THANDO TOLA

About

Ms. Thando Babalo Tola was born and bred in the popular suburb of Soweto, Johannesburg (RSA). She completed her matric in 2015 and went to pursue her tertiary studies at the University of Johannesburg. She completed her Bachelor of Science in Life and Environmental Sciences, majoring in Human Physiology and Biochemistry, then her Honours in Biochemistry under the supervision of Dr. MI Mhlongo. She is currently completing her Master’s degree in Biochemistry (under Dr. Mhlongo, Dr. Mafuna, Dr. Tugizimana, and Prof. Madala) and aiming to pursue a PhD in the same field. Thando has focused her research on plant metabolomics, medicinal plant variation studies, and plant-bacteria interactions. Her Honours research centred on plant-plant and plant-PGPR (plant growth-promoting rhizobacteria) communication using volatile organic compounds and analysing the biochemical perturbations occurring thereof. Her MSc projects then focused on the nutraceutical plant, basil, where species variation and how they interact with a microbial biostimulant were investigated using LC-MS-based untargeted metabolomics. Thando is currently interested in plant-based drug discovery and medicinal plant conservation; thus, her PhD research will focus on multi-omics integration to decode the transcriptomic identity and chemical space of a medicinal plant and further analyse how a microbial biostimulant affects its bioactivity. Through her research, she aims to contribute to the national sustainability development goals by providing reputable and targeted cultivation knowledge that can be available for biodiversity conservation and tenant farmers that will further transform the drug discovery and horticulture industry.