Prof Sanushka Naidoo, Professor in the Department of Biochemistry, Genetics (BGM) and Microbiology and the Programme Leader of the Forest Molecular Genetics and Eucalyptus and Pine Pathogen Interactions Programme (FMG-EPPI) group at the Forestry Agricultural Biotechnology Institute (FABI), was recently announced the winner of a She is Forestry Award.

These awards are an annual event, administered by She Is Forestry SA (SIFSA), a non-profit organisation established by the Forest Sector Charter Council and Forestry South Africa. The forestry sector and forest product value chain support this non-profit. This initiative was created to uplift, support and promote women in forestry.

“I was humbled to have been nominated for the category “Resounding Contribution to Forestry Science” that recognises an individual whose innovative research is making an impact in the sector, contributing to its global competitiveness. I was surprised to learn that I had won the award when I was in the company of several highly deserving nominees, who are themselves strong women who inspire me,” Prof Naidoo said.

She added, “It was an honour to be nominated and I thank my research team (FMG-EPPI) for making this possible. I am privileged to work with highly talented individuals in the rich research environment of the BGM and FABI. It was a double celebration as our PhD student, Ms Anneri Lotter, was also awarded the Postgraduate prize for her pioneering work in Eucalyptus pangenomics.”

Prof Naidoo emphasised, “My goal is to continue to make strides in tree resilience at the genetic and molecular level. While we have learnt much, there is much more to discover and apply in a forestry setting. The goal is to make superior trees resilient to pests, pathogens, and climate change stresses. As we encounter more extreme weather events, achieving this goal is becoming more urgent.”

“This award is indeed one of the highlights of my career, and I strive to further empower and equip the next generation of forest scientists as a mentor. I recently completed one term as the head of BGM from 2020 to 2024. While I enjoyed this role very much, I believe that directing the FMG-EPPI programme provides the opportunity to make an important impact in the forestry sector.”

Prof Naidoo concluded, expressing gratitude, that “our proposal “Unlocking Sustainability and Circularity through the ProtoBuilding Concept’, was selected as the 2025 Senate Conference Research Project Competition winner’ This project brings together expertise from timber engineering, architecture, genetics, and marketing project with Prof. Schalk Grobbelaar (York Timbers Chair, EBIT) as principal investigator and Dr Johann van der Merwe (EBIT), Mr Christo van der Hoven (EBIT), Dr Michelle C van der Merwe (EMS), Dr Tinashe Ndoro (EMS) and Prof Naidoo as collaborators. This is another opportunity to impact the Forestry sector, linking genetics across the value chain to products.

“I encourage each of us to act as mentors to the younger cohort, not only women and forestry, but across gender, demographics and disciplines so that SA can look forward to empowered and competent generations.”