Academic development, contribution to science and its impact on society
After I finished my apprenticeship as biological laboratory technician in 1992, I worked for almost four years at the Dept for Neuro-Psycho-Pharmacology and the Institute for Cell- and Molecular Biology at the Schering Group in Berlin, Germany, before I started studying Biotechnology at the University of Applied Sciences in Berlin. For my thesis, I joined the Dept of Reproductive Biology at the German Primate Centre in Goettingen, were I characterized androgen metabolites in urine and faeces of male African elephants. In April 2000, I passed the studies of Biotechnology with distinction and started a PhD project at the Dept of Behavioral Biology at the University of Muenster, Germany in cooperation with the Dept of Reproductive Biology at the German Primate Centre. During my PhD research, I studied the physical, physiological and behavioural correlates of musth in captive African elephants and was awarded with a Postgraduate Fellowship from the Evangelisches Studienwerk e.V. Villigst, Germany.
After receiving my PhD in Biology in 2004, I worked as a postdoctoral fellow in the Dept of Reproductive Biology at the German Primate Centre, where I verified enzyme-immuno-assays for monitoring adrenal function in primate species. During this time, I was also briefly affiliated to the University of Surrey Roehampton in the UK, where I helped to establish a non-invasive hormone laboratory. In March 2006, I received a Postdoctoral Fellowship from the University of Pretoria, South Africa, and started a 3 year research project at the Dept of Production Animal Studies, Faculty of Veterinary Science entitled trigger and regulatory mechanisms of musth in African elephants. For the second half of the project I was awarded a Postdoctoral Fellowship from the Claude Leon Foundation, South Africa. Between 2009 and 2012, I was awarded a University of Pretoria Research Fellowship and joined the Mammal Research Institute, Dept of Zoology and Entomology of the University of Pretoria as a research fellow. In this regard, I established the Endocrine Research Laboratory at the University of Pretoria addressing proximate and ultimate questions concerning regulative endocrine mechanisms in mammals, reptiles, and birds, thereby developing and validating non-invasive tools for monitoring reproductive function and responses to stressors in captive and free-ranging animals.
In January 2013, I was appointed as Senior Lecturer at the Dept of Anatomy and Physiology of the University of Pretoria, and became a permanent staff member (Associate Professor) in March 2013, continuing my research in the field of behavioural/wildlife endocrinology. I also became a Research Associate at the Mammal Research Institute, Dept. of Zoology and Entomology, University of Pretoria in the same month, and at the National Zoological Gardens of South Africa in August 2013. In June 2014, I became section head of Physiology and was appointed Acting Head of the Department of Anatomy and Physiology, University of Pretoria, between January 2016 and July 2017. In August 2017 I became Professor and Director of the Mammal Research Institute, Dept. of Zoology and Entomology, University of Pretoria.
Since January 2017, I have been holding a B2-rating from the National Research Foundation (formerly C1 2011-2016). I am currently an advisory board member of the Institute for Breeding Rare and Endangered African Mammals, and a member of the Elephant Specialist Advisory Group - South Africa, International Society for Behavioral Ecology, Association for the Study of Animal Behaviour, as well as the Ethologische Gesellschaft. I am the Vice president of the Zoological Society of Sothern Africa (2018-20). I was also vice-chairperson (2012-15) and currently being appointed as chair-elect (2018-21) of the International Society for Wildlife Endocrinology.
I have published 70 peer-reviewed articles (h-index: 14), which have been cited 757 times in total, 3 chapters in books, and presented at over 45 (inter)national conferences and workshops. I am an associated editor of the Journal of African Zoology, and acted as a reviewer for the South African National Research Foundation, Jeffress Memorial Trust, Graduate Women in Science, International Foundation for Science, National Geographic Society, as well as 46 different scientific journals. Two MMedVet, 12 MSc, and 5 PhD students graduated successfully under my supervision or co-supervision, and I am currently (co)supervising another 5 MSc and 8 PhD students, and mentoring 3 Postdoctoral fellows. I also successfully applied for funding from the South African National Research Foundation, Novartis/SAVF Wildlife Research Fund, Giraffe Conservation Foundation, Rufford Small Grants Foundation, as well as the Zebra Foundation for Veterinary Zoological Education.