Thokozani Mwase (27), from Malawi, is pursuing a master of internal medicine at Stellenbosch University. Her research is on the temporal trends in transcatheter aortic valve implantation practice in South Africa.
Thokozani has worked with her family for the past 10 years raising funds to build school buildings in difficult-to-reach areas where thousands of children were initially attending classes outside. One of their projects is a clinic serving over 100,000 children under five years old, where she ran community clinics prior to obtaining her master’s degree.
As a junior doctor, Thokozani noticed that at least one in five children and pregnant women being admitted with a medical condition were being treated for heart conditions, with half of them resulting in negative outcomes. The main contributing factor was delays in diagnosing patients and a lack of treatment modalities. This experience convinced Thokozani to embark on the long road to becoming a cardiologist.
Looking forward, Thokozani is keenly interested in contributing to research in cardiovascular diseases in children and women, developing cost-effective prosthetic valves for minimally invasive procedures, and setting up antenatal cardiac screening and outreach programs in Malawi.
