Keynote speakers

Prof. Annah Moteetee earned her BSc in Biology and Chemistry from the National University of Lesotho (NUL), followed by an MPhil in Botany from Queen Mary and Westfield College, University of London, and a PhD in Plant Taxonomy from Rand Afrikaans University (now University of Johannesburg, UJ). She began her academic journey as a Teaching Assistant at NUL, quickly advancing to Lecturer, where she also held the position of Head of the Biology Department and served on the NUL Council. In January 2005, she joined UJ’s Department of Botany and Plant Biotechnology as a Technical Lecturer, and through dedication, she progressed to Senior Lecturer (2006-2013), Associate Professor (2013-2018), and Full Professor (2018-present). Annah has held leadership roles including Vice-Dean for Teaching and Learning in the Faculty of Science (2011-2015) and Acting Dean (2013-2014), and from January 2017 to January 2021, she led the Botany and Plant Biotechnology Department. She currently supervises multiple doctoral and master’s students while having successfully guided numerous others through their degrees. With over sixty journal articles to her name, Annah has presented extensively at national and international conferences. Her expertise is reflected in her service on various NRF panels and as an external examiner for theses across numerous universities. She is also an editorial board member and reviewer for respected journals including the South African Journal of Botany and Systematic Botany. Presently, she serves as the Senior Director of the Postgraduate School at UJ and was recently elected to the USAf Community of Practice for Postgraduate Education and Scholarship Steering Committee (2023-2025).