I am an Associate Professor and Director of the Centre for Invasion Biology at Stellenbosch University, specialising in freshwater ecology, invasion biology, environmental monitoring and aquatic pollution. I hold a PhD in Marine Biology from Rhodes University and previously served at the universities of Mpumalanga and Venda. My interdisciplinary research examines how pollution, habitat degradation and non-native species alter aquatic biodiversity, food webs and water quality, with the goal of translating science into effective policy and management. Since 2011, I have published 267 papers, four edited books and 29 book chapters, and secured funding from national and international agencies. I have supervised 38 MSc students, 13 PhD candidates and three postdoctoral fellows to completion, and currently mentor 4 postdoctoral fellows, 7 MSc and 9 PhD candidates. My scholarship includes the description of two new aquatic species and collaboration with more than 400 scientists worldwide. I serve on several editorial boards and scientific panels, including the British Ecological Society Grants Committee and SACNASP’s Aquatic Sciences Professional Advisory Committee, which I chair. I am a former fellow of TWAS and the South African Young Academy of Science and was ranked among the world’s top 2% of scientists by Elsevier–Stanford from 2022 to 2024.