Associate Professor Raksha Vasantrai Bhoora spoke to Tukkievaria from her hotel room in Curitiba, Brazil. She’d arrived at midnight the previous night after travelling for 32 hours. However, as a dedicated academic and alumnus of the University of Pretoria (UP), she was more than happy to chat about being one of its employees being celebrated for Women’s Month.

Along with her colleague Prof Kgomotso Sibeko-Matjila, Prof Bhoora was in Brazil for the 30th International Conference of the World Association for the Advancement of Veterinary Parasitology. Both work in the Department of Veterinary Tropical Diseases in UP’s Faculty of Veterinary Science, where Prof Bhoora was promoted to associate professor at the beginning of the year.

For her, travel isn’t just a perk of the job – it’s woven into the fabric of her career. Her work has carried her across continents, taking her to Asia, Australia, South America, North America and Europe. Along the way, she’s built collaborations with scientists in Egypt, the Netherlands, Argentina, Italy, France and the US, strengthening global networks in veterinary science. One of her most recent international engagements was in Italy, where she was invited to the University of Padua through the European Union’s Erasmus+ programme to present three seminars at the Department of Animal Medicine, Production and Health on developments in veterinary diagnostics and conservation. 

Her research on equine piroplasmosis, a tick-borne parasite on horses, has drawn global interest. Requests for her molecular tools and parasite isolates now come from across the world. 

“Collaboration is a two-way thing,” Prof Boora says. “While we adopt technology from first-world countries, South Africa’s unique biodiversity, including parasites that aren’t found anywhere else, draws scientists to study what only we can offer.”

When she lectured in Italy, she noticed how deeply engaged the students were. 

“Their curiosity was piqued, largely because they haven’t had the same exposure to wildlife and parasites that we have in South Africa. Here, students are surrounded by these challenges, which can sometimes lead to a sense of familiarity that dulls their appreciation.”

While she’s reaping the rewards of her hard work now, Prof Boora’s work life hasn’t always been on an even keel. 

“I had a very bumpy start to my career,” she says, with a smile. 

While juggling a part-time PhD and working as a technologist in the Department of Veterinary Tropical Diseases, she resigned three times in a single year. The first of those resignations came about when she was headhunted for a sales position at a clinical diagnostic company, an unexpected detour in her academic journey. 

“It wasn’t something I’d ever imagined myself doing, but out of sheer frustration, I accepted the offer,” she recalls. “I remember saying to my PhD supervisor, Dr Nicola Collins, now a very dear colleague: ‘Just give me three months, and I will know if I want to continue with the PhD.’”

That moment of uncertainty became a turning point for Prof Bhoora, who eventually returned to her research as a full-time PhD student, with renewed clarity and commitment. In the end, it all paid off: she was awarded the Senior WO Neitz Medal for the best PhD thesis in parasitology at the 39th annual conference of the Parasitological Society of Southern Africa. 

Since then, she’s continued to flourish, though stepping into the role of associate professor has come with its own adjustments. 

“It’s still something I’m adjusting to,” Prof Boora says. “When people refer to me as ‘Professor’, I sometimes find myself looking to see who they mean. Titles have never mattered much to me; what truly counts is the quality and impact of your work.” 

Her contributions have not gone unnoticed: she was recently awarded a National Research Foundation (NRF) C1 rating, a recognition of her standing as an established researcher.

She values Women’s Month, not just as a celebration, but as a reminder of the progress made and the work still to be done, even though she hasn’t personally felt discriminated against as a woman. 

“Things haven’t always been easy or smooth, but whether that’s because I’m a woman or not, I don’t know.” 

Recently, Prof Boora has become more conscious of her gender, largely due to her current field research, a three-year NRF-funded project on tick-borne disease surveillance involving rhinos.

“I often find myself working alongside wildlife veterinarians, most of them men, and it’s in those moments that I realise I’m not just contributing scientifically, but challenging expectations and pushing boundaries”.

She’s found the environment to be welcoming. 

“I just do what I need to do, and I do it with kindness and respect; I’m getting a lot of support.”

Despite this new focus, Prof Bhoora still refers to equine research as her passion, and one she intends to explore further for both her career and the faculty’s benefit. While she thinks “horses are the most beautiful creatures”, her love for them stops there – she is not too partial to riding them. 

“It’s not for me, too uncomfortable,” she says. 

Besides meditation, the activity she enjoys most is hiking. It is her Sunday morning treat. 

“Every Sunday, I steal some time to go on a hike. And every Sunday, it’s a different place, out in nature in the early morning, before the world wakes up. I love it.”