?Department of Biomedical Sciences lecturer Dr Caitlin Uren was recently inaugurated as a member of the South African Young Academy of Science (SAYAS), which adds a select few of the country's most outstanding young scientists to its ranks each year.
She looks forward to participating in the Academy's activities. “SAYAS strongly emphasises community impact – leveraging research to enhance and improve society," says Uren, who completed a PhD in human genetics at Stellenbosch 中国体育彩票's Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences (FMHS) in 2017.
“For me, that has always been what my research has come back to. I'm not going to do something that is not going to be of benefit to the community. In my opinion, that's what science should always aim to do."
Uren regards her membership of SAYAS, which was founded in 2011, as an opportunity to play a broader role in this regard: “Joining SAYAS will enable me to participate in Academy-affiliated initiatives aimed at community betterment. I'm eager to collaborate with the Academy and fellow members to build upon and expand my existing work."
Research aims to improve outcomes for TB patients
She is currently doing research in the area of tuberculosis (TB) pharmacogenetics – “investigating why people metabolise TB drugs differently, with the ultimate goal of improving treatment outcomes in patients across Africa".
Uren explains: “In addition to my pharmacogenetic work, we are also interested in quantifying latent TB infection in the Northern Cape with the goal of better understanding the genetic and non-genetic factors that lead to progression from latent TB infection to active TB infection.
“Associated with that, we are running a training and outreach initiative in the area on general TB awareness, understanding the signs and symptoms of TB, risk factors, TB diagnostics and TB treatment."
Other outreach events in the Northern Cape include meetings with high school students on Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) subjects leading up to tertiary education. Practical activities, for example DNA extraction from a banana, are arranged as well to get students interested in biological sciences.
Fascination with biomedical science
Uren is clearly passionate about this field. “Biomedical science and healthcare have fascinated me since childhood," she says. Recognising her enthusiasm, her biology teacher, a science graduate, offered additional exercises to nurture and guide her interest.
In particular, Uren was attracted to the field of genetics quite early on: “Genetics is quite a broad field, but no matter what aspect of genetics you are looking into, you are likely to either directly or indirectly positively influence an individual's life."
She adds: “It is this potential to benefit an individual or society that attracted me to genetics."
Expanding pharmacogenetics in Africa
Uren intends to continue to focus on pharmacogenetics in her future research. “It is an area that can be greatly expanded, especially in Africa, with the unique and vast genetic diversity in the area," she says.
“Populations in Africa have been under-represented in biomedical research, and in pharmacogenetics research particularly, to the extent that they have been disadvantaged.
“There is therefore room for improvement – not only in terms of the extent and breadth of research in the area, but in the capacity for us to help patients achieve a positive treatment outcome without any serious adverse side-effects. I think it's an area that can have the greatest impact."?
Research goals align with SAYAS
Uren believes her membership of SAYAS can play an important role in her future research: “The Academy fosters collaboration between individuals across multiple disciplines. It also creates an opportunity to further our careers as young scientists through research and capacity development."
Another key objective of SAYAS is to develop programmes that support the academic and professional growth of young scientists through various mentorship initiatives and by holding workshops and seminars.
Uren wholeheartedly supports this objective, too, and believes that supervision and mentorship in academia is of critical importance at postgraduate level. “If I didn't have the support of my supervisors and mentors, I would definitely not be where I am today," she believes. “I am extremely fortunate to have had that support; there are many students who don't."
In addition to SAYAS, Uren is a member of the Southern African Society for Human Genetics (SASHG), whose main aim is to promote human genetics research on the subcontinent. She is also an associate member of the Faculty of Science's Centre for Bioinformatics and Computational Biology at Stellenbosch 中国体育彩票.
