In the Women’s Month of August, three women research leaders at the University of Johannesburg (UJ) have been honoured with prestigious national awards.
2025 South African Women in Science Awards (SAWiSA)
The Department of Science, Technology and Innovation (DSTI) announced the winners of the 2025 South African Women in Science Awards (SAWiSA), held on 21 August 2025 in Bloemfontein, Free State.
Under the theme “Unpacking STEM Careers: Her Voice in Science”, the prestigious awards celebrated 30 exceptional women scientists and researchers whose groundbreaking work is shaping the future of science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) in South Africa and beyond.
The ceremony attended by government leaders, academics and science stakeholders, highlighted the critical role women play in advancing knowledge, innovation and inclusive development across diverse scientific disciplines.
Winner of the SAWiSA in the Distinguished Young Woman Researcher in the Natural Sciences and Engineering category
Prof Mahloro Hope Serepa-Dlamini is a Professor of Bacterial Genomics and Biotechnology. She is also the Head of Department of Biotechnology and Food Technology, Faculty of Science.
Her research investigates the colonization and diversity of bacterial endophytes associated with indigenous South African medicinal plants, integrating genomics and biotechnology to uncover their potential in pharmaceuticals, chemicals, and the food industry.
Grounded in Indigenous Knowledge Systems, her work also explores the bacterial endophyte’s applications in sustainable agriculture, bioactive compound discovery, and environmental health.
2025 HERS-SA Higher Education Women Leaders (HEWLA) Awards
The Higher Education Resources Services South Africa (HERS-SA) hosted the third annual Higher Education Women Leaders (HEWLA) Awards on Thursday, 28 August 2025 in Cape Town.
The awards are a highlight of the annual HERS-SA Academy – a week-long conference, which brings together leaders from across South Africa to empower women in higher education leadership.
The HERS-SA Awards bring together university leaders, policymakers, academics and changemakers for an evening of networking, inspiration and recognition of remarkable contributions to teaching, research, leadership and social impact.
Winner of the HERS-SA HEWLA Lifetime Achiever award
Prof Tina Uys is a professor of sociology at the University of Johannesburg and a certified clinical sociologist (AACS). She led the UJ Department of Sociology for 15 years. In 2013, she was a Fulbright Visiting Scholar at George Washington University and the University of Cincinnati.
A global leader in sociology, Prof Uys has served as International Sociological Association Vice-President (National Associations), President of ISA Research Committees on Clinical Sociology and Social Psychology, and President of the South African Sociological Association. She co-edits the Clinical Sociology Review and is a Commissioner of CAPACS.
She has published over 60 works, including Whistleblowing and the Sociological Imagination (2022), which won ISA’s RC46 Outstanding Scholarly Book Award. She received SASA’s Lifetime Service Award (2023) and the AACS Lester F. Ward Award (2024) and has a B3 rating by the National Research Foundation. Her work focuses on clinical sociology and the sociological study of whistleblowing.
Winner of the HERS-SA HEWLA Women in Humanities and Social Sciences Award
Prof. Claude-Hélène Mayer is a Professor in Industrial and Organisational Psychology at the IPPM, CBE. She holds three doctorates and a Venia Legendi in Psychology (Germany) and is a Board member of the IAIR (USA), the Academic Chair of the Global Listening Institute (USA) and an Associate/Senior Editor of several internationally journals.
At UJ, Prof Mayer has been awarded the top researcher CBD award in 2020, 2021, 2022, 2024 and 2025, as well as the graduating student awards for 2021 and 2022.
In the past, Mayer has won several international book and article awards, such as the William B. Gudykunst Award, two Nautilus Silver Book Awards, the Frontiers in Psychology Award, and was Finalist in the Excellence Book Awards (2025).
Mayer has (co)-edited and (co)authored almost 60 books, 189 book chapters, 22 special issues and 201 articles and has presented 135 conference papers worldwide. She is regularly invited to podcast shows, plenaries, public symposia, radio and TV shows as a women leader in the sciences, an international leadership consultant and systemic family therapist.
