Lyn-Marié Birkholtz is a full professor in Biochemistry and the South African Research Chair (SARChI) in Sustainable Malaria Control, as well as co-director of the African Centre for Therapeutics Innovation (ACTI) at Stellenbosch University, a multidisciplinary centre focused on biological innovations to drive drug discovery on the African continent. She completed her training at the University of Pretoria (UP) and at the Bernhard Nocht Institute for Tropical Medicine in Germany, and she still holds a part-time appointment at UP, where she directs the Parasite Cluster of the Institute for Sustainable Malaria Control (ISMC), an MRC Collaborative Centre for Malaria Research. She is an internationally acclaimed researcher with an international standing in the fields of parasitology, infectious diseases, and therapeutics, and she is highly connected, both nationally and internationally. She is currently a member of the Grand Challenges Africa Drug Discovery Accelerator (GC ADDA) where she also serves on the Operational Leadership Team) and the Malaria Drug Accelerator. 

Her research group focuses on integrating chemical biology, molecular parasitology, and drug discovery, and she leads a drug discovery platform for malaria elimination that serves the international community, including partnerships through the Medicines for Malaria Venture.  She is currently co-leading a flagship project of the GC ADDA on antimalarial innovations, funded by the Gates Foundation and LifeArc. Recognised for her scientific leadership and training of the next generation of African researchers, Professor Birkholtz is an elected member of the Academy of Science of South Africa, and she serves on the scientific advisory board for the South African Malaria Elimination Committee.

She is a passionate advocate for women in science. As a dedicated leader, she has mentored many postgraduate students on their scientific journeys, receiving a UP Vice-Chancellor’s Exceptional Supervisor Award. She has also been recognised with UP Exceptional Young Researcher awards and a UP Exceptional Academic Achiever award, the NSTF/South32 TW Kambule Researcher Award and as finalist of the OMT Harry Oppenheimer Fellowship.