Tebo Maseko is already realizing her dreams.
She recently got her big break when the internationally acclaimed Food Chemistry Journal published her original research work as the primary author.
Maseko is currently reading for her PhD in Agriculture and Food Systems at the University of Melbourne, courtesy of a scholarship from the Botswana International University of Science and Technology.
This was part of BIUST’s initiative to create a pool of experts in the area of food and nutrition.
Food Chemistry Journal is an Elsevier international Journal and is a world-leading contributor to the scientific, technical and medical communities.
The Journal publishes original research papers focusing on the chemistry and biochemistry of foods and raw materials encompassing the entire food chain, or from ‘farm to fork’.
Maseko is an employee of the National Food Technology Research Centre (NFTRC) and works as a Research Scientist- Biochemistry. NFTRC aspires to be an international centre for excellence in food science and technology in the region and to generate food technologies that enhance economic diversification, food security and quality through sustained end user focused research and development.
Her roles include investigating, characterizing, evaluating and documenting physical and biochemical properties of indigenous and agricultural foodstuffs and their related products. She is also mandated with the detection of defects and chemical toxins to ascertain food quality and safety and to also generate nutritional profiles and biochemical labeling of food stuffs to aid product development and enhancing and supporting food research.
Maseko, from Mandunyane Village in the northern part of Botswana, started her Science journey in 2001 when she, at the age of 18, enrolled for a Bachelor of Science degree program, majoring in Biochemistry and Microbiology at the University of Natal.
She graduated in 2004 as the overall top student for the Microbiology major.
In 2005, Maseko briefly worked for the Botswana Harvard Partnership HIV/AIDS Research as a Research Assistant. Harvard is an organization that supports the country’s HIV/AIDS and public health research, education, prevention and treatment services.
After a brief stay at Botswana Harvard Partnership, Maseko joined the National Food Technology Research Centre (NFTRC) as Research Scientist – Biochemistry.
