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During my Ph.D. in Biotechnology at Free State University (yr 2015), I studied the phenotypic and genetic responses of the major human fungal pathogen Candida albicans to the polyunsaturated fatty molecule, Arachidonic Acid. I subsequently completed postdoctoral studies with the Agricultural Research Council and South African Sugarcane Research Institute, respectively. I joined the academic staff at the University of Pretoria (Department of Biochemistry, Genetics, and Microbiology) in September 2019, as a lecturer and a supervisor for postgraduate research projects.

I am part of a diverse research team based in the Forestry and Agricultural Biotechnology Institute (FABI) of the University of Pretoria. My primary research interest is in understanding the molecular basis of microbial pathogen interaction with forest plants. I investigate the influence on virulence of small non-coding RNA molecules and membrane vesicles in Fusarium circinatum that causes pitch canker disease on pine trees and Douglas fir.

My focus also accommodates many different pathogens including fungi infecting grain crops (e.g., maize, soybeans, sunflower, etc.) produced in the summer rainfall regions of South Africa. Many pathogenic species of fungi account for substantial yield losses in major grain crops through different infection strategies, but the influence of biofilms – the architecturally complex communities glued together by a matrix – has largely been underemphasized. Therefore, I want to understand how fungi, through such crowded cell communities, exploit emerging ecological opportunities to cause infections in crops such as maize. I pursue this research question through the membership of the new Grain Research Programme developed by FABI in collaboration with GrainSA and other stakeholder departments.