Two FABIans awarded the best presentation at the Zoology AGM
The University of Pretoria's Department of Zoology and Entomology held its annual general meeting on 28-29 November.
6 Dec 2019
5 Dec 2019
Fifteen FABI PhDs for the year as Andi Wilson completes her PhD
Andi Wilson has become the 15th FABIan to successfully complete their PhD, thereby closing off a remarkable year for the Institute.
4 Dec 2019
FABIans feature at the French-SA Science and Innovation days
The French-South African Science and Innovation Days was held in the CSIR from 2-3 December.
29 Nov 2019
FABIans present at the Australasian Plant Pathology Society conference
The Australasian Plant Pathology Society (APPS) celebrated its 50th anniversary at their 22nd Biennial conference in Melbourne from 25-28 November. They met up with a number of FABIans at the meeting.
28 Nov 2019
FABI academics end the year on a high
FABI has ended the year on a high with the promotion of staff members and international recognition as leaders in their field.
27 Nov 2019
FABI celebrates 14th PhD success at Miekie Human’s prestige seminar
FABI congratulates Miekie Human, who on 25 November marked the successful completion of her PhD thesis with a prestige seminar.
26 Nov 2019
Book review fun at FABI MMM
As a fun alternative to the usual Monday Morning Meeting (MMM) presentations, FABI Deputy Director Prof. Fanus Venter invited FABIans to present a short review on their favourite books they have recently read at MMM on 25 November.
26 Nov 2019
David Nsibo becomes the 13th FABIan to pass his PhD in 2019
FABI celebrated the completion of the Institute’s 13th PhD candidate in 2019 with David Nsibo successfully defending his PhD on 21 November.
22 Nov 2019
Researchers from 27 countries meet to discuss biological control of forest insect pests
The IUFRO Working Party 7.03.13 meeting on the ‘Biological Control of Forest Insect Pests and Pathogens’ was hosted by FABI from 5-8 November.
22 Nov 2019
FABI hosts the Forest Invasive Species Network for Africa
From 3-5 November, participants from Government research institutes and universities gathered at the University of Pretoria’s Future Africa Campus, for a Forest Invasive Species Network for Africa (FISNA) workshop on the implementation of classical biological control to manage insect pests in plantation forests.
22 Nov 2019
FABI contributes to CIB workshop
FABI’s Dr Trudy Paap and collaborator Dr Alberto Santini (CNR ISPP, Italy) attended and contributed to a workshop on “Frameworks used in Invasion Science” organised by the DST-NRF Centre of Excellence for Invasion Biology (CIB) in held in Stellenbosch from 11-13 November.
20 Nov 2019
FABIans celebrate the end of a fruitful year at the Institute’s year-end function and awards ceremony
FABI Director Prof. Guests included Vice-Principal for Research and Postgraduate Education at UP Prof. In his address, Prof. Dr Irene Barnes presented a number of awards on the night, with the premium award, FABIan of the Year going to PhD student Stephanie van Wyk. In the new category, Best Postdoctoral Fellow, two awards were given to Dr Marc Bouwer and Dr Victoria Maloney. For their creativity,Prof. Prof.
19 Nov 2019
FABI bioinformatics tool, The RIPper, selected for the PeerJ feature collection
The prestigious PeerJ feature collection highlights novel and innovative developments in the field of biotechnology. The RIPper was chosen for the PeerJ bioinformatics feature collection by senior editors Professors Claus Wilke and Keith Crandall.
19 Nov 2019
FABI students and researchers participate in Biomaker Workshop
What does the average biologist have to do with programming microprocessors? Prof. The GCRF pump-priming funding has allowed Prof. Photo caption: November Biomaker workshop participants.
15 Nov 2019
FABI researchers attend the International Macadamia R&D Conference in China
The annual International Macadamia R&D Conference was held in Lincang City, Yunnan, China from 5-9 November. Macadamia Protection Programme research leader Dr Gerda Fourie and FABI postdoctoral Fellow Dr Arista Fourie joined 300 delegates from 12 countries, consisting mostly of senior researchers, institute directors and consultants.
14 Nov 2019
Congratulation to Mohammad on successfully defending his PhD
FABI congratulates Mohammad Sayari for successfully completing and defending his PhD thesis on 12 November.
13 Nov 2019
Two eminent scientists present special seminars at FABI
Two leaders on biological control presented seminars at FABI on 12 November.
12 Nov 2019
Ambrosia beetle expert presents a special seminar at FABI
A leading expert on ambrosia and bark beetles, Prof. Jiri Hulcr, presented a special seminar at FABI on 1 November.
11 Nov 2019
Fungi for Future project launched at a third primary school
FABI research Fellow Dr Neriman Yilmaz and the DST-NRF Centre of Excellence in Tree Health Biotechnology (CTHB) outreach team recently visited Laerskool Menlopark within the “Fungi for future” Citizen Science project. The project has so far included three schools: Laerskool Menlopark, Nwa’vhangani and Tlakukani Primary Schools.
