ICGEB Cape Town welcomes Dr. Rumbidzai Changwa as a participant in the ICGEB South African Women in Biotechnology (SAWBP) Programme, in partnership with the Department of Science, Technology and Innovation and the South African National Research Foundation.
Launched in 2022, the ICGEB SAWBP supports PhD and Postdoctoral South African women scientists to carry out research in the state-of-the-art labs at ICGEB Cape Town. A unique component of the Programme is that it also promotes the interaction and mobility of Fellows and the ICGEB community, including support to visit ICGEB Components in Trieste, Italy and New Delhi, India.
Congratulating Dr. Changwa, who holds a Ph.D. in Food Technology from the University of Johannesburg, where she specialised in LC-MS/MS-based analysis of mycotoxins in food and feed safety, Rumbidzai more recently completed a traineeship at the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) in Italy, where she gained hands-on experience in regulatory science and international food safety systems.
At ICGEB Cape Town, Rumbidzai’s postdoctoral research in the Biopesticides Group, led by Dr. Dennis Ndolo, focuses on bridging critical knowledge and communication gaps between biopesticide innovation and practical on-farm use. Her research supports pesticide residue reduction through optimized knowledge transfer, multi-stakeholder collaboration, and the development of evidence-based tools for farmers.
“Receiving the SAWBP Fellowship is both humbling and an honour, I remain grateful and excited to be part of a global research community that actively supports innovation with a strong sense of purpose and collaboration” Dr Rumbidzai Changwa.
The 2026 call for the SAWBP Postdoctoral Fellowships has now closed. The ICGEB SAWBP PhD call is currently open, with a deadline of 17 June 2025.
