I completed my BSc Genetics (2023), followed by a BScHons in Plant Biotechnology (2024) at the University of Pretoria. My honours research focused on assessing levels of genetic diversity and patterns of population structure in Exserohilum turcicum, the causal agent of sorghum leaf blight, from regions of South Africa and Kenya.

I am currently an MSc student with my research focused on the role of host genotype in driving specialisation within E. turcicum populations associated with different sorghum cultivars. The project further aims to evaluate the aggressiveness of E. turcicum strains isolated from sorghum crops across Africa, contributing to a better understanding of host–pathogen interactions and disease evolution dynamics in sorghum leaf blight.

My current research is being completed under the primary supervision of Dr David Nsibo and co-supervision from Dr Lisa Rothmann (University of the Free State) and Prof. Tiffany Jamann (University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign).