VOW Moments

Borders Between Us is a compelling radio documentary that explores the complex realities of migration in South Africa. Through powerful personal testimonies, expert insights, and the voices of both South Africans and foreign nationals, the documentary examines the human stories behind one of the country's most debated issues. This documentary was produced by VOW News reporter Faith Modise

Dr Phiyani Lebea, a South African biotechnology researcher, entrepreneur, and animal health specialist whose work focuses on developing innovative solutions to some of Africa's most pressing livestock disease challenges. He is the Chief Scientific Officer of TokaBio, a biotechnology company dedicated to advancing diagnostics, vaccine development, and disease surveillance technologies for animal he...

Dr Kristie Bloom is a scientist at the Wits/SAMRC Antiviral Gene Therapy Research Unit at the University of the Witwatersrand. Her research focuses on nextgeneration vaccine technologies, particularly mRNA-based vaccines for tuberculosis. She works on understanding how specialised immune responses, especially tissue-resident memory T-cells in the lungs, can improve protection against TB infection....

Professor Laura Pereira is a South African sustainability scientist whose work focuses on climate change, biodiversity, food systems, resilience, and the future of sustainable development. She is a professor at the Global Change Institute at the University of the Witwatersrand and a researcher at the Stockholm Resilience Centre at Stockholm University. Professor Pereira’s research explores how soc...

Light Mkhumbuza is a PhD student at the University of Graz whose research focuses on combining integrated photonics with microfluidics, essentially bringing optical circuits and fluid channels to better understand how light interacts with liquids and particles at very small scales. Before this, Light completed his MSc research at the University of the Witwatersrand School of Physics, where he work...

Hlengiwe Mtshali is a Red List Scientist at the South African National Biodiversity Institute, where she works within the Threatened Species Programme. Her work focuses on assessing the risk of extinction for South Africa’s plant species using internationally recognised IUCN Red List standards, helping guide national conservation priorities and biodiversity policy. Hlengiwe has built an extensive...

Dr Michael Gastrow is a Director in the Impact Centre at the Human Sciences Research Council (HSRC). He holds a PhD in Media Studies from Stellenbosch University and specialises in science, technology, and society, with a focus on science communication, public understanding of science, and innovation policy. He has led major research projects on the Fourth Industrial Revolution, biotechnology, and...

Professor Dominic Stratford is a geoarchaeologist whose research focuses on stratigraphy and site formation processes at archaeological and palaeoanthropological sites in southern Africa. He specialises in cave and rock shelter sediments but has worked across a wide range of fossil- and artefact-bearing landscapes, from arid open environments to buried river gravels. His work is deeply interdiscip...

VOW is a campus-based community radio station operated broadcasting from the University of the Witwatersrand in Johannesburg. The station has a variety of music and talk show that reflect the life of the youth, students, politics and tackles social issues.

VOW is a campus-based community radio station operated broadcasting from the University of the Witwatersrand in Johannesburg. The station has a variety of music and talk show that reflect the life of the youth, students, politics and tackles social issues.

Professor David Limebeer’s research is in the field of engineering dynamics and control theory. He obtained his BSc in Electrical Engineering from the University of the Witwatersrand and completed both his MSc and PhD degrees at the University of Natal. He subsequently received a DSc from the University of London and an MA degree from the University of Oxford. He held a postdoctoral position at th...

Associate Professor Rodney Genga is the Wits-SAHLI design team lead and Director of the Engineering and Built Environment Academic Development Unit. He is also a Principal Researcher in the School of Mechanical, Industrial, and Aeronautical Engineering at the University of the Witwatersrand. He is trained in Mechanical Engineering, Metallurgy, and Materials Science. His work focuses on materials,...

Caesar Balona is a qualified actuary and Fellow of the Actuarial Society of South Africa (FASSA), working at the forefront of modernising risk management through the strategic application of data science, AI and engineering. He currently works at Old Mutual Insure, where he is building an industry-leading climate and catastrophe modelling platform and serves as Head of the Actuarial Function for o...

