Witsie awarded 2024 Gates Cambridge Scholarship
- Wits Alumni Relations
Molecular and cell biologist with a passion for innovation looks forward to making an impact.
Wits graduate Taryn Adams (BSc 2020, BSc Hons 2021, MSc 2023) has been selected to join the Gates Cambridge Class of 2024.
She is the only South African and one of 75 scholars selected this year from across the globe to be awarded the prestigious Gates Cambridge scholarship, which is considered one of the world’s most prestigious.
Since the first class in 2001, Gates Cambridge has awarded 2,183 scholarships to scholars from 114 countries who represent nearly 800 universities globally, and more than 80 academic departments and all 31 Colleges at Cambridge. Applicants need to show leadership capacity and a commitment to improving the lives of others.
Professor Eilís Ferran, Provost of the Gates Cambridge Trust, said: “We know that they will flourish in the rich, international community at Cambridge, and we trust that they will go on to have a significant impact in their various fields and more broadly, tackling the complex global challenges we face today.”
With a research background in biochemistry, Adams will be working towards an MPhil in Bioscience Enterprise (MBE) at Wolfson College as her interests lie in the burgeoning field of biotechnology. The programme, which starts in October, is an intensive science and business course, intended for those who have an interest in enterprise and the ambition to found technology companies.
“I aim to bridge the gap between scientific discovery and real-world application in the Global South,” Adams told Wits Alumni Relations.
She was born and bred in Johannesburg, from entrepreneurial parents and matriculated from St Mary’s, an all-girl school in Waverley. It was here that her love for biology and research was sparked. “I had a teacher Mrs Page who encouraged and supported me. She was tough and taught beyond the curriculum,” said Adams, recalling a memorable project during high school on invasive water hyacinths.
“My initial dream was in contemporary and modern dancing, not in academia. I completed first and second year at Wits and increasingly found it difficult to go to dance competitions and auditions, realising that I enjoyed dancing less. By a process of elimination, I got rid of some things and continued with the things I loved,” she said.
At Wits, she completed her honours in biochemistry and a master’s by research in molecular and cell biology with distinction under the guidance of Prof Yasien Sayed (BSc 1996, BSc Hons 1997, PhD 2001), discovering that her passion for biology could be a more viable career option.
She recalled a seminal moment in 2017 at the launch of the Wits Innovation Hub, now part of the Wits Innovation Centre, in the Flower Hall when she participated in pitching an idea using cell biology. “We came third because it was a terrible idea!” Adams said. “But it sparked in me the idea of how scientists could look at the market. Bringing an idea that can be commercially viable is quite complicated. It requires a mixed skillset, which involves combining auditing, lab skills as well as research and development.”
At the biotechnology company where she’s been employed for the past year, she’s learned to finesse these skills even more. “I learned to integrate scientific product development with business feasibility and regulatory considerations to provide integrated scientific advice to the executive team.”
Adams hopes to return to South Africa and use her skills to make a difference. “I hope to use the cross-functional toolkit and practical bioscience enterprise training to drive system-wide innovation as a founder or as a leader in an existing biotechnology firm and thereby enable a competitive biotechnology sector in the region.
“There are ways in which we can do with what we have, that no one else can – instead of competing with well-resourced nations. There is a lot of duplication – it would be great to coordinate this.”
Adams joins the list of previous Wits graduates who were awarded the scholarship such as Paul Franklyn (BSc 2002, BSc 2003, MSc 2004), Kiah Johnson (BSc Hons 2017, MSc 2020), Mark Mathuray (BA 1997, BA Hon 1999), Tammy Pearl (BSc 2004, BSc Hons 2005) and Raliza Stoyanova (MA 2008).