[1] When she was awarded a USAID Fellowship in 1983,[2] Sithole chose to continue her education, studying plant and virus genetics.
[1] That same year, she married Sheikh Ibrahima Niang, a Senegalese professor of anthropology, whom she met at Michigan State University.
[2] Sithole-Niang is in favor of genetic modifications to make cowpeas resistant to disease and believes that GMO versions of traditional crops are beneficial to developing nations.
Working with the Network for the Genetic Improvement of Cowpea for Africa (NGICA) as a coordinator, she has consulted with other international experts,[2] in part because of the lack of funding available from within Zimbabwe.
[5] She has served as both a member and a board member of numerous organizations including: Steering Committee Trustee of the African Women for Agriculture and Research and Development (AWARD) Programme, the American Association for the Advancement of Science, the American Society for Virologists, Oversight Committee of the Improved Maize for African Soils (IMAS), Selection Committee Chair of the Joshua Nkomo Scholarships, the New York Academy of Sciences, Vice Chair of the Research Council of Zimbabwe, Selection Committee for the Rhodes Scholarships in Zimbabwe and the Zimbabwe Academy of Sciences.