I was born in Johannesburg, South Africa but have spent most of my academic career in Cape Town where I recently received my PhD from Stellenbosch University. African flora and fauna have always been a passion of mine, and I have been lucky enough to have worked on some of African’s most enigmatic animals including giant sable, spiral-horned antelope and shrews. Although most of my previous research has focused on mammalian evolution, my field of interest covers evolutionary biology as a whole. Specifically, I am interested in the use of molecular and phylogenetic techniques to examine the genetic factors underpinning evolutionary processes in large groups with difficult to resolve phylogenies. To this end, in May 2008, I took up a postdoctoral position at the University of Texas in Austin. Here my research will move away from mammalian systematics and I’ll instead focus on the diversification of African amphibians, specifically members of the family Ranidae. This work in collaboration with David Hillis at the University of Texas, Alan Channing at the University of the Western Cape and several other African scientists will form part of the Amphibian Tree of Life project.