Prof Sue Williams completed her undergraduate medical training at the University of the Witwatersrand before continuing her specialist training in ophthalmology at Wits and receiving her Fellowship in Ophthalmology from the Colleges of Medicine and Surgery of South Africa. She has a Master of Medicine in ophthalmology and completed her doctoral studies in ophthalmology and genetics in 2013. She is...

Michael Gomes is a medical student and PhD candidate at the University of the Witwatersrand. He is part of the Wits Advanced Drug Delivery Platform. He was recently awarded the 2026 South African Medical Research Council Institutional Clinician Researcher Development Programme scholarship to support his research into nanoparticle-based drug delivery systems for glioblastoma, one of the most aggres...

Dr. Victor Mashindi is an electrochemist and nanomaterials researcher at the University of the Witwatersrand. He has a PhD in chemistry and works at the Molecular Sciences Institute in the School of Chemistry. His research focuses on nanomaterials and electrocatalysts for clean energy technologies. His expertise includes the synthesis of nanomaterials, material characterisation, electrochemistry,...

Dr. Charles Helm is a palaeontologist and ichnologist known for his work on Cretaceous dinosaur trackways and Triassic fish and marine reptiles. He led the successful designation of the Tumbler Ridge UNESCO Global Geopark and has authored nine books, including a children’s book on dinosaurs. Dr. Helm is a research associate with the African Centre for Coastal Palaeoscience at Nelson Mandela Univer...

Dr. Oumar serves as the Research, Application and Development Manager at the South African National Space Agency (SANSA), where he leads and drives the development of space-based decision support tools and analytics that address pressing socio-economic and environmental challenges. He is an established researcher with numerous peer-reviewed publications and has led and contributed to high-impact c...

VOW is a campus-based community radio station operated broadcasting from the University of the Witwatersrand in Johannesburg. The station has a variety of music and talk show that reflect the life of the youth, students, politics and tackles social issues.

Caitlin Wheeler is a PhD candidate in Human Genetics at the University of the Witwatersrand, conducting her doctoral research in partnership with the CSIR’s Bioengineering and Integrated Genomics Group and the Wits Donald Gordon Medical Research Institute. Her work focuses on developing single-cell reference maps to better understand autoimmune hepatitis in patients from South Africa. She holds an...

Prof. Johan Ferreira is a statistician, academic, and musician based in Johannesburg. He is a Professor in the School of Statistics and Actuarial Science at the University of the Witwatersrand (Wits), where he teaches and researches in the field of mathematical statistics. A lecturer in mathematical statistics by day and an oboist by night, Johan plays full-time for the Johannesburg Philharmonic O...

Gender-Based Violence and Femicide, or GBVF, remains one of the most pressing social and public health challenges of our time. Addressing it requires holistic and coordinated approaches, bringing together research, policy, and community action, within what many describe as a global pandemic of violence. GBVF research is a specialised and multi-layered field. It examines many forms of harm, physica...

In a country where Maths and Science often stand as barriers to success, Mlungisi Nkosi has positioned himself as one of South Africa’s most inspiring education innovators. Born and raised in Roodepoort, Gauteng, Mlungisi’s own experiences as a student who once struggled with Maths shaped his passion for making these subjects more accessible to others. He is the founder of the Mlungisi Nkosi Maths...

: Ayanda Mogalekwena is an MSc Zoology student at the University of Pretoria’s Department of Zoology and Entomology, where she studies ecological corridors and terrestrial ecology. She holds a BSc in Environmental Science and a BSc Honours in Zoology, with a focus on aquaculture and wastewater management. Ayanda is not only dedicated to research but also to science communication and outreach, coho...

Manager for Communication and Stakeholder Relations at iThemba LABS, under the Department of Communication, Information Services and Science Engagement. He’s a passionate science communicator who works to make complex research understandable and exciting for the public. Through his role, Dr Arendse helps connect young people to the world of science, showing how iThemba LABS contributes to both glo...