Dr. Phuti Chelopo-Mgobozi

Phuti Chelopo-Mgobozi, Ph.D. is the Bio-Innovation Manager and Specialist at the Innovation Hub Management Company.

Since 2023, she has been responsible for executing innovation programs and thought leadership events in the Bioscience and Health sector. Her role as the Innovation Specialist in Bio-Economy involves identifying and strengthening strategic partnerships with key stakeholders and supporting BioPark life science incubator and AgriPark operations. Read Students and Faculty Empower Biomedical Entrepreneurs in South Africa and Innovation hub transforms township agriculture.

She also manages the CoachLab Entrepreneurship Programme, a business skills development for the elevation of African Indigenous Knowledge Systems (IKS)-based bio-innovations, and for a flagship Gauteng Accelerator Program (GAP) Innovation Competition in the Biosciences and Medical categories.

Read North-West University Partners with The Innovation Hub to Nurture Future Entrepreneurs and Bioeconomy Unit facilitated the 1st Tranche of CoachLab Entrepreneurship Program (CEP) for the Bachelor of Indigenous Knowledge Systems (B.IKS).

Phuti has a passion for healthcare technology innovations, business development, and the alleviation of high-burden diseases across Africa. She has published in credible scientific journals and acquired several achievements that set her apart as a young scientist and researcher and was featured on several media platforms as a trailblazer.

She was highlighted as a remarkable woman in STEM from Africa and Caribbean descent by Dear Women in STEM. She has been an invited speaker at The International Longevity Summit in 2023, Women in Leadership: Accelerating Innovation, World Science Forum 2022, and 4th Calestous Juma Executive Dialogue: Smart Agricultural Innovations to safeguard Africa’s Food Security.

Phuti has been the Founder and Director of Azanzi Health Innovation since 2022. They are a private company that focuses on the landscape of scientifically proven solutions and healthcare technology for high-burden diseases across Africa.

She is also an alternative director to the tech startup company PVinsight RSA, led by a team of physicists and researchers from Nelson Mandela University. PVinsight utilizes cutting-edge techniques to assess photovoltaic module quality and performance.

Previously, Phuti served as an accelerating Vice President of Membership (VPM) for the Toastmasters International Club in Pretoria East.

She earned her Ph.D. in Pharmaceutical Chemistry from North-West University in 2017. For her Ph.D. research between 2012 and 2016, she worked for the Council for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) on The Design of Nanotechnology-Based Drug Delivery Systems.

To address Tuberculosis (TB) treatment challenges, the projects focused on the design of a novel drug delivery system for anti-TB drugs, the preparation of polymeric nanoparticles and Pheroid® vesicles, physicochemical characterization, in vitro transport studies, cellular viability studies, in vivo pharmacokinetic studies, and in-depth analysis of results. She also trained internship students and science career outreaches.

Phuti earned her Master’s Degree of Medical Science (MMedSc) in Pharmaceutical Chemistry from the University of KwaZulu-Natal in 2012. She worked on the synthesis and in vitro analysis of ruthenium-based organometallic anticancer drugs.

In 2009, she earned her Bachelor’s Degree of Science in Chemistry from the University of KwaZulu-Natal, where she worked on the stabilization of sunscreen agents. Her main subjects were Organic, Inorganic, Physical, and Analytical Chemistry (Pure Chemistry).

Phuti also earned her Bachelor’s Degree of Science in Biochemistry and Chemistry in 2008, also from the University of KwaZulu-Natal.

In 2015, Phuti was a Fellow and Next Generation Scientist 2015 at Novartis in Switzerland. The Novartis Next Generation Scientist Program is intended to support talented and motivated post-graduate students through 3 month-long internships at their research site in Basel, Switzerland. The program allows interns to spend the summer working on a jointly agreed upon, pre-competitive scientific or clinical research project.

In 2017, Phuti joined the 67th Lindau Nobel Laureate meeting for the subject of Chemistry. Once every year, around 30 Nobel Laureates convene at Lindau to meet the next generation of leading scientists, between 4000 and 500 undergraduates, Ph.D. students, and post-doc researchers from all over the world. The Lindau Nobel Laureate Meetings foster the exchange among scientists of different generations, cultures, and disciplines.

Watch Gauteng Accelerator Programme 13th Annual Awards Ceremony: Dr Phuti Chelopo Mgobozi and Report shows early stage startups growing into established businesses.

Visit her LinkedIn profile and her ResearchGate page. Follow her on Instagram and Twitter.