Nokwanda Makunga

Nokwanda Pearl (Nox) Makunga is a Professor of Biotechnology at Stellenbosch University.

Nokwanda Makunga
Alma materUniversity of KwaZulu-Natal
Scientific career
InstitutionsStellenbosch University
University of Minnesota, Minneapolis

Early life and education

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]

Research and career

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]

References
  1. Nordling, Linda (2018-02-08). "How decolonization could reshape South African science". Nature. 554 (7691): 159–162. doi:10.1038/d41586-018-01696-w. ISSN 0028-0836. PMID 29420501.
  2. Makunga, Nokwanda P. (2015). "Obituary Professor Oswald Hercules Daluxolo Makunga (1932–2013)" (PDF). South African Journal of Botany. 98: 161. doi:10.1016/j.sajb.2015.03.001. Retrieved 6 July 2020.
  3. "SAASTA getSETgo, May 2015: Meet live wire scientist and innovative science communicator - Prof. Nox Makunga". www.saasta.ac.za. Retrieved 2018-07-21.
  4. Makunga, Nokwanda P. (2011-09-14). "African medicinal flora in the limelight". South African Journal of Science. 107 (9/10). ISSN 1996-7489.
  5. "Prof. Nox Makunga". www.sun.ac.za. Retrieved 2018-07-21.
  6. "Indigenous traditions get science backing". WHYY. Retrieved 2018-07-21.
  7. Gupta, edited by S. Mohan Jain and Pramod K. (2005). Protocol for somatic embryogenesis in woody plants. Dordrecht: Springer. ISBN 9781402029851. OCLC 262677669.CS1 maint: extra text: authors list (link)
  8. Floriculture, ornamental and plant biotechnology : advances and topical issues. Silva, Jaime A. Teixeira da. Isleworth: Global Science Books. 2006. ISBN 490331300X. OCLC 75713050.CS1 maint: others (link)
  9. TEDx Talks (2010-11-20), TEDxStellenbosch - Nox Makunga - The Potential of a Medicinal Wonderland, retrieved 2018-07-21
  10. "CBD Team". www.cbd.org.za. Retrieved 2018-07-21.
  11. "NSTF-BHP Billiton Awards" (PDF). NSTF. 2011-05-27. Retrieved 2018-07-21.
  12. Supplement, Advertorial. "Rewarding outstanding research". The M&G Online. Retrieved 2018-07-21.
  13. "Nokwanda Pearl Makunga | Fulbright Scholar Program". www.cies.org. Retrieved 2018-07-21.
  14. Freund, Dana M.; Sammons, Katherine A.; Makunga, Nokwanda P.; Cohen, Jerry D.; Hegeman, Adrian D. (2018-06-21). "Leaf Spray Mass Spectrometry: A Rapid Ambient Ionization Technique to Directly Assess Metabolites from Plant Tissues". Journal of Visualized Experiments (136). doi:10.3791/57949. ISSN 1940-087X. PMC 6101983. PMID 29985332.
  15. "Sweet Surprise - Good Housekeeping". Good Housekeeping. 2013-10-30. Retrieved 2018-07-21.
  16. Sustainable and industrial production of guaianolides based on organ tissue culture, 2017-02-02, retrieved 2018-07-21
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.