Prof Heinrich Volschenk is an Associate Professor in the Department of Microbiology at Stellenbosch University. He obtained his BSc (Microbiology and Biochemistry), HonsBSc (cum laude), MSc (cum laude), and PhD in Microbiology from Stellenbosch University. An NRF-rated researcher (C2, 2019–2024), he has published over 35 peer-reviewed papers in international journals.

His research integrates synthetic biology, systems biology, and microbial biotechnology to address challenges in human health and industrial biotechnology. Core research areas include yeast molecular biology, enzyme engineering, precision fermentation, microbial omics, lignocellulose bioconversion, and Cryptococcus neoformans pathogenesis. He has attracted major funding from the NRF, TIA, and SAMRC and has supervised 13 MSc and 5 PhD students to completion.

Prof Volschenk is part of the core team establishing Africa’s first recombinant strain engineering biofoundry at Stellenbosch University, supported by the NRF National Equipment Programme. This initiative combines bioautomation, synthetic biology, and high-throughput screening to accelerate advances in drug discovery, cell line engineering, and microbial biotechnology. His team was the only South African recipient of the 2022 Bioautomation Challenge award, alongside institutions including MIT, Harvard, Stanford, and Cambridge.

He served as President of the South African Society for Microbiology (2020–2023) and is a member of the American Society for Microbiology. He is an editor for mSystems and a regular reviewer for several international journals.