2026 South African Women in Science Awards Finalists: Prof. Xante Hunt

Prof. Xante Hunt, a finalist in the Distinguished Young Woman Researchers: Humanities and Social Sciences. She is an Associate Professor in the Department of Global Health at Stellenbosch University and a Specialist Scientist at the South African Medical Research Council. She is also the Mental Health Lead at the Africa Health Research Institute (AHRI).

Prof. Hunt's research focuses on addressing the high burden of mental disorders among adolescents and young people in under-resourced settings – with emphasis on understanding how social, structural and environmental determinants shape mental health across the course of life – and on generating actionable, contextually grounded evidence to strengthen health and education systems. She has advanced an integrated, interdisciplinary agenda that combines large-scale longitudinal epidemiology, participatory research and intervention science alongside strong policy translation. She formally established the Adolescent Mental Health Research Programme at AHRI in 2024, building one of the first large-scale, prospective multidisciplinary research platforms on adolescent mental health in Africa, including longitudinal cohort studies, data integration initiatives, and co-produced research strategies that embed science in real-world systems. Her research findings have contributed to global and national policy and practice, including South Africa's basic education sector strategy for psychosocial support, and major international evidence syntheses shaping adolescent mental health and disability-inclusive programming across low and middle-income countries, with direct implications for large-scale prevention and early intervention.

With an NRF C1 rating, Prof. Hunt is the author of 100 peer-reviewed journal articles and over 11 book chapters, including articles in leading international journals such as Nature Mental Health and The Lancet HIV. She is a frequent keynote speaker for international audiences and has received several scientific awards – most notably the Stellenbosch University Chancellor's Medal, which is conferred on the top graduating student across all faculties in a given year in recognition of exceptional academic performance, intellectual leadership, integrity and contribution to the university community. She has successfully mentored over 10 early-career researchers, supervised two PhD and two honours students, and currently supervises two PhD students.

Prof. Hunt serves as a technical advisor to the National Department of Basic Education on mental health and psychosocial support, and as a funding reviewer for the Wellcome Trust and the NRF.