I am the Chief specialist Technician of the Tissue Culture Laboratory – based at the Parks Department, eThekwini Municipality, South Africa. I am also currently a Ph.D. candidate in the biological
sciences (specializing in plant conservation biotechnology – applying cryobiology to conserve endangered South African plant species). I have close to 20 years of experience in the area of plant tissue culture research. During my earlier postgraduate studies, I gained experience in plant tissue culture and micropropagation of indigenous African species. One of the achievements during my postgraduate study was the opportunity to present some of the research findings at a national conference. I conceptualized the idea for the research and was responsible for the data collection and analysis and the design of the poster presented. During my employment after that as an Academic research assistant at the Plant Cell Biology Research Unit (headed at the time by Prof. N.W Pammenter and the late Prof. P. Berjak) at the University of KwaZulu- Natal, South Africa, I gained further experience working with tissue culture of recalcitrant seeded plant species. My research focused on developing procedures to reduce fungal contamination during the field collection and in vitro conservation of recalcitrant plant germplasm. I assisted in developing the experimental design, conducting the experiments, collecting and analyzing data, and compiling monthly progress reports and outputs for the research unit head. In addition, I was responsible for helping with the training of undergraduate and postgraduates undertaking research projects under the supervision of the unit head. My other duties as an academic research assistant included supervising and monitoring the use of the seed biology laboratory, tissue culture facilities, and fungal screening laboratory. I had the opportunity to present some of the research findings of the research work undertaken at an international conference.

As the current chief Technician of the Tissue Culture Laboratory, Parks, Leisure and Cemeteries Department, eThekwini Municipality, I am responsible for providing a comprehensive research and development service in plant science. I am also responsible for planning and coordinating all maintenance and functions of the facility to ensure efficient and effective in vitro plant production to sustain the plant requirements for conservation and horticultural projects within the city. I carry out these duties within recognized international scientific standards and technologies and national biodiversity management policies. The lab primarily focuses on developing tissue culture protocols to propagate and maintain in vitro cultures of challenging- to-propagate rare and endangered indigenous plant species of KwaZulu-Natal. KwaZulu-Natal is in one of the biodiversity hotspots of South Africa. Since the facility works with plant material collected from the wild, I am also responsible for coordinating necessary permit applications. My current research interest is to develop cryopreservation protocols to store in vitro grown plant material as a long-term conservation strategy to back up to the existing in vitro collections.
I also co-supervise tissue culture based research conducted by postgraduate students in collaboration with tertiary institutes in the region. Co-supervised research projects focus on in vitro protocol development and optimization to improve in vitro conservation of rare, threatened, and endangered plant species. I co-authored articles published in scientific journals as the corresponding author and participated in national and international conferences. I was responsible for developing the concept, design, data collection and analysis for some of these presentations. In addition, I am responsible for coordinating and facilitating in house technical training of staff and postgraduate students.
I am a member of the Durban University of Technology, Department of Horticultural advisory board. In this capacity,c I provide relevant input for module development in the field of tissue culture. I further serve as an external moderator for the modules related to sustainable plant propagation of threatened indigenous species. I also facilitate and coordinate talks and workshops to promote plant biodiversity conservation and science programs for school groups at primary and secondary level