Dr Mpho Phalatse spent her first years of life with her maternal grandmother in Hebron, northwest of Tshwane, before moving in with her parents in Mabopane.

The ethos of diligence and resilience was instilled in Dr Phalatse at an early age, having been born to Komane and Moserwa Phalatse, who were both educators in the then homeland of Bophuthatswana.

Dr Phalatse matriculated from Loreto Convent School in 1994 and subsequently secured admission at the University of Witwatersrand (Wits) to study Chemical Engineering. She enrolled here in 1995. However, after much self-reflection and a desire to focus on a more people-oriented career, she flipped things around in her second year at Wits to journey back to Tshwane to study for a doctoral degree in medicine at the Sefako Makgatho Health Sciences University, previously known as MEDUNSA.