Daniella Da Silva BIOMEDICAL SCIENCE PHD CANDIDATE AT THE LASER RESEARCH CENTRE
hers came in the form of a one- month internship at University of Witwatersrand’s (Wits) HIV and TB Research Unit. However one month turned into six, as her fascination of what the country’s scientists could do in terms of genome editing sparked a growing flame inside her. “From then I knew I wanted to go into a field showing how our country was advancing in technology and is really on-par with the rest of the world in terms of coming up with therapies that can help people,” she continued. She enrolled to study Biomedical Technology at UJ and is now a PhD candidate, advancing on her initial study. Her current research is to determine the possibility of Adipose-derived Mesenchymal Stem Cell differentiation into osteocyte lineage cells via the use of PBM and 3D cell culture. “The fantastic thing at the Laser Research Centre is we use laser therapy to treat stem cells. I work with normal stem cells and my goal is to change a line into another stem line using laser therapy.” “Currently, osteoporosis treatments have a lot of harmful side-effects and this (work she is conducting) should essentially curb those from occurring as well as prevent people from having to take such terrible medications. Osteoporosis is not a well- recognised disease, yet it is the biggest skeletal disorder among humans. There is a growing call (in the field) for advanced treatments for the disease and that’s also grown my fascination of working in this space and helping the field as much as I can,” she added. In the little spare time she does have, Da Silva is a competitive power lifter, breaking gender barriers and showing that there is beauty in a woman’s strength.
She credits her mother as having set an example for her in being a “strong, work-orientated powerhouse” woman. “I’m very privileged to have had her influence and example throughout my life, if it weren’t for her, I don’t think I would have done all that I have.
For years patients on osteoporosis treatments have suffered from the often-excruciating side-effects of treatments, but PhD candidate Daniella Da Silva is on a mission to change that, one stem cell line at a time. Born and raised in Johannesburg, the 25-year-old graduated Cum Laude this year for her Master of Health Sciences (MHSc) in Biomedical Science at the Laser Research Centre at the University of Johannesburg. Her novel research study was to differentiate Adipose-derived Mesenchymal Stem Cells into osteoblasts with the aid of growth factors and Photobiomodulation, under the supervision of Professor Heidi Abrahamse and Dr Anine Crous. For her work, Da Silva was awarded a membership to The Golden Key International Honour Society for academic merit. “I was actually quite astonished and couldn’t believe it. I was so humbled to achieve the recognition and that after lots of tears and hard work, figuring how I would do it all. It was all worth it,” she said. Da Silva’s love for laboratory work and research stems from when she was a wet-behind-the-ears Grade 11 pupil at Holy Rosary Convent School in Edenvale. As part of career guidance, their class was tasked with finding holiday job-shadowing opportunities, and
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