZulu-Natal research academics were honoured at this year's National Batho Pele Excellence Awards. The awards are in recognition of their outstanding efforts that have contributed to the improvement of public service.
They were conferred by Minister for Public Service and Administration Ayanda Dlodlo. They were awarded the Ministerial Covid-19 Special Award in recognition of their distinguished research into Covid-19.
Professor Mosa Moshabela, Professor Tulio de Oliveira and Sandile Cele were among the award recipients.
Professor Moshabela, who was among the first to establish Covid-19 response teams, was recognised for outstanding service to the public through his Covid-19 science communication efforts.
Professor De Oliveira played a crucial role in identifying the Beta and Omicron variants. Through the Ministerial Advisory Committee, he contributed to guiding the country’s response to Covid-19.
Professor De Oliveira, who is a Director of the KwaZulu-Natal Research and Innovation Sequencing Platform (KRISP) at UKZN and a Professor of Bioinformatics at the School for Data Science and Computational Thinking at Stellenbosch University, recently received the South African Medical Research Council’s Gold Medal for Scientific Excellence.
Cele, a PhD candidate and laboratory supervisor at Africa Health Research Institute (AHRI), recently led some of the research on Covid-19, including studies that were the first to isolate and characterise the live Beta variant. With the Sigal group, he was the first in the world to report the immune escape of Beta and Omicron. He also led a study describing how variants could evolve in Sub-Saharan Africa. His research output has helped put South Africa at the forefront of Covid-19 research.
"Not only has their body of work and ground-breaking research kept the UKZN flag flying high, but they have contributed immensely to the world’s understanding of the Covid-19 pandemic," said Professor Nana Poku.
Poku said through these and other research undertakings, many lives were saved as authorities were able to put in place pharmaceutical, non-pharmaceutical and policy interventions informed by science.
"Their research findings continue to inform the global response to the Covid-19 pandemic. The university is proud of these achievements and the awards conferred on our staff members. We salute our academics for their research endeavours," Poku added.
IOL