Mpho Mafata - research statement

Research Statement

Introduction

My research journey spans 13 years (2012 to present), starting from chemistry (organic synthesis, biochemistry, and analytical chemistry) in my undergraduate years of study. My postgraduate studies were in agricultural biotechnology in wine production with heavy emphasis on sensory and data science. My interest in data science then escalated into further studies into multi-modal, holistic methods for investigating the relationship between sensory and chemical profiels of various beverages. My practical skillsets include wet-laboratory techniques (e.g., solid, liquid phase extractions), biotechnology (e.g., grape fermentation protocols), analytical chemistry (e.g., mass spectrometry, spectrophotometry), and data analysis (e.g., Python and R multivariate analysis). These are complementary skills which would enable me to elucidate the relationship between molecular structure and activity, enhanced through data analysis. In addition to the technical skills, I have soft-skills in technical/scientific writing, project planning and organization, funding application, and industry stakeholder engagement and accountability. My experience working in these interdisciplinary, multicultural environments has given me the ability to be onboarded, collaborate, and implement problem-solving/troubleshooting at a much faster rate. My experience working in interdisciplinary environments (bibliometrics, chemistry, sensory, food science, and data science) have given me the ability to implement problem-solving/troubleshooting at a much faster rate. I managed to assimilate into different fields and industries within a matter of months. I am an avid learner, I thrive on internal drive to succeed.

Areas of research

My current research interets are in the applications of Data Science in the fields:

  • Analytical Chemistry, (technical skills in separation sciences (chromatography) and detection (mass spectrometry, UV-vis and fluorescence spectroscopy), wet-lab/preparatory chemistry)
  • Bibliometrics, (Patent statistics, patents:scietific publicaitons inter-database integration)
  • Biotechnology, (wine biotechnology, winemaking protocols, and associated food chemistry)
  • Oenology, (chemical,sensory, and data analysis of wine)
  • Sensory evaluation. (the use and intepretation of rapid sensory analysis methods)

  • I work on transdisciplinary approaches for insightful data analysis and its communication (see more here ).

    Contributions to the science community

    I have contributed 14 peer-reviwed articles and two book chapters, nine magazine publications, and ten conference proceedings.

    Teaching experience and approach to instruction

    I am a trained and experienced writing consultant and workshop instructor. I have over four years of experience in scientific and technical writing consultation and instruction.