Dr Thabi Maitin has been in the Profession of Human Health Capacity Development in South Africa, in the region and abroad for more than two decades, her last station having been at the South African Medical Research Council. In this role, she championed the inception of a restructured portfolio of how the council funds the development of the new generation of health and clinical scientists in the country. She has successfully aligned funding programmes under her management with national targets for the advancement of transformation and development of researchers in scarce skills. Dr Maitin holds a PhD in Health Science and is a microbiologist by profession.