POSTDOCTORAL FELLOW | Recombinant protein expression and purification of medical and pharmaceutical production relevant enzymes

Short Bio

Originally from Durban and schooled in the Natal Midlands, I have a passion for both commerce and science. I pursued bachelor’s degrees in each field at Rhodes University to enable the commercialization of scientific advances. This was furthered by an MSc in enzyme synergy for lignocellulosic waste degradation for biofuel production. I was then selected to join the CSIR postgraduate development program to complete a PhD in Medical Biochemistry at the University of Cape Town (UCT), focusing on biosimilar peptide production with recombinant enzymes. I specialise in heterologous recombinant enzyme design, expression, purification, and enzyme activity assays, funded by SAMVAC for vaccine production.

Research Interests

Protein engineering, recombinant protein expression in E.coli and Yeast, protein purification, enzyme activity assays, peptide production.

Selected Publications

Visit my Google Scholar Profile for a complete list of my publications.

Teaching

I have informally helped and advised multiple master’s and honors students throughout my studies. Additionally, I have presented short courses for the Bioprocessing Skills Accelerator course for the UVU BIO startup incubator.