Nokwanda Makunga | |
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Alma mater | University of KwaZulu-Natal |
Scientific career | |
Institutions | Stellenbosch University University of Minnesota, Minneapolis |
Nokwanda Pearl (Nox) Makunga is a Professor of Biotechnology at Stellenbosch University.
Makunga grew up in Alice in the Eastern Cape, and attended a private boarding school in Grahamstown. [1] Her father, Oswald, was a botanist who specialised in the Iridaceae. [1] He grew up in rural poverty and won a scholarship to study at University of Fort Hare. [2] She attended university in Pietermaritzburg. [1] She completed her PhD at the University of KwaZulu-Natal in 2004, working on the molecular biology of plants. [3]
In 2005 Makunga was offered a position at Stellenbosch University. Her work looks to identify the molecular and genetic regulation of the secondary metabolism in medicinal plants. [4] [5] She often travels to rural areas to talk to traditional healers. [6] She has a contributed to two books: Protocols for Somatic Embryogenesis in Woody plants and Floriculture, Ornamental and Plant Biotechnology: Advances and Topical Issues. [7] [8] In 2010 she delivered a TED talk on the Potential of a Medicinal Wonderland. [9] She has acted as honorary secretary, Vice President and President of the South African Association of Botanists Council. [10]
She won the 2011 National Science and Technology Forum Distinguished Young Black Researcher award. [11] She also won the TW Kambule Award. [12] In 2017 she was a Fulbright scholar at the University of Minnesota, Minneapolis. [13] She worked with Jerry Cohen on medicinal plants from the Eastern Cape. [13] [14] She studied the Stevia plant. [15] She holds a patent for vegetative plant propagation. [16]
Makunga is a passionate science communicator. [1] [3] Together with Tanisha Williams and Beronda Montgomery, she leads the annual Black Botanists Week. [17]
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