Dr Judey is revolutionising paediatric burn care in South Africa

Dr Judey, a South African biomedical scientist and entrepreneur, is making strides in pediatric burn care in South Africa. Her recent visit to the Paediatric Burns Unit at Chris Hani Baragwanath Academic Hospital in Soweto, facilitated by the U Matter Foundation, highlighted the complexities of treating children with severe burns.

Dr Judey, with a background in genetics, molecular biology, and pharmaceutical chemistry, emphasized that scientific innovation should translate into meaningful impact. She stressed that healthcare innovation should solve problems that matter to patients and healthcare professionals, not just develop new things. During her discussions with healthcare professionals, Dr Judey was struck by the multifaceted challenges children with burn injuries face, including pain, infection risks, scarring, mobility issues, and psychological effects.

She highlighted that burn care is about more than just treating the wound, as healing is often only the beginning of a long journey. Dr Judey believes that paediatric burn care deserves more attention from policymakers, researchers, and the public because children are particularly vulnerable. She advocates for closer collaboration between scientists and clinicians, informing research with frontline challenges rather than developing solutions in isolation.

Dr Judey's company, Biomedical Emporium, has grown from a research-driven start-up into an integrated healthcare company with a focus on addressing real healthcare challenges. She sees a responsibility to ensure that scientific knowledge and capabilities contribute to solving healthcare challenges, not just develop new technologies.

Dr Judey also emphasizes the importance of long-term commitment from businesses to support vulnerable communities through capacity building, research support, and developing solutions to recurring challenges. Her vision for Biomedical Emporium is to demonstrate how African science and biotechnology can contribute to solving African healthcare challenges while fostering stronger links between research, business, and society.