Dr Samantha Cairncross’ research is described as groundbreaking, a first of its kind and lifesaving. She studied the genes of Sub-Saharan Africans suffering from head and neck cancer, and found that there are certain genes that create side-effects when they undergo radiation therapy. Sometimes, these side-effects make it impossible for the patients to get treatment, leading to tragic outcomes. With Samantha’s discoveries, doctors would be able to find solutions to these side-effects, leading to lives being saved.
These discoveries formed part of Samantha’s PhD thesis, which took her 7 years of sleepless nights to complete. Her hard work paid off when, in September of this year, she graduated with a PhD in Radiogenomics from the University of the Western Cape.
Growing up in Bishop Lavis and Elsies River, Samantha credits her family for encouraging her to become a scientist and instilling in her the kind of discipline needed to complete a PhD. Her father, a primary school teacher, brought home the textbooks that got her hooked on science and her late uncle encouraged her to pursue a career in science. She says, however, it was her mother that instilled in her a culture of hard work and discipline. That discipline saw her not only become a PhD graduate, but also a top performing student.
She completed her Medical Bioscience degree with an A Aggregate cum laude pass and her Honours in Medical Bioscience with another cum laude as well receiving the Dean’s Merit Award. She is also a past learner of Helderberg Primary School and Bishop Lavis Primary School.
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