Having grown up in Meadowlands, Soweto, with an innate interest in science, Dr Keolebogile Shirley Motaung, a doting mother, researcher and teacher, is living her dream and loving it. She is the only black female in South Africa to hold a Doctorate specialising in tissue engineering of articular cartilage. “My job energises me, so I’m able to give 100% in what I do,” she says. She is a registered Medical Technologist (Chemical Pathology) with the Health Professionals Council of South Africa (HPCSA) and currently employed as a Medical Research Scientist and Section Head at the Department of Biomedical Sciences at Tshwane University of Technology (TUT).
Dr Motaung started her career at TUT in March 1998 as a lecturer. In 1999, she was granted a Technikon Pretoria Research Fund Bursary and in 2001 she received DAAD (German Scholarship) to complete a Master’s degree. She then enrolled for a Master’s degree in Biomedical Technology at the former TechnikonPretoria, which she completed in 2003. In the same year she won a Catalyst Innovation Competition for the most commercially viable innovation developed at a South African University or Technikon. In 2003, she received the Vice-Chancellor’s award in recognition for exceptional excellence and achievement at Technikon Pretoria.
In 2006, Dr Motaung became the first female at TUT to receive a Fulbright Scholarship to pursue her D Tech at University of California, Davis, USA. She obtained her D Tech in 2010, at TUT, in collaboration with University of California, Davis, where she worked under the supervision of Prof Hari Reddi, a world-renowned scientist in Morphogenetic Proteins and Regenerative Medicine. Self-assured and systematic,Dr Motaung has been invited as a speaker and visiting researcher at several international conferences and universities including Spain (University of Malaga), China, USA, India and most recently at the California State University, where she gave a Vice-Chancellor special lecture series on Regenerative Medicine, hosted by The College of Natural Sciences and Mathematics in collaboration with Pan African Studies, Women’s Studies and Cooper-Woodson College Enhancement Program. She serves as a reviewer for Journal of Tissue Engineering and Regenerative Medicine, Medical Technology Journal SA and Journal of Ethno pharmacology.
From 2004 to 2010, she served as a Board Member of Health Professionals Council of South Africa (HPCSA) and Professional Board for Medical Technology. She has also served as chairperson of the Society of Medical Laboratory Technologist of South Africa (SMLTSA), Pretoria Branch from 2002 to 2010. Since 2010 she is an external moderator of Chemical Pathology IV (Board Examination) for Society of Medical Laboratory Technologist of South Africa (SMLTSA). Her advice to prospective scientists: “Find a field that will inspire you into making a difference to the lives of those around you. Give your best at all times and don’t be distracted by peers who may have started work before you, our circumstances and challenges are never the same. The best time to study is when you’re still young” she concluded.