I am presently a full Professor of Microbiology at North-West University, Potchefstroom campus, North-West. I worked as a Senior Researcher at the Agricultural Research Council between 2011 and 2019. I obtained my PhD degree from the University of Pretoria, Department of Microbiology and Plant Pathology. I am an alumnus of the Borlaug fellowship programme at Cornell University as well as a Canadian government commonwealth scholarship beneficiary. I am C1 rated researcher.

My research focus is on applied ecological research with regard to Arthropoda in agro-ecosystems.  I have 30 years of experience in pest management research, especially on maize and sorghum. My principle research responsibilities include the development of IPM strategies for Fall armyworm, study of arthropod diversity in agro-ecosystems, resistance evolution of pests against Bt maize, Bt cotton and insecticides. We are a lead group in GM Bt maize research in Africa.

Amphibian conservation has received increasing attention following the 2005 global declaration of the Amphibian Conservation Action Plan (ACAP), with placed a high premium on amongst other increasing the capacity of conservation research required to combat this global crisis. It is within this research field of amphibian conservation that I have established my research activities within the geographical bounds of sub-Saharan Africa and adjacent island of Madagascar.