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

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

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] Together with Tanisha Williams and Beronda Montgomery, she leads the annual Black Botanists Week.[17]

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 Nordling, Linda (8 February 2018). "How decolonization could reshape South African science". Nature. 554 (7691): 159–162. Bibcode:2018Natur.554..159N. 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. 1 2 "SAASTA getSETgo, May 2015: Meet live wire scientist and innovative science communicator - Prof. Nox Makunga". www.saasta.ac.za. Retrieved 21 July 2018.
  4. ↑ Makunga, Nokwanda P. (14 September 2011). "African medicinal flora in the limelight". South African Journal of Science. 107 (9/10). doi:10.4102/sajs.v107i9/10.890. ISSN 1996-7489.
  5. ↑ "Prof. Nox Makunga". www.sun.ac.za. Retrieved 21 July 2018.
  6. ↑ "Indigenous traditions get science backing". WHYY. Retrieved 21 July 2018.
  7. ↑ Gupta, S. Mohan Jain and Pramod K., ed. (2005). Protocol for somatic embryogenesis in woody plants. Dordrecht: Springer. ISBN 9781402029851. OCLC 262677669.
  8. ↑ Floriculture, ornamental and plant biotechnology : advances and topical issues. Silva, Jaime A. Teixeira da. Isleworth: Global Science Books. 2006. ISBN 490331300X. OCLC 75713050.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: others (link)
  9. ↑ TEDx Talks (20 November 2010), TEDxStellenbosch - Nox Makunga - The Potential of a Medicinal Wonderland, retrieved 21 July 2018
  10. ↑ "CBD Team". www.cbd.org.za. Retrieved 21 July 2018.
  11. ↑ "NSTF-BHP Billiton Awards" (PDF). NSTF. 27 May 2011. Retrieved 21 July 2018.
  12. ↑ Supplement, Advertorial. "Rewarding outstanding research". The M&G Online. Retrieved 21 July 2018.
  13. 1 2 "Nokwanda Pearl Makunga | Fulbright Scholar Program". www.cies.org. Retrieved 21 July 2018.
  14. ↑ Freund, Dana M.; Sammons, Katherine A.; Makunga, Nokwanda P.; Cohen, Jerry D.; Hegeman, Adrian D. (21 June 2018). "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. 30 October 2013. Retrieved 21 July 2018.
  16. ↑ Sustainable and industrial production of guaianolides based on organ tissue culture, 2 February 2017, retrieved 21 July 2018
  17. ↑ "#BLACKBOTANISTSWEEK". Retrieved 26 July 2020.
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