Environmental Biotechnology Research Hub
Dr. Grace N. Ijoma, holds a PhD in Environmental Science from the University of South Africa. She is a single mother of five children. She has lectured Biotechnology at the Pearson Institute of Higher Education for over 8 years and is currently a postdoctoral fellow. Her PhD research focused on fungal antagonistic inter-specific interactions. Her research has been submitted for patent. She is working on developing commercial products from her research. Her research interests are eclectic and she has projects in a variety of areas including, Bio-prospecting of niche environments, Food Microbiology, Environmental and Industrial Microbiology and Biotechnology (particularly Fermentation technology and process optimization), Microbial enzymes and bio-degradation of xenobiotic compounds including polyaromatic hydrocarbons, pesticides and synthetic dyes, Ground water quality research and Microbial treatment of industrial waste water, Solid waste management. She is currently supervising Honors, Masters and PhD research projects designed towards industrially relevant applications with several publications.
There exists a knowledge and skills transfer gap, predominantly deficient among young black South African students at postgraduate level impacting high drop-out rates from programs of science and technology, directly linked to skills shortage in all fields of science. My observation from years of teaching undergraduates infers a consequence of inadequate training in science skills and methods from high schools. Incorporating this aspect into the curriculum, significantly improved critical thinking and grades.
This deficiency, has greatly affected progress in Science and Environmental Biotechnology, which is the aspect in application that can be used to find sustainable solutions to pollution abatement and remediation.
It is proposed that an environmental biotechnology center for excellence that integrates preliminary re-orientation of critical thinking and scientific methods will have best outcomes. This will promote innovations and creativity, an important vehicle for entrepreneurship and a strategy towards creating sustainable industries thereby growing the South African economy.
At least 90% of electricity in South Africa is generated from coal combustion, moreover mining is big business. These endeavors significantly pollute air and water and gravely affect the climate. Importantly, solution-driven research is hampered by a scarcity of available graduates in sciences, including, environmental biotechnology, considering that it's an important field for nearly all industrial processes that inevitably generate wastes.
One of the lasting legacies of Apartheid is in the deficiency of science and technology training within the majority, black communities in South Africa. Often, the undergraduates I have encountered in my classrooms are the first ones to attend tertiary education in their families, as a result they have no support matrix. As tertiary educators, we experience an uphill task of progressively teaching advanced application of science. Generally, presuming that good entry grades imply that students have the pre-requisite skills and knowledge. However, most of these students attended high school education that did not incorporate scientific methods or skills in their curriculum. Moreover, most students from poor backgrounds have to work and study science, through open distance learning further affecting their ability to execute independent research later on.This problem is far-reaching and exacerbates the drop-out rates of postgraduate students.
My project wishes to convert the current Biotechnology Unit in the Institute for the Development of Energy for African Sustainability (IDEAS) starting with its currently enrolled students into an Environmental Biotechnology Center of Excellence (CoE). This flagship program will be sustained as a center that will focus with a mindfulness on the disadvantage gap in the education of under-privileged majority South Africans in critical thinking and scientific methods and launch their post-graduate education from this platform rather than the traditionally accepted approach that assumes their capability for independent research. It is believed that this add-on will be rewarded with the following in the CoE:
- Retention and training of Postgraduate students through applicable and industry-relevant research projects (Honors, Masters and PhD)
- Encourage the active participation of staff members and emerging young researchers within the ranks of University of South Africa to not only provide training where they have expertise but also receive skills training on novel techniques and instrumentation in the ever evolving field of Biotechnology and the ‘Omic technologies
- Involve multidisciplinary research in the effort of solving environmental and industrial problems using biotechnology.
- Develop alternative industrial processes using biocatalysis where possible, with a premeditation towards solving environmental issues of pollution
The target community that will be impacted by this project are the pool of the majority black African postgraduate students applicants, studying biotechnology at the University of South Africa.
Interviews and interactions over the years with students, identified inclusions important to the re-orientation agenda that will better develop and equip students for independent research.
The current group of postgraduates have assisted through active participation and questionnaires in identifying areas of weakness that has hampered their growth in independent research. This has allowed us develop a "Master-Class" to address this. It ran several times in 2018 and 2019. We, developed cluster support groups consisting of peer interactions that provides support. This vibrant ecosystem consisting of post-doctoral researchers and students with similar interests and backgrounds have allowed an openness, important for creative thinking and innovations.
Importantly, emotional and intellectual maturity as well as the dedication and zeal to pursue knowledge that characterizes postgraduate education imply that assimilation and outputs are faster once the students are developed in critical thinking as compared to undergraduates. The implication is that the goal of producing researchers in the critical area of environmental biotechnology to address the challenges of the environment and climate will be achieved faster.
- Elevating opportunities for all people, especially those who are traditionally left behind
This project addresses two salient issues: (1) Understanding that we cannot reach credible solutions for climate change or solve issues of pollution, through mitigation or remediation; (2) if we do not have the necessarily skilled individuals in the society to execute various related environmental projects. As such targeting the training of young black scientists in South Africa who often avoid these aspects of research that they considered "difficult," will go a long way in promoting the environmental friendliness approach in most industrial pursuits. Moreover, the pool of students accepted in the University considers other African students, extending the broader reach.
Teaching undergraduates in various related fields of Biotechnology for several years exposed me to listening to my South African students. I observed the disappointments that often plagued conversations just before some of my students dropped out. It prompted me to push for departmental changes in the science skills module to incorporate critical thinking and scientific method. We experienced remarkable results in grades and interests in science.
