I am a research assistant and a PhD candidate at the Centre for Bioinformatics and Computational Biology and the Forestry and Agricultural Biotechnology Institute at the University of Pretoria. I obtained my BSc and BSc (Hons) in Genetics from the University of Pretoria and my MSc in Human Genetics from Stellenbosch University. I have been employed as a research assistant at FABI since returning to Pretoria and then gradually expanded my research interests in molecular biology and genetics to include bioinformatics and genomics. My current research interests include genomics and transcriptomics analyses of forestry pests and pathogens. I am actively involved in student training, having been a practical demonstrator and tutor for numerous subjects at University of Pretoria and Stellenbosch University as well as co-supervising several postgraduate students. I am a member of the South African Genetics Society and have been a council member of the South African Society for Bioinformatics since 2014.