14 January 2025
Two PhD students from CREST, Rein Treptow and Lili Rademan, graduated from Stellenbosch University on 9 December 2024.
Rein Treptow’s PhD research comprised a comprehensive analysis of the sources of funding for science, technology, and innovation in South Africa. His work resulted in an innovative mapping of these sources’ strengths and limitations and a new analytical framework for future studies in this area. CREST director Professor Johann Mouton supervised Dr Treptow’s research.
Cancer reporting in mainstream online news media was the focus of Dr Lili Rademan’s PhD. Her findings highlighted the presence of pseudoscience in mainstream online media, including celery, scorpion venom and rhino horn as magical cancer remedies. It showed how journalists help to debunk these dangerous health myths and recommended ways to improve collaboration between cancer researchers and the media to better safeguard the public against pseudoscience that can cost lives.
Drs Treptow and Rademan graduated during a bumper graduation week from 9 to December 13, 2024, during which Stellenbosch University conferred 5 865 qualifications – the highest number of December graduations on record. Only 106 (1.8%) of these qualifications were PhD degrees.
Dr Lili Rademan (left) and Dr Rein Treptow (right) with Professor Marina Joubert (middle), supervisor of Dr Rademan’s study.
