Checkpoint - Dimakatso Gumede
Dr Dimakatso Gumede: Post-doctoral fellow CSIR (Council for Scientific and Industrial Research); PhD - University of Cape Town.
Her Research: The different types of cells in your body - skin cells, intestinal cells, nerve cells, muscle cells, liver cells, etc. - grow, divide and remain the same same type of cell. Muscle cells divide and are still muscle cells, skin cells divide and are still skin cells. You wouldn’t suddenly want intestinal cells growing in your skin would you?
Early in the development of a fetus, a cell has the potential to become any sort of cell - it makes sense, we all come from one single fertilized egg after all. But as the fetus grows and develops, cells become programed to be only one type. This switch leads to a happy and healthy baby with all the right bits in all the right places.
As a scientist, the ability to reprogram a cell and make it another type would be amazing, a real superpower! You could take a skin cell, reprogram it, and under the right conditions, make an entirely new organism. Sounds impossible, right, but this isn’t fiction it’s already happened, way back in 1996, when Dolly the sheep was born. Scientists took an epithelial cell, reprogrammed it, put it in a surrogate mother sheep and months later, out came Dolly, the first artificially cloned animal. From their, the field of stem cells (these cells that can become anything) has grown phenomenally and is used all sorts of research.
Dimakatso is one of a small number of scientists in Africa who has mastered stem cell technologies in her research. She reprograms skin cells, and turns them into liver cells. She studies chronic inflammation (where the cells are constantly stressed) and how to prevent it. By doing this in the lab, with reprogrammed cells, she could in theory test out a number of different medicines on the cells to see how well they work before a medicine is prescribed to a patient. The opportunities that stem cell technology presents is really mind blowing, and could lead to individualised medicines. For Dimakatso, understanding how chronic inflammation occurs through this research will help her and other scientists make therapeutic drugs that can regulate inflamation and prevent organ failure and death.
Read more or watch her on her TV
Her Hero: The world famous physicist, Stephen Hawking, who studied black holes and the origins of the Universe.
What’s Her Science Spark: Learning about the amazing function of the heart in secondary school sparked her interest in science.
What Do You Need Beside Curiosity, Hard Work, Creativity and Communication to Succeed? Patience and perseverance!
Her Scientific Strengths: Communication, problem-solving and collaborations.
Her Top Tip: See yourself as a problem solver and always be curious!
In isiZulu
UDkt Dimakatso Gumede: Uzakwethu we-CSIR (uMkhandlu Wocwaningo Lwesayensi Nezimboni); PhD - University of Cape Town.
Ucwaningo Lwakhe: Izinhlobo ezahlukene zamangqamuzana emzimbeni wakho - amangqamuzana esikhumba, amangqamuzana amathumbu, amangqamuzana ezinzwa, amangqamuzana emisipha, amangqamuzana esibindi, njll. - akhule, ahlukanise futhi ahlale uhlobo olufanayo lweseli. Amaseli emisipha ayahlukana futhi asengamaseli emisipha, amaseli esikhumba ayahlukana futhi asengamaseli esikhumba. Ubungeke ngokuzumayo ufune amaseli amathumbu akhule esikhumbeni sakho akunjalo?
Ekuqaleni kokukhula kombungu, iseli linamandla okuba yinoma yiluphi uhlobo lweseli - kunengqondo, sonke siphuma eqandeni elilodwa elivundisiwe phela. Kodwa njengoba umbungu ukhula futhi ukhula, amangqamuzana ahlelwa abe uhlobo olulodwa kuphela. Lokhu kushintsha kuholela enganeni ejabule nenempilo enazo zonke izingcezu ezifanele kuzo zonke izindawo ezifanele.
Njengososayensi, ikhono lokuhlela kabusha ingqamuzana lilenze olunye uhlobo lingaba elimangalisayo, amandla amakhulu angempela! Ungathatha ingqamuzana lesikhumba, ulihlele kabusha, futhi ngaphansi kwezimo ezifanele, wenze into entsha ngokuphelele. Kuzwakala kungenakwenzeka, kunjalo, kodwa lokhu akusiyo inganekwane ukuthi sekwenzekile, kudala ngo-1996, lapho uDolly ezalwa imvu. Ososayensi bathatha ingqamuzana le-epithelial, balihlela kabusha, balifaka emvuneni engumama futhi ezinyangeni kamuva, kwaphuma uDolly, isilwane sokuqala esakhiwe ngokwenziwa. Kusukela kubo, insimu yama-stem cell (lawa maseli angaba yinoma yini) akhule ngendlela emangalisayo futhi asetshenziswa zonke izinhlobo zocwaningo.
U-Dimakatso ungomunye wenani elincane lososayensi e-Afrika ofunde ubuchwepheshe be-stem cell ocwaningweni lwakhe. Uhlela kabusha amaseli esikhumba, futhi awaguqule abe amaseli esibindi. Ufunda ukuvuvukala okungapheli (lapho amangqamuzana ehlala ecindezelekile) nokuthi angakuvimbela kanjani. Ngokwenza lokhu elebhu, enamaseli ahlelwe kabusha, ngombono wayengahlola inani lemithi eyahlukene kumaseli ukuze abone ukuthi isebenza kahle kangakanani ngaphambi kokuba umuthi unikezwe isiguli. Amathuba alethwa ubuchwepheshe be-stem cell avusa ingqondo ngempela, futhi angaholela emithini yomuntu ngamunye. Ku-Dimakatso, ukuqonda ukuthi ukuvuvukala okungapheli kwenzeka kanjani ngalolu cwaningo kuzomsiza yena nabanye ososayensi benze imithi yokwelapha engalawula ukuvuvukala futhi ivimbele ukwehluleka kwezitho zomzimba nokufa.
Funda kabanzi noma umbuke kumabonakude wakhe
Iqhawe Lakhe: Isazi sefiziksi esidumile emhlabeni, uStephen Hawking, owafunda izimbobo ezimnyama kanye nemvelaphi ye-Universe.
What's Her Science Spark: Ukufunda ngomsebenzi omangalisayo wenhliziyo esikoleni samabanga aphakeme kwavusa isithakazelo sakhe kwisayensi.
Yini Oyidingayo Ngaphandle Kwelukuluku, Ukusebenza Ngokuzikhandla, Ubuhlakani Nokuxhumana Ukuze Uphumelele? Ukubekezela nokubekezela!
Amandla Akhe Esayensi: Ukuxhumana, ukuxazulula izinkinga nokusebenzisana.
Ithiphu Lakhe Eliphezulu: Zibone njengomxazululi wezinkinga futhi uhlale unelukuluku lokwazi!