Two Sisters Carry Wits Forward in Academic Excellence
- DFO
Two sisters. Two PhDs. One extraordinary day at the University of New South Wales
Lifelong learning and intellectual curiosity are hallmarks of a Wits education, and few stories capture this better than that of sisters Dr Heather Weltman and Dr Michelle Bootcov.
Having emigrated to Sydney, Australia in the 1980s, both sisters have continued to excel professionally and academically. On 18 August 2025, they reached a remarkable milestone, graduating with PhDs from the University of New South Wales (UNSW) on the same day, albeit in vastly different disciplines. Michelle graduated in the morning, and Heather in the evening.
Heather graduated from Wits in 1983 with a Higher Diploma in Education. After settling in Australia, she completed a Bachelor of Education at the University of Sydney and a Master’s degree in e-learning at the University of Technology Sydney. A lifelong educator, she spent much of her career as a high school computer teacher, as well as an instructional designer, creating and implementing ICT programmes and training for teaching and non-teaching staff. Her PhD in the Faculty of Engineering at UNSW grew directly from this passion, leading her to investigate how, when, and where online adaptive tutorials can be used to support teaching and learning.
She credits an early encounter with technology at Wits as the spark that set her on her rewarding EdTech path. She is forever grateful to her accounting lecturer, Mr Johns, who organised for his class to attend the first-ever Apple II computer workshop run on the Wits campus. The week-long experience exposed her to desktop computing and the innovative software, VisiCalc. "From that moment on, I was hooked and so began my love of teaching intertwined with my love for what computers could offer," she says.
Michelle graduated from Wits in 1985 with a BSc in Genetics and Biochemistry, followed by an Honours degree in Genetics. She completed her first PhD in Molecular Immunology at UNSW in 1995, during which she discovered the cytokine MIC-1 (also known as GDF-15), now recognised as a significant stress-response cytokine, cancer and disease biomarker, and metabolic regulator. After a successful two-decade career in the technology sector, she returned to academia to pursue a long-standing interest in the humanities. Her second PhD explored the transformation of virological knowledge in the 20th Century, examining how Hepatitis B research between the 1960s and 1990s shaped modern diagnostic tools. Remarkably, she found that technologies widely used during the COVID-19 pandemic, including rapid antigen tests and the PCR sequencing of variants, had roots in earlier Hepatitis B research.
"Doing a PhD is hard, but being older, I had a lot of life experience, skills and resilience on which to draw," says Michelle. "It was an incredible opportunity, and I am very grateful to my supervisors for their support, and very aware that my journey started at Wits."
Heather echoes this sentiment.
Both sisters have fond memories of their time at Wits, particularly their years in residence at Jubilee Hall, run by Sheila Suttner. It would have been a difficult time for her, as her son Raymond, a Wits law lecturer, had been incarcerated for anti-apartheid activism. Yet, she created a warm and safe home for all the young women at that ‘res’.
Heather was a member of the drum majorettes’ squad that led the RAG procession through the city streets. Michelle recalls an all-nighter where she built a float for the same procession and the abuse hurled at “Witsie communists" by some members of the public. She also remembers a defining lecture by the always elegant and eloquent genetics professor, Nancy van Schaik, who presented clear evidence that there is no such thing as biological race. "You could just about hear the Union Buildings quaking in Pretoria," she says.
Their husbands are also proud Witsies. Associate Professor Martin Weltman graduated from Wits in 1983 and is a consultant gastroenterologist and hepatologist in Sydney. Dr Brian Treisman qualified as a dentist at Wits in 1981. Four Witsies, one family, and an incredibly good reason to celebrate.
From Jubilee Hall to UNSW, their story is one of resilience, intellectual curiosity, and the enduring value of a Wits education.
Dr Michelle Bootcov and Dr Heather Weltman at their PhD graduation, UNSW Sydney, August 2025 - photo credit: Jenny Xu, UNSW Sydney
Dr Brian Treisman, Dr Michelle Bootcov, Dr Heather Weltman and A/Prof Martin Weltman - photo credit: Kyle Weltman