The ‘C’ word
Congratulations to Kira Lynn for obtaining her Masters degree cum laude.
20 Apr 2020
17 Apr 2020
No break for insects!
Elisa Pal, a PhD candidate in FABI’s Macadamia Protection Programme explains how she cares for her colony of stink bugs during the Covid-19 lockdown.
15 Apr 2020
Autumn graduation honours for 68 FABIans at the University of Pretoria’s first virtual graduation ceremony
FABI celebrates with the 68 graduates affiliated with the Institute whose degrees were conferred at the University of Pretoria’s first virtual graduation ceremony on 6 April.
9 Apr 2020
FABIans in the news: Two articles in Wood Southern Africa & Timber Times highlight the work done by the PSHB Research Network
Two articles on the valuable work done at FABI on monitoring and surveillance of the polyphagous shothole borer were re-published in the February edition of Wood Southern Africa & Timber Times.
8 Apr 2020
FABI students organise a half-day student symposium at SAPBA 2020 symposium funded by Corteva
The 13th South African Plant Breeders Symposium was held at the University of Pretoria’s Future Africa campus from 8-11 March. A special afternoon session was set aside for University of Pretoria students to organise and was sponsored by Corteva™Agriscience.
7 Apr 2020
FABI signs MoU with Cropwatch Africa to advance national Plant Health management research and service
The Forestry and Agricultural Biotechnology Institute (FABI) at the University of Pretoria (UP) has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with specialised service provider Cropwatch Africa.
6 Apr 2020
Life in the Time of Corona
Alisa Postma, a PhD candidate in FABI and a research assistant at the Centre for Bioinformatics and Computational Biology, relates her experiences of working from home during lockdown. As we pass the (planned) halfway mark of our lockdown period in South Africa, I find myself making mental lists of what to do when I get my freedom back. That being said, finding a work-life balance with none of the external help I usually depend on has not been easy.
6 Apr 2020
Getting a PSHB research project done before the lockdown
Three Fabians rushed to do obtain the final results of a one year long inoculation trial with the PSHB fungus on pecans before the COVID-19 lockdown.
6 Apr 2020
FABI on lockdown: Brenda Wingfield reflects on ‘home work”
FABIans Professors Brenda and Mike Wingfield are on lock down in their home in Brooklyn, Pretoria. Brenda shares some of her thoughts on this unexpected twist in their lives.
3 Apr 2020
Working from Home: Dr Seonju Marincowitz
Dr Seonju Marincowitz is a mycologist and curator of the FABI Culture collection. Here are some of her thoughts on working from home during the lockdown period
2 Apr 2020
Working from home: Neriman’s perspective
FABI research Fellow Dr Neriman Yilmaz shares with us her thoughts on working from home, like so many other FABIans, during the CoViD-19 lockdown.
1 Apr 2020
Collaborative effort reveals diversity and distribution of eucalypt insect pests across 14 African countries
In 2017, a collaborative project was developed with the aim of understanding the distribution and genetic diversity of Eucalyptus insect pests and their natural enemies in sub-Saharan Africa.
25 Mar 2020
Moth pheromone trial in Underberg, KZN
Professor Jeremy Allison (Extraordinary Professor in FABI at UP) joined Luki-Marie Scheepers, Josephine Queffelec, Elisa Pal and Quentin Guignard on a field trip to Underberg, near the Drakensberg from 2-4 March.
23 Mar 2020
Emergency tree planting at FABI
A small group of FABI researchers assisted in an “emergency transplant” of a consignment of pine tree seedlings on 20 March. It is imperative that these seedlings were replanted as they would not otherwise survive in the trays and it would be a significant setback for the project if they died.
19 Mar 2020
FABI Seminars go virtual for COVID-19 social distancing measures
Thursday morning seminars (TMS) continued on 19 March, albeit now from the FABI boardroom and using video conferencing.
19 Mar 2020
Brazilian forestry researchers visit FABI
FABI hosted a visit by two research and development specialists from the Brazilian-based forestry company Suzano Pulp and Paper. During their visit to FABI on 12 March, the visitors participated in a round table discussion including FABI Director Prof.
17 Mar 2020
FABI recognises long service by staff
FABI handed out long service certificates to 25 staff members at the Monday morning meeting on 16 March.
13 Mar 2020
FABI launches Applied Chemical Ecology satellite laboratory
FABI has officially launched an Applied Chemical Ecology satellite laboratory and research programme in co-operation with Natural Resources Canada. The group’s research interests lie at the interface of behavioral chemical ecology and pest management.
