Centre for Bioprocess Engineering Research

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CeBER is an interdisciplinary research group within the Chemical Engineering Department at UCT that is focused on advancing bioprocess engineering that is relevant and fueling South Africa's bioeconomy

๐ŸŽ“ ๐—ฆ๐—ผ๐—บ๐—ฒ ๐—ฏ๐—ถ๐—ด ๐—ฐ๐—ฒ๐—น๐—ฒ๐—ฏ๐—ฟ๐—ฎ๐˜๐—ถ๐—ผ๐—ป๐˜€ ๐—ถ๐—ป ๐—ผ๐—ฟ๐—ฑ๐—ฒ๐—ฟ! This week, we proudly celebrated the graduation of four outstanding members of our res...
11/09/2026

๐ŸŽ“ ๐—ฆ๐—ผ๐—บ๐—ฒ ๐—ฏ๐—ถ๐—ด ๐—ฐ๐—ฒ๐—น๐—ฒ๐—ฏ๐—ฟ๐—ฎ๐˜๐—ถ๐—ผ๐—ป๐˜€ ๐—ถ๐—ป ๐—ผ๐—ฟ๐—ฑ๐—ฒ๐—ฟ!

This week, we proudly celebrated the graduation of four outstanding members of our research group.

Firstly, congratulations to Dimpho Selomane and Ngokoana Mokakabye, who both graduated with Masterโ€™s degrees with distinction, for their research on plasmid production for mRNA vaccines, and recombinant phycocyanin production, respectively.

Secondly, HUGE congratulations to our new PhD graduates:
๐Ÿ”น Dr Davina-Nelson Apiyo for her thesis entitled โ€œ
๐˜‹๐˜ฆ๐˜ด๐˜ช๐˜จ๐˜ฏ ๐˜ฐ๐˜ง ๐˜ข๐˜ฏ ๐˜ฆ๐˜ฏ๐˜จ๐˜ช๐˜ฏ๐˜ฆ๐˜ฆ๐˜ณ๐˜ฆ๐˜ฅ ๐˜ฎ๐˜ฐ๐˜ฅ๐˜ฆ๐˜ญ ๐˜ง๐˜ฐ๐˜ณ ๐˜ช๐˜ฏ ๐˜ท๐˜ช๐˜ต๐˜ณ๐˜ฐ ๐˜ต๐˜ฆ๐˜ด๐˜ต๐˜ช๐˜ฏ๐˜จ ๐˜ฐ๐˜ง ๐˜ฃ๐˜ช๐˜ฐ๐˜ต๐˜ฉ๐˜ฆ๐˜ณ๐˜ข๐˜ฑ๐˜ฆ๐˜ถ๐˜ต๐˜ช๐˜ค๐˜ด ๐˜ง๐˜ฐ๐˜ณ ๐˜ต๐˜ณ๐˜ฆ๐˜ข๐˜ต๐˜ฎ๐˜ฆ๐˜ฏ๐˜ต ๐˜ฐ๐˜ง ๐˜ฃ๐˜ข๐˜ค๐˜ต๐˜ฆ๐˜ณ๐˜ช๐˜ข๐˜ญ ๐˜ท๐˜ข๐˜จ๐˜ช๐˜ฏ๐˜ฐ๐˜ด๐˜ช๐˜ดโ€ (Supervised by Marijke Antonia Fagan-Endres and Alta van Zyl)
๐Ÿ”น Dr Obakeng Jona for his thesis entitled โ€œ๐˜ˆ ๐˜ฃ๐˜ช๐˜ฐ๐˜ฑ๐˜ณ๐˜ฐ๐˜ค๐˜ฆ๐˜ด๐˜ด ๐˜ฆ๐˜ฏ๐˜จ๐˜ช๐˜ฏ๐˜ฆ๐˜ฆ๐˜ณ๐˜ช๐˜ฏ๐˜จ ๐˜ช๐˜ฏ๐˜ท๐˜ฆ๐˜ด๐˜ต๐˜ช๐˜จ๐˜ข๐˜ต๐˜ช๐˜ฐ๐˜ฏ ๐˜ช๐˜ฏ๐˜ต๐˜ฐ ๐˜ต๐˜ฉ๐˜ฆ ๐˜ค๐˜ถ๐˜ญ๐˜ต๐˜ช๐˜ท๐˜ข๐˜ต๐˜ช๐˜ฐ๐˜ฏ ๐˜ฐ๐˜ง ๐˜ท๐˜ข๐˜จ๐˜ช๐˜ฏ๐˜ข๐˜ญ ๐˜“๐˜ข๐˜ค๐˜ต๐˜ฐ๐˜ฃ๐˜ข๐˜ค๐˜ช๐˜ญ๐˜ญ๐˜ข๐˜ค๐˜ฆ๐˜ข๐˜ฆ ๐˜ง๐˜ฐ๐˜ณ ๐˜ฃ๐˜ข๐˜ค๐˜ต๐˜ฆ๐˜ณ๐˜ช๐˜ข๐˜ญ ๐˜ท๐˜ข๐˜จ๐˜ช๐˜ฏ๐˜ฐ๐˜ด๐˜ช๐˜ด ๐˜ต๐˜ณ๐˜ฆ๐˜ข๐˜ต๐˜ฎ๐˜ฆ๐˜ฏ๐˜ตโ€ (Supervised by Marijke Antonia Fagan-Endres and Sue Harrison)
Their research advances innovative bioprocessing and biotherapeutic solutions, making strides in womenโ€™s health research in South Africa.

