Shani Bekker, Ph.D Email and Phone Number

Dr Shani Bekker holds a PhD and BSc Hons (with Distinction) in Genetics and a BSc in Human Genetics from the University of Pretoria. Shani’s passion for science has driven her to become a highly motivated scientist with a thirst to innovate and generate novel research. Shani pursued a career in molecular and cell biology specializing in virology and vaccine development. Throughout her career she has developed a vast array of skills in recombinant DNA technologies, protein expression and characterization, cell culture, microscopy, and structural biology. In her PhD she invented a novel virus protein that can be used to generate next generation African Horse sickness virus vaccines. With her patented invention she was able to take her research further after she was awarded the prestigious Claude Leon Foundation Postdoctoral Research Fellowship. During her fellowship she was able to generate reverse-engineered recombinant viruses that contained her novel protein. She was able to study the effects of this change on virus life cycle to see if they could be used as vaccine candidates. Her work spread to local and international collaborators where they continue to expand on her research.Upon completion of her postdoctoral fellowship, she moved to industry to pursue a career as a Field Application Scientist at ThermoFisher Scientific in 2019. The move to industry was exciting as she was granted the opportunity to travel and learn a vast array of new technologies from leading experts. Over the course of her tenure Shani was trained in Germany, Dubai, and United Kingdom on Real-Time PCR, Flow Cytometry, DNA Sequencing, Automated Nucleic Acid Extraction, CRISPR, and Cell Culture technologies and applications. She trained and supported customers in the life science field and became expert in support of these technologies for ThermoFisher Scientifc Africa region.Shani was then given the opportunity to return to research – her passion. She joined Mintek as a Senior Scientist in the Advanced Materials Division on 1 January 2021. She brings with her over 10 years’ experience in molecular and cell biology with expertise in genetic analysis as well as protein production and characterization. She will be part of the Research and Development of the new Antibody and Antigen Platform at Mintek. Her focus will be on developing novel immunological reagents and assays for SARS-CoV-2 diagnostics for South Africa. Shani is excited to begin her new research journey with Mintek where she aims to aid South Africa’s fight against current and future pandemics.