Kruti Naik, a PhD candidate at the Wits Advanced Drug Delivery Platform (WADDP), is pioneering new ways to treat eye infections and vision-related diseases that could transform patient care in Africa and beyond.

Instead of relying on traditional eye drops, Naik is developing microneedle patches—similar to contact lenses—that deliver medicine painlessly and directly to the eye. This innovation reduces drug wastage, avoids refrigeration challenges, and could combat severe infections linked to rising antibiotic resistance.

Her work combines microneedle delivery with nanomedicine principles to target diseases such as diabetic retinopathy, macular degeneration, and inflammation caused by both infectious and chronic illnesses. Currently collaborating with Dr Garry Laverty’s team at Queen’s University Belfast, Naik is also developing self-assembling hydrogels that act as long-lasting implants, steadily releasing medication for conditions like HIV, TB, and cancer.

Backed by a Wits Foundation UK fellowship and NRF/DSI SARChI funding, Naik’s research highlights how accessible, patient-friendly technologies can make life-saving differences. As South Africa marks Women’s Month, her achievements showcase the vital contributions of women scientists to advancing global health.

New research from the University of the Witwatersrand in Johannesburg, South Africa (Wits University), has shown that heavy metals such as lead, arsenic, cadmium and mercury accumulate in the scales of Black Mambas (Dendroaspis polylepis).

The study, conducted on snakes captured in Durban in KwaZulu-Natal and published in Environmental Pollution, was the first of its kind to examine heavy metal accumulation in an African snake species. The results mean that researchers can use scale clippings from these snakes to accurately measure spatial patterns of environmental pollution levels, without harming the snakes. 

Autophagy is a process in which worn out, toxic or degraded cellular components are swept up and recycled to maintain a healthy living cell. When this process is disrupted or disfunctions, it can lead to diseases such as cancer, neurodegeneration, and heart disease.

Microclimates – as opposed to large-scale regional or even global scale macroclimate models – may hold the key to offsetting the negative impacts of extreme weather events on already vulnerable insect populations.

After six years of intensive research and testing, the Rhisotope Project has officially reached operational status – where rhinos will effectively be protected through nuclear technology.

The project aims to disrupt the illegal rhino horn trade by embedding low-level radioactive isotopes into the horn. These radioisotopes can be detected by radiation detection equipment at countries borders around the world, allowing for the effective interception of trafficked horns.