The DST hosts the South African WISA annually to recognise and reward the achievements of South African women scientists and researchers.

Prof Namrita Lall from the Department of Plant Science received the Distinguished Women Award for her outstanding scientific contribution to advancing science and building the knowledge base in in the field of Indigenous Knowledge Systems. Prof Jolanda Roux from the Forestry and Agricultural Biotechnology Institute (FABI) was the recipient of the Distinguished Young Women Award (under the age of 40) for her outstanding contribution to advancing science and building the knowledge base in the Life, Natural and Engineering Sciences category.

Prof Lall is well recognised as an expert in Medicinal Plant Science. She has acquired specialised skills, developed novel assays for application in drug-screening and analysis from botanical sources and consistently encouraged a number of postgraduate students to enter the same field. In particular, Prof Lall is also the driving force behind an in-depth exploration of the antituberculosis potential of several plants which are being used for TB- treatment.

She has received several awards, including the prestigious “UNESCO-L’Oréal for Women in Science” award in 2002. Prof Lall is internationally recognised for her contributions to bio-prospecting from traditional knowledge on medicinal plants. The focus of Prof Lall’s research has been on scientifically validating the usages of plants for diseases such as TB, cancer, hyperpigmentation disorders and periodontal diseases. In this context, she also demonstrated her commitment to various communities around the country by engaging them towards a better understanding of indigenous knowledge and advancing phytomedicines towards conventional pharmaceutical products.

Prof Roux’s research interests focus strongly on fungi and bacteria resulting in disease and death of woody hosts. Most of the research has been focused on the diseases of the commercial plantation forestry species in South Africa and other African countries, namely Acacia mearnsii, Eucalyptus spp. and Pinus spp. The Commonwealth Forestry Association has also recently bestowed Prof Jolanda Roux with the Queen's Award for her contribution to forestry.

With her appointment in the Department of Science and Technology/National Research Foundation Centre of Excellence in tree health biotechnology (CTHB), Prof Roux has now become much more involved in investigating the health of native tree species in Southern Africa. She is especially involved in the in-field diagnosis of disease and pest problems and the identification of the causal agents using morphological and molecular techniques.