Dr. Inam Yekwayo, a Senior Lecturer at Walter Sisulu University in the Eastern Cape, was a Harvard University Center for African Studies Visiting Fellow in 2019. During her time at Harvard worked closely with Professor Naomi Pierce, Sidney A. and John H. Hessel Professor of Biology at the Harvard Department of Organismic and Evolutionary Biology and Curator of Lepidoptera in the Museum of Comparative Zoology. She also tutored isiXhosa for the Harvard African Language Program. 

On September 30, 2021, due to her collaboration and time at Harvard, Yekwayo and her colleagues published a research article on Evidence of nutrient translocation in response to smoke exposure by the East African ant acacia, Vachellia drepanolobium.

Inam Yekwayo is a Conservation Ecologist, with a PhD (Conservation Ecology) from Stellenbosch University and an MSc (Zoology) from Water Sisulu University. Inam’s research focuses on the interaction of arthropods with various vegetation types. Inam has published scientific articles in journal, such as, PLoS One, Biodiversity and Conservation, and Insect Conservation and Diversity. In addition, she has shared her research findings in local (South Africa) and international conferences. Inam understands the importance of collaborative research. As a result in projects that she is working on currently, she is collaborating with researchers from different institutions, such as, University of Mpumalanga, Harvard University, University of Stellenbosch and University of KwaZulu-Natal.