Dr Rachiel Gumbo’s inspirational journey to academic success

Raised in the small village of Nemangwe in the Midlands province of Zimbabwe, 40-year-old Dr Rachiel Gumbo was destined for bigger things.

Showing grit and determination, Gumbo scaled the heights of academic success when she received a doctorate in molecular biology on 12 December 2023 at Stellenbosch University’s graduation ceremony. But on her way she had to overcome a few challenges.

Gumbo’s early life

The oldest of three siblings, Gumbo obtained a BSc honours degree in biological sciences from Midlands State University in Zimbabwe in 2005, but her studies stalled due to lack of funding.

She ended up working as a laboratory assistant at Hwange Colliery Hospital Laboratory and teaching mathematics, physical science and biology to high school pupils. Gumbo said she is grateful for having had the opportunity to teach.

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“Teaching was an incredibly worthwhile experience as it boosted my confidence, taught me to be patient with pupils, creative and above all, it gave me a good sense of humour.”

In 2007, the single mother of two boys moved to South Africa to further her studies, but funding was hard to come by as a non-citizen.

To make ends meet, Gumbo offered private after-school lessons and also did part-time tutoring with Education Matters in Cape Town before taking a job as a secretary at Forest Creations, a woodwork company in the city.

Her fortunes changed in 2018 when she responded to a posting by prof Michele Miller from Stellenbosch University’s department of molecular biology and human genetics for a new student to join the animal TB research group.

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Miller would later become her supervisor along with Dr Tanya Kerr from the same department.

“When I joined the group in 2019, my dream of continuing my studies became a reality,” said Gumbo.

After obtaining her BSc honours in molecular biology in 2019, Gumbo enrolled for a MSc in the same field. Such was the quality of her research that the Master’s was upgraded to a PhD. This is a remarkable and rare achievement in academia.

While busy with her doctorate, Gumbo published seven articles in international academic journals and received a prestigious scholarship from the Germany Academic Exchange Service.

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She said her biggest challenge as an older, international student studying at an SA university was scholarship eligibility, which threatened to derail her studies.

Animal TB

Gumbo’s PhD focused on developing immunological tests for improving the detection of animal tuberculosis in lions, leopards and cheetahs in South Africa.

Animal TB is a serious chronic infectious disease caused by infection with Mycobacterium bovis (M. bovis) in cattle and other domesticated animals, as well as many wildlife species, with potential transmission to humans. According to Gumbo, several cheetahs, lions and leopards have died of animal TB.

Since M.bovis can be introduced into uninfected populations and species-specific immunological tests for diagnosis of animal TB are limited, she developed a diagnostic test to distinguish between M.bovis-infected and uninfected lions, leopards and cheetahs using commercially available kits.

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“The development and incorporation of species-specific diagnostic tests for routine screening of lions, leopards and cheetahs is essential for early detection of TB in wildlife to allow prompt responses,” said Gumbo.

“Research on animal TB has a broad impact on human health, food security and the livelihoods of rural African communities who rely on ecotourism as their primary source of income.

“A better understanding of animal TB will help to protect Africa’s vulnerable wildlife species,” Gumbo says.

–news@citizen.co.za