…meet Research Scientist and Lecturer, Dr Keitumetse Masisi
Dr Keitumetse Masisi is a Research Scientist and Lecturer in the Faculty of Health Sciences at the University of Botswana (UB), teaching BSc Cytotechnology and Histotechnology and mentoring masters degree students.
The affable Bokaa-born academic began her illustrious career in 2007 in the Ministry of Health, Tsabong Primary Hospital, as a Medical laboratory Scientist, handling specimen such as human blood and urine for the purposes of diagnosis and monitoring of diseases.
Driven by a desire to make a difference, five years later, Dr KT, as she is fondly known at the institution, embarked on a 1-year Bachelor of Sciences programme in MLS at the UB in 2010 before she joined the institution as Staff Development Fellow and pursued an MSc in Cellular Pathology and Molecular Biology from 2014 to 2015 at the University of the West of England (UWE), United Kingdom.
In this interview, the married mother-of-two, who was recently awarded the highest level of academic achievement, a Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) in Medicine from the University of Nottingham in the UK, where she was based within the Nottingham Breast Cancer Research Centre (NBCRC), tells Voice Woman why she is passionate about breast cancer research, with particular interest in molecular and genomic profiling of the disease.
The high-achiever also makes a convincing case for why it is important to develop scientists with skills and competencies in techniques to study cancer genomics in Africa.
Breast cancer is the second most prevalent cancer in Botswana after cervical cancer. What factors increase the risk of developing Breast Cancer (BC)?
Known risk factors associated with an increased risk for the development of BC include:
Age: Statistically, women aged more than 50 have increased risk of developing BC compared to younger patients.
Family history: Women who have close blood relatives with breast malignancies have a higher risk of developing BC.
Genetic predispositions: About 5-10% of BCs are linked to gene mutations, with the majority, about two thirds of hereditary BC, showing mutations in BRCA1 or BRCA2 DNA repair genes.
Carriers of these mutations are at higher risk of developing breast malignancies.
Lifestyle factors: Alcohol consumption, smoking and obesity – especially in postmenopausal women – have been associated with elevated risk of developing BC.
Kindly tell us in more detail about your research, what were the findings and how will that contribute to treating patients?
My PhD research focused on a molecular subtype of breast cancer called Luminal.
Luminal breast cancers are oestrogen receptor positive, accounting for 75% of all breast cancer subtypes.
I was investigating a molecule called glutamine, that is naturally produced in the body to support the immune and digestive systems.
Cancer cells become ‘addicted’ to glutamine for continuous growth and survival.
Because cancer cells are metabolically demanding, they tend to reprogramme the glutamine metabolic pathway to provide more energy for them to grow faster.
We found that this protein is highly upregulated in the aggressive subtypes of breast cancer (TNBC and luminal B subtypes) and when it is present, patients do not respond well to the current drugs, and they die earlier.
In some cases, the treatment only works for a while.
For this investigation, I used the clinical data and patients samples from the UK breast cancer cohort.
In addition to the above, the research also investigated an enzyme which is involved in the production of this protein, glutaminase.
The promising results show that blocking this enzyme can stop growth in aggressive forms or oestrogen receptor positive breast cancer.
As you know, research is something that takes time, more investigations need to be done.
So, blocking this enzyme needs further investigations.
A similar investigation of the molecule used to block the enzyme is in phase II clinical trial in the US.
This study has not been done in the population of patients diagnosed with breast cancer in Botswana; it is something that I am looking into to see what we get in our population of patients.
You talked about the need to build capacity in Africa to study African cancers, please elaborate on that…
Yes, there is need to study cancer in the African population to understand the genetic profile.
As you may be aware, our genetic makeup and that of the westerners is different.
Understanding tumour biology of cancer patients in the African population could lead to the discovery of new precision treatment approaches that are tailor-made for our population and improve patient outcome.
It is then crucial to build human capacity, develop scientists with skills and competencies in techniques to study cancer genomics in Africa.
We should invest in infrastructure and equipment to study the unique tumour signatures in the African population.
Now in Botswana, we do not have a cancer research centre where all these creative ideas that researchers generate can be implemented.
Although there is a possibility to collaborate with institutions like Botswana Harvard Partnership, that is not enough.
The few countries that are probably doing well in the continent are South Africa and Kenya.
What major challenges do you face in your area of work?
Research is very expensive but necessary.
We need to invest in research in the country to address key health challenges because it is through evidence-based research that policies are influenced.
And research generates translatable knowledge of cancer genetics, causes, prevention, treatment, and survivorship.
One major challenge is research funding; there is very little to no funding.
Cancer research is expensive, just to mention a few: the equipment and reagents we use are quite costly.
Nonetheless, I feel the government and private sector need to assist.
Access to data in this country is a big issue.
We need to have updated databases that are easily accessible, not to a specific group of people.
As long as the right protocols are followed, I don’t see any reason why accessing data, especially for research, should be a big problem.
What was the highlight of your PhD experience and what do you enjoy most about your current job?
During my PhD, I was based in one of big breast cancer research centres in the UK, working with some of the globally recognised breast cancer gurus (I will not name them, ha-ha!) – experts who have developed some of the tools currently used in clinical practice.
I learnt a lot; they mentored me very well.
Additionally, the team have mastered ‘teamwork’ and have everything coordinated properly.
Currently, I am a lecturer at the UB, teaching is not as challenging as research work but I do enjoy interacting with my students and getting to know how far they can think.
What advice can you share with young people hoping to go into your field.
The Sky is the limit.
Work hard and always be ready for a challenge.
Being a research scientist is fun, you’ve got to enjoy it.
But also, its needs a lot of reading and exploring things.
I landed in the medical laboratory profession years back, not knowing where I would end up 12 years later.
Young people are fortunate to have information at their fingertips to do thorough research on what they want to achieve.
