Pharmaceutical innovators tackle problems that can make the difference between life and death: a tuberculosis strain that no longer responds to treatment or a compound that breaks down before it ever reaches a patient’s bloodstream. Solving these challenges starts with doing real research alongside experienced scientists from day one.
That’s exactly what you’ll find at North-West University’s Faculty of Health Sciences in South Africa through its Centre of Excellence for Pharmaceutical Sciences (Pharmacen™). As a postgraduate student, you’ll join research teams tackling diseases that shape public health across Africa and beyond, including HIV/AIDS, tuberculosis, malaria, skin conditions, and advanced drug delivery systems. In other words, you’ll contribute to research with the potential to improve patient care.
If you’re ready to take that step, there are three postgraduate options that you can consider, based on your interest: MSc Pharmacology, focused on translational neuroscience and neurotherapeutics; MSc Pharmaceutics, centred on drug delivery innovation; and MSc Pharmaceutical Chemistry, built around drug discovery.
Whichever path you choose, you’ll be guided by researchers like Professor Lesetja Legoabe, Research Director of Pharmacen™ and a medicinal chemist with over 100 peer-reviewed publications and more than 1,600 citations.
“Our research priorities are driven by unmet medical needs,” he says. “We focus on diseases where current therapies are inadequate because of drug resistance, toxicity, limited accessibility, or poor treatment outcomes.”
That focus defines everything at Pharmacen™. Every research project begins with a real healthcare challenge – this gives you the opportunity to build skills while contributing to work that could improve treatment for patients.
Source: North-West University. Over the years, Professor Lesetja Legoabe has built multidisciplinary research collaborations, secured competitive funding, supervised postgraduate students, and contributed to many scientific publications and patents.
Research with global relevance
Every project at Pharmacen™ begins with a real medical need. Drug-resistant tuberculosis, antimicrobial resistance, and neglected tropical diseases continue to threaten millions of lives, particularly across Africa.
That’s where Professor Legoabe and his team focus their efforts, applying their expertise where it can have the greatest impact. “We combine medicinal chemistry, computational modelling, biological evaluation and drug delivery sciences to identify innovative therapeutic solutions,” Professor Legoabe says.
One example is the team’s work on drug-resistant tuberculosis, which the World Health Organisation continues to rank among the world’s deadliest infectious diseases. Researchers build compounds that block enzymes the tuberculosis bacteria need to survive, then test how well those compounds work against resistant strains of the disease.
In projects like this, you’ll get hands-on experience with the entire process: designing a molecule, synthesising it in the lab, studying how small changes to its structure affect how well it works, and interpreting the biological test results. It’s research with consequences that reach well beyond South Africa.
Source: North-West University. At Pharmacen™, students contribute to pharmaceutical research that improves lives across Africa and beyond.
Early research opportunities
At Pharmacen™, you’ll have access to advanced research facilities and internationally published supervisors – all at a fraction of the cost of many comparable programmes overseas. And while North-West University may rank among the top 4.1% of universities worldwide in the Centre for World University Rankings’ 2025 Global 2000 list, you get to be part of its research teams early.
“Students become an integral part of our research team from the beginning,” Professor Legoabe says.
After training in lab safety, synthetic chemistry, analytical techniques, and research ethics, you’ll join an active drug discovery project. You’ll help design molecules, synthesise compounds, analyse results, and work with biological scientists to test how those compounds perform against real disease targets.
Exposure and experience in South Africa’s healthcare will give you even more perspective. “Students gain first-hand appreciation of how scientific discoveries can improve healthcare outcomes in resource-constrained settings,” Professor Legoabe says. “They learn to develop innovative, cost-effective solutions while considering the broader social, economic and healthcare contexts.”
Learning beyond the laboratory
A postgraduate degree at Pharmacen™ helps you develop the soft skills needed for a successful research career, from presenting your work to publishing your findings.
“Students regularly present their work during group meetings and conferences,” says Professor Legoabe. “We also mentor them through the process of preparing manuscripts for peer-reviewed journals and applying for funding opportunities. These experiences strengthen their leadership and critical thinking skills while preparing them for career opportunities.”
The training keeps pace with the direction of pharmaceutical science. Artificial intelligence and computational drug design are becoming essential tools for discovering and refining new medicines, so Pharmacen™ trains students to use them alongside traditional laboratory methods.
“We believe the future researcher must be comfortable working across both computational and experimental platforms to drive innovation efficiently,” Professor Legoabe says.
By the time you graduate, you’ll be confident working in the laboratory and with AI-powered computational tools to develop the next generation of medicines.
If that’s the kind of role you want to get into, Pharmacen™ is the place to be. “If you’re passionate about science and want your research to make a real difference, Pharmacen™ at North-West University provides an environment where you can grow as a scientist while contributing to discoveries that have the potential to improve lives around the world,” Professor Legoabe says.
Learn more about the Centre of Excellence for Pharmaceutical Sciences.
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