Masekela, who is a paediatric pulmonologist, received the National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR) Global Research Professorship award. She is the first researcher based in a low- and middle-income country to receive this award and the first black African woman to receive it. Masekela said that asthma affects one in 10 children globally and is the most common non-communicable disease (NCD) in children and adolescents. The prestigious Global Health Research Professorship will provide a step-change in my career, establishing me as a global research leader. As the first female black African to receive this award, I am humbled and excited to embark on this journey. I am particularly pleased that this professorship includes funding for PhDs in both clinical research and health economics, as well as support costs for our wider team. This helps strengthen our research capacity in an area which has historically been under-resourced, she said.

The award will also fund three doctoral candidates in clinical and health economics research as well as develop a pan-African respiratory NCD repository. I will also conduct a study to assess the clinical and cost-effectiveness of a pragmatic single inhaler-based approach to asthma management in children and adolescents in South Africa. My ultimate goal is that all children and adolescents with asthma in Africa should have equitable access to affordable and effective care, added Masekela. Masekela has held various leadership positions in local and international thoracic societies and is the vice-chairperson of the Pan African Thoracic Society (PATS).