Dr Rachel Chikwamba is the Group Executive: Advanced Chemistry and Life Sciences at the South African Council for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR). In this role, she leads the implementation of the CSIR鈥檚 research, development and innovation strategy in the respective sectors, working closely with local and international partners to contribute to improved sectoral competitiveness and socio-economic impact through innovation. She is also leading the CSIR鈥檚 strategy on technology commercialisation across its multiple disciplinary focus areas. Prior to her current assignment, she was the Executive responsible for development of the CSIR鈥檚 current 4IR-anchored strategy across its multidisciplinary areas of focus.
Chikwamba鈥檚 technical experience spans the life sciences domain across many markets and she has a keen interest in the local production of (bio) pharmaceuticals broadly. She has worked on antibody therapeutics for neglected tropical diseases such as rabies, and her current research work is on the production of broadly of neutralising antibodies for use in passive immunisation and long-term therapy for HIV infected individuals, and in the development of COVI-19 therapeutics. She has led and participated in several global research consortia and is well published in the antibody therapeutics space.
A geneticist by training, Chikwamba has a keen interest in broadening access to highly effective vaccines and therapeutics to populations in low and middle-income countries, particularly in Africa, where access is limited predominantly by supply and cost. She has approached this by focusing on translational research to develop potentially cost-effective production methods for biologics on the African continent. Chikwamba leads the establishment of open access facilities for research translation, notably for bio-manufacturing (bacteria, plants, yeast) and small molecule active pharmaceutical ingredients to ensure that leads from South African and regional systems if innovation are translated into prototypes for clinical development. She is currently working towards upgrading these facilities to be cGMP compliant.
She serves on the boards of various local and international organisations; she is a current Board member of the Wits Health Consortium, and is a former Board member of the South Africa Medical Research Council, among others. Rachel also serves on the high-level African Panel on Emerging Technologies (APET), advising the African Union Member States on harnessing established and emerging technologies for Africa鈥檚 economic development. Chikwamba was recently recognised by by as one of the world鈥檚 50 most influential people (2021) navigating disruption in the collaborators category.
Chikwamba holds a PhD in Genetics from Iowa State University in the USA and a Master of Business Administration at the Gordon Institute of Business Science at the University of Pretoria. She is a member of the Academy of Sciences of South Africa (ASSAF).