A Stellenbosch University researcher focusing on the ethical priorities surrounding emerging neurotechnologies for neuropsychiatric conditions in Africa has received a major boost in the form of a significant international award.

Dr Olivia Matshabane, a neuroethics researcher in the Department of Psychiatry, is one of the recipients of the 2025 International Brain Research Organisation (IBRO) Rising Star Awards. She is the first South African, and one of only 15 researchers on the continent, to receive this honour.

An elated Matshabane says the award will help expand her team’s work at the intersection of neuroscience and neuroethics. “To my knowledge, IBRO has never given this award to candidates in neuroethics, so I hope this signals the start of more support for research groups in our field. For me, and for our work, this is a vote of confidence. I’m excited and grateful.”

The IBRO Rising Star Awards aim to build impactful, long-term research at local and global levels by offering start‑up funds to early-career neuroscientists transitioning into independent research roles. Awardees are supported to establish their own laboratories, often in under-resourced settings. Since its launch in 2015, the programme has helped create 74 labs in 25 countries and supported work across a wide range of neuroscience disciplines. The awards address infrastructural gaps and strengthen collaborations, skills development, and scientific momentum.

Recognising awardees’ work early in their careers also supports their long-term paths to securing major international grants from funders such as the Wellcome Trust and the National Institutes of Health, where Matshabane previously trained as a postdoctoral fellow in the National Human Genome Research Institute.

Originally from eNgqele village near Alice in the Eastern Cape, Matshabane notes that brain and mental health conditions are common in rural and township communities. Yet people in these underserved areas are often excluded from research and policy developments related to these conditions. She adds that as new technologies for treating brain and mental health disorders rapidly emerge, there is a risk that key populations may not benefit from them or may be overlooked when developing guidelines for their use. Cultural and contextual factors are also frequently neglected in global neuroscience research.

“Our work aims to explore the ethical, social, psychological and cultural implications of neuroscientific advancements,” she explains. “This award allows us to deepen this work, especially in relation to neuropsychiatric genomics research on the continent.”

Leading the Africa Neuroethics Research Group, Matshabane and her collaborators have already laid important groundwork. Their ongoing projects explore ethical priorities for introducing neurotechnologies to treat psychiatric conditions, such as post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) in South Africa, and, in partnership with Aga Khan University in Kenya, for supporting individuals living with epilepsy.

“We do this because neurotechnologies, including AI‑driven tools, are advancing quickly. Some are invasive, others non‑invasive, but all raise ethical questions around safety, access, and responsible use,” she says. “A major concern is data. What is collected, who has access to it, and how it is used.”

Matshabane serves as the Ethics Lead for the Psychiatric Genomics Consortium Africa Working Group. This initiative aims to establish an ethical framework for psychiatric genomics research on the continent and provides a platform for researchers, clinicians and the public to engage with African genomic data. The group also facilitates cutting‑edge research on neuropsychiatric conditions across Africa.

“Neuropsychiatric genomics helps us understand how our genes influence the development and presentation of mental health conditions like depression, anxiety and schizophrenia,” she explains. “It also allows us to move toward more personalised treatments.” Yet African representation in global genomic datasets remains below 2%, which limits the usefulness of scientific advances for people of African descent. Ethical concerns and cultural beliefs contribute to this gap.

With the support of the IBRO award, Matshabane plans to build further capacity in neuroethics and neuropsychiatric genomics. She is especially proud of the growing team around her: project coordinator and PhD candidate Ms Mohhadiah Rafique, whose doctoral work explores meaning‑making in schizophrenia, and Master of Neuroscience student Ms Yomelela Golimpi. Together, they will co-design a new research project with individuals with lived experience of mental health conditions, scientists and traditional leaders. This approach, she says, ensures that African ethical perspectives shape the research from the start and that the work aligns with the needs of African communities.

“Overall, I am grateful to Professor Soraya Seedat, our Executive Head of the Department of Psychiatry at Stellenbosch University, for supporting my nomination,” she says. “Building on the work already done by scientists in Africa, I hope we can contribute meaningfully to continental psychiatric genomics and ensure that African priorities are recognised, elevated and addressed in neuroscience and in society.”