OUR TEAM

Principal Investigator

Thulani’s research focuses on understanding the evolution of microbial communities in the environment. His work has been published in the leading microbiome journals including The ISME….

Project Manager

Elanna holds a PhD in Microbiology (University of Toronto) and works closely with the members of the African Microbiome Project Team as Project Manager. She assists with the administration and coordination of activities and projects…..

Postdoctoral Associate 

Nonsikelelo Precios Mthethwa Hlongwa is a South African postdoctoral researcher within the African Microbiome Project at Stellenbosch University. Her work spans human gut and air microbiome research…..

Postdoctoral Associate 

Peter Kotsoana Montso is a postdoctoral researcher in the Department of Microbiology at Stellenbosch University. He completed his PhD in Biology, majoring in Molecular Microbiology….

Postdoctoral Associate 

Sam Leareng is a Postdoctoral Research Fellow in the African Microbiome Research Group. His interests are using molecular approaches to understand the effects of anthropogenic inputs on aquatic ecosystems……

Postdoctoral Associate 

Dillon Muzondiwa is a Postdoctoral research fellow in the African Microbiome Research Group, where he combines bioinformatics, data science, and microbiology to unravel the complexities of microbial ecosystems…….

Postdoctoral Associate 

Matteo Nello John Gregori, or Nello, is a post-doctoral researcher within the African Microbiome group. He is a passionate environmental microbiologist with experience in both terrestrial and marine environments…….

Postdoctoral Associate 

Zama is a South African postdoctoral research fellow currently contributing to the African Microbiome Project by looking at aerosol microbiome. She has over eight years of experience working with infectious diseases…….

Postdoctoral Associate

I am a postdoctoral researcher at working at the intersection of environmental and medical microbiology, with a focus on the role of microbial processes in ecosystem function and resilience across freshwater and sanitation systems……

Postdoctoral Associate

Mayi is a microbial oceanographer whose research interest is on understanding metabolic pathways that helps microorganism to survive environmental perturbations. The central focus of Mayi’s research is on quantifying the ……

PhD Candidate

Prudence is an environmental microbiology researcher in the Department of Microbiology at Stellenbosch University. She investigates how environmental stressors activate conserved bacterial stress-response pathways…….

PhD Candidate

Senamile Seyama is a PhD candidate in Microbiology at Stellenbosch University whose research focuses on examining the complex airborne microbial communities around wastewater treatment plants and their potential……

PhD Candidate

Tendani’s research interests lie in microbial ecology. She is fascinated by the hidden microbial interactions that regulate biogeochemical cycling and how these processes underpin ecosystem functioning…….

PhD Candidate

Lawrence Kapansa is a Laboratory Scientific Officer at the Zambia National Public Health Reference Laboratory, Zambia National Public Health Institute (ZNPHI), with research interests in antimicrobial resistance (AMR)……

PhD Candidate

Keith’s research interests lie at the intersection of ecology, bioinformatics and evolutionary biology. For his PhD, he aims to use in silico methods to characterise the niche breadth of desert ……

PhD Candidate

Runesu is a Marine Microbial Ecologist who focuses on bioinformatics. His research focus areas are bacterial genome comparisons, interrelationships in bacterial communities and the roles played by secondary……

PhD Candidate

Phillip’s research focuses on understanding the ecophysiology of soil Acidobacteriota across different soil habitats. The study aims to investigate whether the pangenomes of Acidobacteriota, derived from……

PhD Candidate

Nosipho’s research is aimed at advancing current insights regarding the functional gene repertoire of microbiomes in the South Atlantic Ocean. Specifically, Nosipho is interested in identifying carotenoid……

PhD Candidate

Nombuso is interested in understanding the relationship between gut and cutaneous microbiota in South African Individuals. Her research focuses on investigating the interaction between skin and gut microbiota……

PhD Candidate

Benjamin is investigating marine microbial communities and organic matter profiles of pristine environments in the Southern Ocean. This includes the impact of anthropogenic pollutants on biogeochemical cycling……

PhD Candidate

Thato is a current PhD candidate in Microbiology, holding an MSc in Biochemistry, with a strong academic foundation in biochemistry, microbiology, and molecular biology…….

