The School of Life Sciences is home to world-class researchers who seek sustainable solutions for problems faced by contemporary society. Often, these researchers work as part of multi-disciplinary groups, providing unique and useful insights.

Take a look at our publications


Research centres
- Cape Parrot Working group
- IPCC – Working Group II Technical Support Unit
- MACE lab
- Marine Research Initiative & Estuarine Research Programme
- Molecular Biology Unit
- Plant Germplasm Conservation Research
- Research Centre for Plant Growth and Development
- UKZN Zebra fish platform
SARChI chairs
The South African Research Chairs Initiative (SARChI) was established in 2006 by the Department of Science and Technology (DST) and the National Research Foundation (NRF).
It is designed to attract and retain excellence in research and innovation at South African public universities through the establishment of Research Chairs at public universities in South Africa with a long-term investment trajectory of up to fifteen years.
There are two SARChI research chairs in the School of Life Sciences:
- Professor Colleen Downs
- Professor Theresa Coetzer