As an academic I strive to maintain a balanced, multidimensional career, centred on the three pillars of academia: knowledge generation (research), knowledge transfer (teaching), and knowledge in service (science for society and professional service), with a firm foundation vested in scholarly excellence, innovation, and relevance. I believe that within a comparatively short time-span I have managed to achieve this and I shall endeavour to build on this achievement to the benefit of my professional development, the advancement of my employing institution, and the country. I am a young and dynamic academic at the start of my career, with substantial potential for growth and development. I graduated with a doctorate in genetics from Stellenbosch University in 2013 and was registered by the South African Council for Natural Scientific Professions as Professional Scientist in the Biological Sciences in 2015. Currently, I am a Senior Lecturer in Genetics at Stellenbosch University. I have a primary research focus in molecular population- and -quantitative genetics, with a particular interest in how various micro-evolutionary processes influence genome-wide patterns of genetic diversity and how this in turn influences phenotypic development. The integrative investigation of genome function and population dynamics is at the core of a new hybrid discipline, population genomics, which creates a juncture between modern molecular bioscience and classical evolutionary biology. My research is fundamental in nature, but is often contextualised with applied relevance as it relates to sustainable living resources production/utilisation and conservation. I have attracted funding from the public- and private sectors, and I have authored and co-authored a number of peer reviewed papers (many of whom are “land mark” papers in abalone genetics). I have contributed to both national and international scientific conferences and have a growing reputation as researcher and scholar, locally and abroad. With graduated postgraduate students, I have also demonstrate the ability to effectively supervise research projects. On a fundamental level, I will continue my current research agenda, with plans to expand to new study systems and find broader utility in establishing a novel paradigm for the bio-sciences.