SCIENTIST, lecturer and mom. Nokukhanya Thembane wears many hats and now she can add award-winner to the list.
Thembane won the prestigious Dr Esther Mahlangu Doctoral Fellowship in Indigenous Knowledge Systems.
The prize forms part of the Department of Science and Innovation’s South African Women in Science Awards and she couldn’t be happier with the accolade.
“I was happy that I was selected as a finalist in the whole of South Africa. For me, that was enough. And then I get there on the night and they are telling me that I'm amongst the winners,” said Thembane.
As a biomedical technologist doing research in the field of Indigenous Knowledge Systems, she studies the efficacy of herbs and plants that traditional healers and herbalists have been using for centuries. In effect, through rigorous testing in the laboratory and then in real life, her work gives scientific validation to plants that were always known to work traditionally.
“In South Africa, the first thing we do when we are sick is look at our indigenous knowledge. You will have your garlic and ginger for your flu as a start, even if you are going to the doctor. Even if you are taking medication, you will always use a medicinal plant to complement the action of that Western medicine, said Thembane.
She said growing up she was always exposed to traditional medicine which sparked her curiosity.
“I'm a village girl. I grew up in a village in Kranskop in the north of KZN.
My grandmother, if you had the flu she'd find a traditional plant to chop and give you. And then when I started doing medical laboratory science, I learned about pathology, the study of disease. I used a medicinal plant that was used to regenerate bone to see if it would speed up the healing process when you have a broken bone.”
At one stage Thembane considered going to medical school to become a doctor, but one of her lecturers encouraged her to stay in research because of her insatiable quest for knowledge.
It paid off, and today she is a senior lecturer in the Department of Biomedical Technology at Mangosuthu University of Technology.
“The routine pathology work was not it for me. I was curious about how things worked. And in a way, the conversation with that lecturer really channelled my academic journey.
“He then connected me to my master’s supervisor, who I worked with to regenerate bone fractures with plants. That woman was so dynamic that from her own research, she formulated products that you can use to regenerate cartilage. So that's how I got interested.”
Thembane says many people might question the value of indigenous knowledge systems and traditional medicines but they probably use it every day without realising it.
“The truth is most of your drugs are derived from plants. For instance, the drug that is used for heart attacks, Digoxin, is a plant-derived medication. You get aloe vera-infused cosmetics. Your tea tree oil face washes, your rosewater essential oil-infused toners. The quinine that is used for malaria is derived from a plant. So, in a way, you are already a consumer of indigenous knowledge systems. It's just that maybe your doctor or your pharmacist has not told you.”
Thembane is currently doing her PhD but already has several qualifications to her name; National Diploma: Biomedical Technology, BTech:Biomedical Technology, MTech: Biomedical Technology and an MBA.
However, her work is far from over. “I want to inspire young women, especially in rural areas, in townships. I want to go back to my village and I want to go back to my high school in Newlands West. To inspire the young people to always choose science. I'm not sure if this is spoken about a lot but we don't have sufficient women scientists in higher positions,” she said.