Prof Tebello Nyokong

Last Updated on Friday, 13 November 2009 13:01 Written by Administrator Tuesday, 10 November 2009 10:17

Professor Tebello Nyokong has achieved international acclaim for her groundbreaking work in harnessing light for cancer therapy and environmental clean-ups. She is a NRF-rated researcher, and holds the DST/NRF funded chair in Medicinal Chemistry and Nanotechnology at Rhodes University. She is currently engaged in research on a new cancer diagnosis and treatment methodology called 'photo-dynamic therapy', which is intended as an alternative to chemotherapy.

Through her international reputation, Professor Nyokong has contributed considerably to enhancing the reputation of South African science. She has undertaken formal international collaborations with counterparts in France, Russia, China, the United Kingdom, Belgium, Japan, Germany and Chile. Many international scientists have been drawn by her work to visit South Africa, and her laboratory has hosted postdoctoral candidates from around the world.

Professor Nyokong’s other achievements include:

The inaugural NRF President’s Award for being a Champion of Transformation in Research, in 2009.
The UNESCO-L’Oreal Laureate for 2009 – Africa and the Arab states.
She was the third-highest publisher in the International Science Index (ISI) in 2007.
She has published 34 ISI papers, has assimilated 176 ISI papers, and has been cited 1 818 times.
She has achieved an H-index of 26.
She has been named by UNESCO as one of the word’s top five exceptional women scientists.
She was awarded a bronze Order of Mapungubwe in 2005.
She was named the SABC 2 / Shoprite Checkers Woman of the Year in 2004, in Science and Technology.