Meet the Finalists in the Public Engagement with Research category at the South African Women in Science Awards 2025

As South Africa celebrates Women’s Month, the Department of Science, Technology and Innovation (DSTI) proudly unveils the finalists of the South African Women in Science Awards (SAWISA) 2025. These exceptional women exemplify excellence, leadership, and transformative impact in research and innovation
Prof. Zilungile Mkhize-Kwitshana is a Distinguished Professor of Immunology at Unisa, an Honorary Associate Professor at UKZN, and a Senior Research Associate at UJ. Prof. Mkhize-Kwitshana's research focuses on the immunology of co-infections, specifically how immune modulation and suppression by neglected tropical diseases (NTDs) affect responses to HIV, TB, HPV, coronavirus and cancer. Recognising the centrality of nutrition to competent immunity and infection resistance, her work also explores the intersection between immunity, nutrition and infection.
In 2010, while research efforts and resources were focused on major diseases such as HIV and TB, Prof. Mkhize-Kwitshana assembled a team of academics and officials from the Department of Health's (DoH) Communicable Diseases Directorate to establish the National NTD Task Team. This aimed to raise the profile of NTDs and drive research and intervention in South Africa. Among its achievements was contributing to the launch of the country's first National School Deworming Programme by the Minister of Basic Education in 2016, where Prof. Mkhize-Kwitshana was recognised as a key stakeholder.
She also raised funds to undertake the first-ever national NTD mapping survey. The data informed both the Deworming Programme and allowed the DoH to report national data to the WHO, which is a major milestone, as South Africa had previously lacked such data. The task team led to the formation of a forum dedicated to the elimination of NTDs, to which Prof. Mkhize-Kwitshana was nominated by the Director-General of Health. She currently serves as a committee member of the National Strategic Plan for NTD Control and the national schistosomiasis mass drug administration committee.
She works closely with the DoH and the WHO to align South Africa's frameworks for schistosomiasis and soil-transmitted helminths with the WHO Roadmap to NTD Elimination 2030. Her research has helped recentre NTDs in national and global health agendas, making her a prominent and impactful voice in science.
Despite entering academia later in life, Prof. Mkhize-Kwitshana holds a C3 NRF rating. She has authored nearly 75 peer-reviewed publications, including in high-impact journals like The Lancet HIV, Cancers, and One Health. She is a frequent keynote speaker internationally and has received numerous awards, including the SAMRC Research Capacity Development and Transformation Award and the Award for Excellence in the field of Medical Laboratory Sciences in 2025, and an international fellowship from the UK Centre for International Understanding Trust. She was also awarded the Mangosuthu University of Technology (MUT) Honorary Fellowship in recognition of her outstanding contribution to the field of medical microbiology.
Prof. Mkhize-Kwitshana has mentored seven postdoctoral fellows, supervised five PhDs, eight master's, six honours, BTech students, and currently supervises nine PhD and two master's students.
She is a member of the South African Immunological Society, and a committee member of the American Society of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene. She also serves on the editorial board of the International Journal of Maternal Child Health and HIV/AIDS and is Guest Editor for Microorganisms and Frontiers in Oncology.
Her governance roles include two appointments by the Minister of Health – as a Member of the National Health Research Ethics Council and the National Health Research Committee. She previously served two terms on the SAMRC Board, where she contributed to presentations before the Parliamentary Portfolio Committee on Health. Additionally, she is a former Board member of Charles Johnson Memorial Hospital.
Stay tuned as we continue to profile the 2025 finalists during Women’s Month.