Future looks bright for Zwelethemba’s youngest scientist

It is true when they say dynamite comes in small packages, Palesa Makoti is a perfect example. Born and bred in a disadvantaged community of Zwelethemba, Worcester. Zweletans (residents of Zwelethemba) must brace themselves, as they have another “Dr.” in the making by the name of Palesa. This young inquisitive scientist was raised by her late mother Nondumiso Makoti, who unfortunately passed away while she was finishing Matric (Grade 12) at Vusisizwe Secondary School.

After matriculating from VSS, she moved to Cape Town to pursue her undergraduate studies in Medicine at the University of Western Cape (UWC). In her journey in UWC, she has worked on few projects and has been a recipient of various grants from research foundations such as National Research Foundation, Poliomyelitis Research Foundation, and the University of the Western Cape and Missouri University.

Sharing about her postgraduate study opportunity in Columbia, she said: “I applied and got nominated for research internship by our head of department. I was part of the MU Institute of Clinical Translation Science”. This is where she worked in a laboratory that designs and synthesizes against Ebola and Marburg viruses. Her efforts are primarily focused on helping with the RNA Library to move quickly on binding evaluations and to pursue and establish viruses. “I always liked science and learning about it. The questions, the hypotheses, theories, etc” she explains. She reveals her favorite subject was Physical Sciences in Secondary School (first Chemistry and then later in Matric Physics). “So I kind of knew I was going to end up doing science somewhere. I am still not sure how I ended up in Biology and not Chemistry of Physics though lol” says Palesa.

As a young black women predominantly in a white elite field Palesa has overcome many challenges during her study and progression in her career. Currently Palesa is working with a structural viral protein (nucleocapsid protein) of the human coronaviruses NL63 and SARS (for Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome), which are responsible for mild to severe respiratory distress in children and adults. This nucleocapsid protein is a multi-functional protein that is most abundant in infected cells and is important for viral replication, assembly, and binding to the viral RNA to form a ribonucleocapsid. “I am now busy trying to complete my PhD in Molecular Biology and Virology this year”. According Palesa, part of her PhD focuses on the assessment or measurement of cytokine responses induced by HCoV-NL63 nucleocapsid proteins and SARS-CoV proteins, using the biomarkers of inflammation, cell-mediated and humoral immune responses.“Africa needs African researchers that will prioritize addressing the ills we face as a society and will prioritize socially-accountable medical research with a direct impact on the betterment of our people” she concludes.