Prof. Addmore Shonhai, a professor who is based in the Department of Biochemistry and Microbiology, Faculty of Science, Engineering and Agriculture of the University of Venda (UNIVEN) was recently elected as a Fellow of the Royal Society of South Africa. He is one of only two people elected to the Royal Society of South Africa from previously disadvantaged institutions in South Africa.
Prof Shonhai is a recognised scientist and educator whose contributions to protein biochemistry and academic mentorship have had a lasting impact. Through his mentorship and commitment, he has nurtured students who have gone on to become prominent researchers and professionals in top global institutions. Prof Shonhai has played a pivotal role in advancing research in the field of protein biochemistry, which is a specialised field, and has recently extended his research interest to drug discovery.
His work focuses on studying proteins implicated in protecting infectious agents against stress. Generally, 90% of drugs currently in use operate by inhibiting pro-tein function. It is against this background that protein biochemists inherent-ly contribute towards drug discovery efforts. He has managed to establish a re-search hub that produces high-quality work despite challenges associated with limited resources available to researchers. He has served as a resource expert, sharing his knowledge on solving recombinant protein production challenges with colleagues from around the world. His expertise in protein biochemistry has also positioned his laboratory as one of the few in Africa specialising in this field.
Prof Shonhai has successfully supervised numerous PhD and master’s stu-dents and many of his students have received competitive grants, postdoc-toral fellowships, and invitations to renowned research institutions such as Stanford University, Hampton University (USA) and University of Oulu (Fin-land). His commitment to excellence has led to his students publishing re-search papers and receiving awards, even at the early stages of their careers.
His influence extends beyond UNIVEN, as he is often invited to audit and ad-vise other institutions on academic development and research strategies. Prof Shonhai’s contributions have been recognised through various awards and honours. Notably, he recently received the Federation of European Bio-chemical Society (FEBS) journal award for an outstanding presentation at an international conference, a testament to the quality of his research. His published works, including books and journal articles, are widely referenced in in-ternational academic circles, further solidifying his standing as a respected scholar.
Prof. Shonhai is a recipient of a prestigious George Foster Fellowship awarded by the Alexander von Humboldt Foundation. He previously used this award to con-duct research while on sabbatical at Philipps- Marburg University (Germany). In ad-dition, the award supports him to visit Germany to conduct research for a lifetime.
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