We are incredibly proud of all these achievements and look forward to seeing where their careers take them next. WELL DONE to you all and to the supervisors who guided these journeys ๐Ÿ‘๐ŸŽ“

We are proud to share that we recently celebrated the graduation ofย not one, not two, but three PhD candidates from our ...
23/04/2026

We are proud to share that we recently celebrated the graduation ofย not one, not two, but three PhD candidates from our research group!

๐ŸŽ“ย Join us congratulating:

๐Ÿ”ฌย Dr Catherine Edward
Thesis title: โ€œThe effect of thiocyanate on ferrous iron and sulfur oxidation kinetics of biooxidation microorganisms.โ€
๐ŸŒฟย Dr Siphiwe Mahlangu PhD
Thesis title: โ€œExtraction and identification of endophytes for skin health.โ€
โšกย Dr Carol Zethu Ngwenya, Ph.D
Thesis title: โ€œFeasibility of renewable bioenergy production from carbohydrate-rich waste streams using confectionery waste as a substrate.โ€

๐ŸŽ“ย Our MSc graduate:

Your dedication, resilience, and curiosity have led to this incredible milestone. Congratulations to the students and their supervisors.ย 

Joining them in celebration is also one of our MSc graduates, Elsa Breedt (formerly Visser; MSc with distinction) making this a day to remember for our entire group.ย 

๐Ÿ‘๐ŸŽ‰

(2/2) We also recently bade farewell to Caryn Horn, who closed out an incredible ten years at CeBER โ€” from postgraduate ...
25/02/2026

(2/2) We also recently bade farewell to Caryn Horn, who closed out an incredible ten years at CeBER โ€” from postgraduate student, to postdoc, and beyond. Caryn was involved in our bioproducts research space, and was instrumental in plasmid production for mRNA vaccine work. Thank you, Caryn, for a decade of dedication, growth, and contribution to the team!๐Ÿ’™ Caryn was also involved in supervising some of our students and their appreciation is evidenced in the bespoke t-shirt thank you she received ๐Ÿ˜ We are deeply grateful for everything you brought to CeBER and wish you every success in what comes next.

Recently, we have had to say a few goodbyes at CeBER โ€” and this one was a big one.Derik Wilbers joined CeBER initially a...
25/02/2026

Recently, we have had to say a few goodbyes at CeBER โ€” and this one was a big one.

Derik Wilbers joined CeBER initially as a postdoctoral researcher, and over time he steadily became integral to the running of the entire group. For the past two years, he held the fort as our lab manager, a role he truly made his own. So much more than just this title, he constantly went above and beyond.

The tea room was packed (Derik supprted a good dose of tea), the jokes abounded, and some tears may have been spotted. We wish you all the very best with your new chapter at Afrikelp. Your impact has been immense and you will be sorely missed!

๐ŸŽ“ Celebrating Success at CeBER!Scenes of joy and achievement as we celebrate six of our MSc students who graduated last ...
19/09/2025

๐ŸŽ“ Celebrating Success at CeBER!

Scenes of joy and achievement as we celebrate six of our MSc students who graduated last week.

Weโ€™re incredibly proud of their hard work and dedication โ€” and we wish them all the best in their future endeavours! ๐ŸŒŸ

Last week, we had the pleasure of hosting Andre Germishuizen, PhD from the National Bioproducts Institute. He shared fas...
04/09/2025

Last week, we had the pleasure of hosting Andre Germishuizen, PhD from the National Bioproducts Institute. He shared fascinating insights into the medicinal products derived from human plasma and the sophisticated purification processes involved. ๐Ÿ’‰

A big thank you to Dr. Germishuizen for shedding light on the science behind these life-saving therapies!

Ishaaq Hajee at UCT's Inventor Brunch, in celebration of our patent on the stabilization of coal waste using microbial i...
02/09/2025

Ishaaq Hajee at UCT's Inventor Brunch, in celebration of our patent on the stabilization of coal waste using microbial induced calcite precipitation ๐Ÿฅณ A new mug for all the cups of coffee to help him come up with the next invention ๐Ÿ˜‰

Weโ€™re thrilled to share another exciting research milestone with the first paper from Obakeng Jonaโ€™s PhD work having jus...
08/08/2025

Weโ€™re thrilled to share another exciting research milestone with the first paper from Obakeng Jonaโ€™s PhD work having just been published! ๐ŸŽ‰๐Ÿงช

The work presents the development of aย plant-based Soytone Mediumย as an alternative to the widely usedย animal-derived MRS Brothย for the cultivation of South African vaginalย Lactobacillaceaeย strains with probiotic potential forย the treatment of bacterial vaginosisย โ€“ a condition that affects more than 50% of females in Southern Africa.

Head over to our LinkedIn page to access the full article (link in bio).ย 

Our CeBER representation at the Interinstitutional Chemical Engineering Symposium earlier this month! An enriching day w...
23/07/2025

Our CeBER representation at the Interinstitutional Chemical Engineering Symposium earlier this month! An enriching day which showcased the research being done across UCT, Stellenbosch University and CPUT. Weโ€™re incredibly proud of Msimelelo for winning Best Poster for his work on coal waste valorisation๐Ÿ‘๐Ÿ”ฅ

Donโ€™t let the fun and games fool youโ€”thereโ€™s serious writing energy in this office! ๐ŸŽ‰ Two fresh papers out from these tw...
17/07/2025

Donโ€™t let the fun and games fool youโ€”thereโ€™s serious writing energy in this office! ๐ŸŽ‰ Two fresh papers out from these two; a little friendly competition never hurt anyone ๐Ÿ˜œ Head over to our LinkedIn page to check out the latest in HPV research and coal waste stabilization. Link in bio!

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