Prof. Karin Jacobs is a microbiologist with a Ph.D. from the University of Pretoria (2000). Throughout her career, she has earned numerous accolades, including the L’Oréal-UNESCO International Fellowship for Young Women in Science (2003), the L’Oréal-DST Award for Best Emerging Female Scientist (2005), the Meiring Naudé Medal from the Royal Society of South Africa (2006), and multiple teaching excellence awards from Stellenbosch University (2009, 2010, 2017). Most recently, she received the EDHE Learning and Teaching Excellence Award (2023).

Her postdoctoral journey began in 2000 at Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada’s Eastern Cereal and Oilseed Research Centre, working with Keith Seifert. She then pursued further research at the Forestry and Agricultural Biotechnology Institute (FABI), University of Pretoria (2002). In 2005, she joined Stellenbosch University as a Senior Lecturer in Microbiology and was later promoted to Professor in 2017.

Prof. Jacobs has played a significant role in the academic community, serving as President of the South African Society of Plant Pathology (2006–2011) and maintaining active membership in several professional organizations, including the African Mycological Association, the Mycological Society of America, and the International Society of Microbial Ecology.

She has successfully supervised 27 MSc and 5 PhD students, with several more currently under her mentorship. Additionally, she serves on the editorial boards of Mycology, ISME Communications, Frontiers in Microbiology, and African Biodiversity & Conservation. Her research contributions include one book, 90 peer-reviewed journal articles, and numerous conference presentations worldwide.

Her primary research interests lie in soil microbiology, particularly the temporal and spatial dynamics of soil microbial communities. She also has a strong background in fungal taxonomy, having described multiple novel fungal species throughout her career. In 2018, she founded Sporatec through the University of Stellenbosch, a commercial venture specializing in soil microbial community analysis, further bridging the gap between research and practical applications in soil health.