7 Nov 2019
Rhizobial collection trip with Polish collaborators
Several members of the Rhizobial Research Group (Prof. Emma Steenkamp, Prof. Fanus Venter, Dr Chrizelle Beukes, Juanita Avontuur and Derick Claassens) joined Polish collaborators Prof. Tomasz Stępkowski, Joanna Banasiewicz and Rafał Banasiewicz on a sampling trip to Mpumalanga and KwaZulu-Natal from 27-31 October.
5 Nov 2019
CTHB awards certificates to 13 undergraduate mentees
Thirteen students who completed eight months of mentorship in the DST-NRF Centre of Excellence in Tree Health Biotechnology(CTHB) received their certificates of completion on 1 November at a small ceremony in FABI.
4 Nov 2019
University Vice-Chancellor participates in a fungal citizen science project
University of Pretoria Vice-Chancellor and Principal, Prof. Tawana Kupe collected soil samples at the Future Africa campus on 30 October as part of a FABI-hosted Citizen Science project “Fungi for Future”.
31 Oct 2019
FABI postdoc attends IUFRO Phytophthora conference in Sardinia
The biennial meeting of the IUFRO’s Working Party 7.02.09 – ‘Phytophthorain Forests and Natural Ecosystems’ was held on the Italian island of Sardinia from 17-25 October 2019.
30 Oct 2019
Biosafety SA and FABI host Women in Biotech panel discussion
Five women led a discussion at FABI on the challenges faced by women in the biotechnology sector on 29 October.
28 Oct 2019
FABIans thank and wish Prof. Lubuma well on his retirement
Former Dean of the Faculty of Natural and Agricultural Sciences at the University of Pretoria Professor Jean Lubuma joined FABIans at the Monday morning meeting on 28 October, giving them an opportunity to wish him well on his retirement.
25 Oct 2019
FABI students return from Penn State exchange visit
Two FABI PhD candidates, Benedicta Swalarsk-Parry and Jane Ramaswe recently returned from a three-month exchange visit to Pennsylvania State University. The visit is part of a strategic partnership between the Department of Plant Pathology and Environmental Microbiologyin Penn State’s College of Agricultural Sciences and the Forestry and Agricultural Biotechnology Institute (FABI) at the University of Pretoria.
25 Oct 2019
Fungi for Future school outreach launched
The DST-NRF Centre of Excellence in Tree Health Biotechnology (CTHB) outreach team from FABI was involved in a ‘Fungi for Future’ initiative which forms part of their citizen science project.
24 Oct 2019
FABI donates bicycles to the N'wa-Vangani Primary School
On Friday 18 October, the DST-NRF Centre of Excellence in Tree Health Biotechnology (CTHB) Outreach Team had the privilege of handing over five bicycles to learners from the N’wa-Vangani Primary School for their outstanding academic achievements.
22 Oct 2019
FMG members attend the Plant Genome Evolution 2019 conference
The Plant Genome Evolution Conference is a biennial event and the 2019 meeting, which marked the fifth meeting, was held in Sitges (Barcelona), Spain.
21 Oct 2019
FABIan visits Argentinian collaborators
FABI PhD candidate Joséphine Queffelec recently visited two research labs in Argentina to talk about insect ecology and reinforce the collaboration between FABI and other entomology and forestry research labs.
18 Oct 2019
Tree planting to restore the native Patagonian forest
This year FABI PhD candidate Joséphine Queffelec participated in this effort and helped to plant over 200 native trees on the snowy slopes of the Patagonian mountains.
16 Oct 2019
FABI hosts Polish research visit
Professor Sylwia Wdowiak-Wróbel and Dr Michał Kalita, researchers from the University of Maria Curie - Skłodowska (UMCS) in Lublin, Poland visited FABI on 1 October.
15 Oct 2019
FABIans take part in various activities during UP’s Anti-discrimination and Social Justice Week
The University of Pretoria observed Anti-Discrimination and Social Justice Week from 30 September to 4 October. FABI hosted the first in a series of events organised by the Faculty of Natural and Agricultural Sciences in recognition of this campaign.
14 Oct 2019
ACGT and FABI jointly hosts a Plant Phenotyping and Precision Agriculture workshop at Future Africa
On Tuesday, September 17, the African Centre for Gene Technologies (ACGT), Forestry and Agricultural Biotechnology Institute (FABI) and Future Africa co-hosted a Plant Phenotyping and Precision Agriculture workshop at Future Africa on the University of Pretoria's Hillcrest Campus.
11 Oct 2019
FABI chemical ecology field trials planned for 2019 and 2020
Work at FABI in the area of applied chemical ecology for insect pest management and monitoring continues to grow.
6 Oct 2019
XXV IUFRO 2019 World Congress closes with a new President-elect at the helm
The XXV IUFRO 2019 World Congress was officially closed on 5 October with a new President at the helm to lead the organisation through the next five years.