Dr Lutete Peguy Khonde

Dr. Lutete Peguy Khonde obtained his BSc and BSc (Hons) with distinction from the University of Kinshasa (Democratic Republic of Congo) in 2008.

Thereafter he worked as a lab assistant and Waste Water Plant supervisor in Heineken Brewery (Kinshasa, DRC) for 2 years. His passion for research brought him to the University of Cape Town where he successfully completed his MSc degree in chemistry in June 2013. He then pursued his PhD studies at the same institution under the supervision of Dr Anwar Jardine. His research entailed the total synthesis of natural thiohistidines (ergothioneine and ovothiols) and metabolic intermediates involved in their biosynthetic pathway as potential antibacterial agents. The intellectual property of this research has been captured in a patent (Lutete named as co-inventor) and publications in peer-reviewed journals.

During his MSc and PhD studies, he was actively involved in teaching and mentoring undergraduate students across UCT. Besides being a chemistry tutor, he served as a numeracy centre tutor (CHAD department) at UCT (2015-2016).

He joined H3D in February 2017. He is currently working on various TB programs.