Drug discovery award for Chin'ombe

On the move: Dr Nyasha Chin'ombe.

It is high time that African scientists find African solutions for Africa, says postdoctoral research fellow Dr Nyasha Chin'ombe.

Chin'ombe has been selected by the National Research Foundation to participate in the South Africa Drug Discovery programme in 2010.

The Drug Discovery programme is a collaboration between Emory University and South Africa and aims to build a high-calibre cadre of scientists who will play an important role in the development of vaccines and other biopharmaceuticals against HIV/AIDS and other communicable diseases.

"We know that vaccines can save millions of lives and we need to start making our own vaccines here in Africa" said the scholar from the Department of Clinical Laboratory Sciences.

Chin'ombe will spend the next 12 to 24 months in the US to learn cutting-edge research technologies in vaccine discovery. This stint will include a year at Emory University, starting in February next year, to learn about the broader aspects of drug-discovery-driven research.

"When I return to South Africa, I plan to work on vaccines that are badly needed in Africa".

Chin'ombe graduated from UCT with a PhD in medical virology in 2007. He is currently a postdoctoral research fellow under Professor Anna-Lise Williamson's SARChI chair for Vaccinology.

"I looking forward to taking up a new challenge."