As a post-doctoral fellow tasked with supervising post-graduates, I observed the same issues were being expressed by this more mature audience and in discussion with my promoters Professors Hildebrandt and Matambo, we realized this endemic problem, could be traced to foundational training. I leveraged the lessons learnt from dealing with undergraduates, we decided to try the same approach and focus for four months on re-training rather than the research. At the end of it, we were pleasantly surprised at the results. Students crafted better research proposals, came up with innovative ways to improve their research, were applying their observations to help and critique other researchers and students. It also made it easier to direct their focus to my target research area which was reviewing various industrial downstream processes to mitigate wastes generated.
As an African immigrant, I have benefited significantly from the academic hospitality of my host country South Africa through the bursaries made available for the study of the scarce skills area of Environmental Biotechnology. Considering my financial situation and family-life, I would not have achieved post-graduate education and I believe I can only give back in the best way I know how - Research and Education. I also observed that even though bursaries in South Africa for postgraduate education in Science and Technology are available to all disadvantaged persons, majority of the beneficiaries are African migrants. I observed that the variable, giving advantage to us is our foundational training. My late mother once said to me - "Blindness that is the consequence of darkness in a room is soon solved with switching on incandescent light". I believe that most people if provided with the right tools will reach their full potential.
In addition, environmental degradation due to wanton human exploits has always been a source of concern to me. It is my fervent hope that our generation provides lasting solutions for the next. I know it is only possible when there are more people who participate through research.
The following skills, background and experiences uniquely positions me to deliver on the establishment of a research center of excellence in environmental biotechnology:
Academic Qualification
Ph.D., Environmental Science (Interdisciplinary) March 2013 – June 2017, Department of Environmental Sciences, UNISA Florida Campus, South Africa
M.Tech., Biotechnology, Jan 2008 to Sept. 2010, Department of Biosciences, Vaal University of Technology, Vanderbijlpark, South Africa
B.Tech., Biotechnology, Jan 2007 to Sept. 2007, Department of Biosciences, Vaal University of Technology, Vanderbijlpark, South Africa
HND, Microbiology (Distinction), Jan 1998 to Sept 2000, Department of Microbiology, Yaba College of Technology, Nigeria
Professional Experience
- Post-Doctoral Fellow (June 2018 – till date), Institute for the Development of Energy for African Sustainability, UNISA Florida Campus, South Africa.
- Responsible for planning and execution of research projects
- Co-supervision of postgraduate students
- Writing academic journal for publication
- Senior Lecturer (June 2011 – 2019), Department of Applied Science, Pearson Institute of Higher Education, Midrand, South Africa.
- Responsible for teaching (undergraduate) and research education in Industrial and Environmental Biotechnology, Microbiology, Food and Water Microbiology, Agricultural Biotechnology, Food Technology, Biology and Biotechnology Ethics
- Curriculum design and assessment preparation, marking and moderation
- Manuscript Reviewer for the African Journal of Microbiology Research (May 2017- Till date)
- Member of the Editorial Board of the International Journal of Textile Science and Engineering (June 2017 – Till date)
- Member of the Review Committee for the African Academy of Science
- Responsible for the Journal article review
- Responsible for reviewing grant application s for post-doctoral fellowships
Upon completion of my doctoral studies, it became evident to my supervisor that my work needed to be submitted for a patent. She motivated to the Senate that I should continue with a post-doctoral fellowship. It was the first time the University will consider a student within the institution, the policy was to accept students from other local and international universities. Their acceptance came with the condition that I had to work in another college. This was disappointing to me as I had hoped to continue my work with my supervisor, Professor Tekere. The choice to assign me to IDEAS was premised on aspects of my work progressing to developing alternative energy; it did not consider the challenge of required prior research involving molecular biology (omics technologies). The institute was at its core engineering with a different research mindset. I had to motivate and convince my promoters to procure equipment needed for my research, identify and develop multiple streams of research relevant to my subject area that will drive my primary research. In the space of 14 months, I have achieved all of this and now have 7 PhDs and 3 Masters all doing research relevant to my primary research.
In 2014, I started a network for academic assistance for my female students. Every year, I identified four to six undergraduate female students, I called them my "global children". They helped me track each other's progress as "academic sisters" for the duration of their undergraduate studies. My joy is in the realization that these ladies have kept the relationship even after graduating. At present I have 'children' from South Africa, Botswana, Namibia, Ghana, Cameroun, Canada, Nigeria, Kenya, Congo DRC, Mozambique and France. These were girls that graduated Bio-Medicine and Biotechnology (BSc) from Pearson Institute. We had a tradition where I gave them the text-book I used during my studies (BTech) for Microbial Biochemistry. The class-year group leader returned it to me at the end of their time and I passed it on. Among these girls, I have Naomi Okugbeni studying her Masters Degree at Stellenbosch University in Molecular Genetics, Patience Matlala graduate Medicine University of Pretoria (my first girl), Tolu Abe, graduate Medicine, United States, Teresa Lopez studying Masters Biotechnology (Portugal). It was through Teresa, I realized that they still have a network and kept in touch. I still get the periodic phone calls at 2 am to discuss research.
- Other, including part of a larger organization (please explain below)
The Biotechnology Unit is headed by Professor Tonderayi Matambo, it is proposed to become the Environmental Biotechnology Center of Excellence. The unit is at present within the Institute for the Development of Energy for African Sustainability (IDEAS) which has the director as Professor Diane Hildebrandt. This institute is within the College of Science, Engineering and Technology at the University of South Africa. However, the CoE will be moved to the College of Environmental and Agricultural Science at the University of South Africa to better align with the research goals. This initiative is being promoted by Professor Tekere, my previous supervisor.

Post Doctoral Fellow