**Professor Tricia Naicker ** receives the Distinguished Young Woman Researcher in Natural and Engineering Sciences Award at the 23rd South African Women in Science Awards, held at the NH Hotel Sandton in Johannesburg on August 20.
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Professor Tricia Naicker’s journey from a curious schoolgirl in Chatsworth to an award-winning scientist is now being recognised on a national stage, with her research helping tackle one of the world’s growing health threats, antibiotic resistance.
The 41-year-old Director of the Catalysis and Peptide Research Unit at the University of KwaZulu-Natal (UKZN) was named the Distinguished Young Woman Researcher in Natural and Engineering Sciences at the 23rd South African Women in Science Awards (SAWiSA), held at the NH Hotel Sandton in Johannesburg on August 20.
Presented by the Department of Science, Technology and Innovation under the theme “Placing Women at the Centre of Science, Technology and Innovation,” the awards recognise women whose work advances knowledge and contributes to South Africa’s scientific and technological development.
For Naicker, who still resides in Chatsworth, the recognition is particularly meaningful because her journey began in an ordinary school classroom.
Her interest in science was sparked when she first experienced chemistry experiments.
“There was something very exciting about being able to take something you could see and understand in a textbook and actually make it happen in front of you,” she said.
That curiosity was encouraged by her physics teacher, whom Naicker credits with helping her understand that science was not simply about learning facts, but about asking questions and discovering how things work.
Her parents also played an important role, encouraging Naicker and her siblings to pursue tertiary education and instilling in them the belief that education was worth investing in.
Her own journey, however, was not always conventional.
Naicker said her challenges were less about science being a male-dominated field and more about pursuing a career path that required many years of study and dedication.
“There were questions about whether the long journey was worth it,” she said, adding that she had to remain focused on what she believed in and trust that her chosen path would ultimately have meaning.
Today, that work has potentially far-reaching implications.
Naicker leads multidisciplinary research combining synthetic chemistry, microbiology and biochemistry to develop compounds that can help restore the effectiveness of existing antibiotics.
Some of the work has progressed to Phase 1 clinical trials, marking an important transition from laboratory research towards testing a potential treatment in humans.
In simple terms, Naicker describes her research as developing a “shield” against bacterial defences that can switch off antibiotics.
“If some bacteria have developed a defence mechanism that switches off our antibiotics, we are developing a ‘shield’ that can block that defence, allowing the antibiotic to do its job again,” she explained.
She stressed that there is still a long journey ahead, with Phase 1 primarily examining safety and how a potential drug behaves in the human body.
The research addresses antimicrobial resistance, a problem that can turn infections once considered relatively easy to treat into serious or even life-threatening conditions.
“What motivates me is the possibility that the work we are doing in the laboratory today could contribute to keeping lifesaving antibiotics effective for future generations,” she said.
A proud UKZN alumna, Naicker obtained her MSc cum laude in 2008 and completed her PhD in 2011. She began her academic career in 2013 after postdoctoral studies in Denmark and has since become one of the university’s leading researchers.
An NRF C1-rated researcher, she has authored more than 130 peer-reviewed publications, one patent and three book chapters. Her previous accolades include the 2018 NRF Research Excellence Award for Early Career and Emerging Researcher, the UKZN Vice-Chancellor’s Award in 2019 and the 2020 Raikes Medal.
Yet she sees mentorship as one of the most important parts of her work.
“I feel a responsibility to do the same for the next generation,” she said, referring to the mentors who helped shape her career.
Her message to young girls who may feel science is not meant for them is simple: “Science is absolutely for you.”
“You simply need curiosity, determination and a willingness to learn,” she said.
For Naicker, the greatest value of her latest award is therefore not the trophy or title, but what it represents to the next generation.
She hopes young women growing up in communities like Durban will see that a simple curiosity in a school classroom can become a career that makes a difference to people's lives, and know that science is a place where they belong too.
