Discovery - Unstoppable: Tebello Nyokong

Born under Apartheid in South Africa, Prof Tebello Nyokong and her family uprooted their lives to escape the unequal education system enforced upon Black South Africans. After herding sheep proved she could do anything a boy could do, Tebello ended up studying science and found a love for chemistry. In the face of limited opportunities, she once again uprooted her life and took her studies oversees, but this was when she was introduced to something huge: a new, ground-breaking cancer treatment. Now Tebello is using nanotechnology to get this therapy off the ground, all while she fights to make Africa a science superpower.

(Photo: Professor Tebello Nyokong sits at a desk wearing a yellow top and a white jacket with blue and yellow floral and polka dot design. She has short hair dyed red and wears black framed glasses. She sits in front of a shelf lined with books with red covers. Credit: Professor Tebello Nyokong)

Producer: Ella Hubber and Julia Ravey
Assistant producers: Sophie Ormiston, Anna Charalambou and Josie Hardy
Sound engineer: Ella Roberts
Production co-ordinator: Ishmael Soriano
Editor: Holly Squire

Published on Monday, 5th May 2025.

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