MSc Candidate

Haneefah Kenny is a first-year MSc Microbiology student within the African Microbiome Group. She holds a BSc in Molecular Biology and Biotechnology and an Honours degree in Microbiology from Stellenbosch University. She is particularly interested in the integration of multi-omics…….

MSc Candidate

Zach Charles is a master’s student in Medical Virology at Stellenbosch University, following a BHons in Microbiology and a BSc in Molecular Biology and Biotechnology. He is passionate about understanding how enteric infections and gut microbial ……

MSc Candidate

Isabella is a microbiologist with a background in molecular biology and biotechnology. She has a keen interest in the intersection between human health, microbial ecology and virology. Her BSc Honours in Microbiology focused on…….

MSc Candidate

Nobuhle is currently a master’s student in microbiology with a strong academic background in both genetics and microbiology. She holds a BSc degree in genetics and microbiology and completed her BSc Honours in ……

MSc Candidate

Louis is a Molecular Biologist with a background in microbiology and biochemistry, currently pursuing his MSc in Microbiology. His Honour’s research centered on the gut microbiome……

MSc Candidate

Natalie is currently pursuing an MSc focused on investigating antibiotic resistance gene expression across wastewater and freshwater systems in South Africa. Her research integrates molecular……

MSc Candidate

As a researcher with a keen interest in parasitology, microbiome interactions, and public health, Alistair is passionate about understanding how gastrointestinal parasites affect human and animal health……

MSc Candidate

Her research is investigates how moving from informal to formal housing affects health outcomes in children under five years old in South Africa. Jessie’s work specifically aims to develop a predictive……

MSc Candidate

Her research centres on wastewater-based genomic surveillance of antimicrobial resistance (AMR) across multiple African countries. involves collecting wastewater from diverse sites, then applying metagenomics and bioinformatics to characterise resistome diversity….

MSc Candidate

Sahil is a Master’s candidate in Microbiology. His research focuses on prokaryotic community dynamics in the Southern Ocean across glacial-interglacial cycles, and aims to contribute to our understanding of ancient marine microbiomes……

MSc Candidate

Rapelang is a BSc Biotechnology graduate currently pursuing an Honours degree in Microbiology. Her research focuses on detecting and identifying Entamoeba histolytica and related species in children under five living in informal settlements……

MSc Candidate

Vhulenda is currently an Honours student in Microbiology, with a background in Biochemistry and Microbiology. Her research focuses on assessing the impact of wastewater inputs on South African freshwater microbiomes……

MSc Candidate

Laa’iqah is a microbiologist with a background in biotechnology, molecular biology, genetics, and microbiology. She is interested in understanding how microbial communities influence human health, particularly in the context of women’s health……

Honours student

Sibabalwe is investigating the impact of Giardia duodenalis infections on the gut health of children under 5 years in informal and formal settlements in the Western Cape.

Honours student

My project is detecting and quantifying Norovirus GI and GII in children in informal and formal settlements. It aims to understand viral dynamics and how the environment promotes transmission and infection…..

Honours student

My project is trying to use a new approach for discovering antimicrobials. The idea is to use machine learning and analyse metagenomic data from fresh/waste water and hope to mine the genome for possibly novel antimicrobials……

Honours student

Relebogile Michelle Kgomo is an honours student in Microbiology at Stellenbosch University. She holds a BSc degree in biological science in microbiology and biochemistry. Her interests involve working with wastewater ……

Honours student

Hildred’s research project aims for the development of a scalable, reproducible, and standardised computational framework that integrates multiple Biosynthetic Gene Cluster (BGC) prediction approaches ……

Honours student

Stache is a BSc Molecular Biology and Biotechnology graduate currently pursuing an Honours degree in Microbiology at Stellenbosch University.  Her research focuses on characterising the gut and skin mycobiome…….

Postdoctoral Associate 

Dr. Girish was a postdoctoral fellow based at the Department of Microbiology and School for Data Sciences and Computational Thinking, Stellenbosch University, South Africa…….