12 Mar 2020
CSIR Synthetic Biology centre manager invites FABIans to collaborate
The Manager of the Centre for Synthetic Biology and Precision Medicine at the CSIR, Dr Deepak Balaji Thimiri Govinda Raj invited FABIans to collaborate with the Centre’s researchers during a presentation at the Monday Morning Meeting.
10 Mar 2020
FABIan wins 3rd place prize in The South African Science Lens® photographic competition
FABI Research Fellow, Dr.
6 Mar 2020
Ten interns welcomed into the CTHB
The DSI-NRF Centre for Tree Health Biotechnology (CTHB) in FABI welcomed 10 interns on 2 March.
5 Mar 2020
FABI opens its doors for undergraduate students to “meet the scientists”
The CTHB Outreach Team at FABI hosted “Meet the scientists” information sessions for undergraduate students at the University of Pretoria on 26 and 27 February.
5 Mar 2020
Macadamia Protection Program research visit to Australia
Macadamia Protection Programme research group leader, Dr Gerda Fourie, PhD candidate Angel Maduke and MSc student Ashleigh Smith visited research collaborators Prof. Andre Drenth and Prof. Femi Akinsanmi from the Queensland Alliance for Agriculture and Food Innovation (QAAFI) at the University of Queensland in Brisbane Australia, from 15-29 February.
5 Mar 2020
The Department of Plant and Soil Science casts the spotlight on plant health and food safety with an IYPH lecture series
In observing the International Year of Plant Health (IYPH), the Department of Plant and Soil Sciences at the University of Pretoria hosted a seminar series on plant health and food safety at the FABI Auditorium on 2 March. Prof.
4 Mar 2020
CTHB welcomes 20 students into its Mentorship Programme
Twenty undergraduate students will gain hands-on scientific research experience as mentees in the CTHB Mentorship Programme.
3 Mar 2020
A celebration of women in science at the first TPCP-CTHB publication party in 2020
FABI celebrated the first publications in an ISI-rated scientific journal of four FABI postgraduate students in the TPCP and CTHB groups at a gathering on 27 February. Publications: Katumanyane A. Messal M. van Wyk S. Lynn K.
28 Feb 2020
Mike Wingfield starts sorting through the FABI slide collection
During the past week, FABI founding Director Prof. Mike Wingfield began the substantial task of sorting through his extensive 35mm slide archive housed at the Institute.
27 Feb 2020
Hans Merensky Chair in Avocado Research established at FABI
The Hans Merensky Chair in Avocado Research has been established at FABI within the Avocado Research Programme (ARP).
27 Feb 2020
FABIans participate in NRF-NSF funded bark beetle mycobiome network
The research team in FABI that works with bark and ambrosia beetles, are currently part of an international collaborative project with American peers, funded jointly by die National Research Foundation (NRF) and National Science Foundation (NSF).
26 Feb 2020
UP COO meets FABI
The University of Pretoria’s newly-appointed Chief Operating Officer (COO) Sandile Mthiyane was welcomed to the FABI Monday morning meeting by Director Prof.
19 Feb 2020
Data Jamboree at FABI
The Tree Protection Co-operative Programme (TPCP) in FABI hosted a “Data Jamboree” on 7 February that saw 44 students in the research programme spend the day capturing historical data from the disease clinic.
17 Feb 2020
FABIans attend the MycoSafe-South workshop
Three FABIans, Dr Neriman Yilmaz, Dr Felix Fru and Claudette Dewing attended the two-day MycoSafe-South workshop hosted by the University of Johannesburg (UJ) in collaboration with Ghent University (GU) in Belgium, from 13-14 February.
12 Feb 2020
The Macadamia Protection Programme’s first survey for 2020
Dr Gerda Fourie, leader of the Macadamia Protection Programme at FABI along with postdoctoral Fellow Dr Arista Fourie, PhD candidate Angel Maduke and MSc students Ashleigh Smith, Dee Twiddy and Byron Sonnekus, recently visited various Macadamia growers in the Mpumalanga Province to conduct disease consultations, sample diseased material for new and on-going research projects and plan future field experiments.
11 Feb 2020
Building collaborations in Uganda
In January 2020, Prof. Brett Hurley and Dr Nicolas Kagimu visited Makerere University in Kampala, Uganda.
10 Feb 2020
FABIans talk science and earn two places in FameLab SA
Two FABIans have each earned a spot in the FameLab SA contest and they stand a chance to represent South Africa in the FameLab International finals in the United Kingdom.
7 Feb 2020
FABIans celebrate another PhD in the bag
FABI congratulates Robert Backer who marked the milestone of completing his PhD study with a prestige seminar on 6 February.