Former IAHET BoG member and Bursary recipient wins Unesco Fellowship
Shalena Naidoo receives her award certificate from Prof. Nelson Torto, Executive Director of the African Academy of Sciences.
Shalena Naidoo, a Ph.D. Candidate based at Stellenbosch University’s Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences, has been awarded a prestigious L’Oreal-UNESCO For Women in Science (FWIS) Sub-Saharan Regional Fellowship.
The award, which was presented in the Kenyan capital, Nairobi in December 2018, aims to improve the position of women in science through recognition of their promising research. The criteria for selection are based on evidence of productivity, innovation, scientific quality, relative impact and application of the research.
Ms. Naidoo, a former member of the IAHET Board of Governors, said she is honoured and excited to have received such a prestigious award. “Pursuing doctoral studies and striving to make a valuable contribution in my research field comes with many challenges.
An award such as the L’Oreal-UNESCO FWIS provides recognition that really validates the significance and impact of my work and role I serve as an aspiring woman in science.
“Less than 30% of the world’s researchers are women, highlighting a significant gender gap within the field. I am indeed privileged to be part of the transforming era where women are breaking barriers and being recognized for cutting edge research, their ability to shift paradigms and generate valuable knowledge.
“Receiving this award really does give me the much-needed confidence boost to persevere and navigate through the meandering and challenging roads of doctoral studies. It is humbling and grounding,” she said.
A former recipient of one of the Trust’s bursaries, Ms. Naidoo paid tribute to the organisation for its role in her formative years of study. “The IAHET has played a pivotal role in providing much-needed funds through their bursary programme that has allowed me to continue and progress with early studies.
“The commitment of this organization and its constituents towards “empowering through education” is much reflected in my motivation and aspiration to achieve academic success and contribute to uplifting my community and ultimately, South Africa as a whole. My hope is to return the assistance given to me by the Trust, by dedicating my future time towards the efforts of the Trust in Early Childhood Development initiatives. An additional intention for the near future is to engage female learners in schools of the Western Cape age by offering mentorship and leadership development.”
Ms. Naidoo completed her Bachelor of Science degree in Molecular Biology and Biotechnology at Stellenbosch University, going on to complete postgraduate degrees in the field of immunology with the focus on HIV infection in children at the Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences. Her post-graduate degrees prior to doctoral studies focused primarily on vaccine responses in HIV exposed uninfected infants.
She is currently within her final year of her Ph.D. titled: Longitudinal Perspective on the Impact of Immune Status on the HIV-1 Latent Reservoir and Neurocognitive Outcomes in Virologically Suppressed Children.
Under the guidance and supervision of Dr. Richard Glashoff, the focus of her research is to fully characterise and assess the immunological landscape of HIV-infected children who have received early and long-term suppressive antiretroviral therapy (ART). In addition, the research aims to understand the interplay between the immune system and the latent virus in HIV persistence.
Shalena Naidoo, is a final year Ph.D. candidate researching vaccine responses in HIV-exposed uninfected infants.
Last year Ms. Naidoo received the Dominque Dormont Award presented by Françoise Barré-Sinoussi (Nobel Prize Winner and Discover of the HI virus) at the AIDS 2018 Conference held in Amsterdam.
The prize honours researchers who demonstrate originality, rationale, quality, together with a multidisciplinary and integrative approach in the field of HIV and AIDS research.
She also received the AIDS 2018 Conference Scholarship Award and a Polio Research Foundation (PRF) Bursary Award. Ms. Naidoo previously received the Conference on Retroviruses and Opportunistic Infections (CROI) Young Investigators Scholarship Award, won the South African Immunology Society (SAIS) Conference Scholarship Award and the SAIS Immunology Primer Training Scholarship Award, among others. She has also published eight publications, mostly on HIV/AIDS.