Maryna de Wit

Maryna de Wit grew up in Reddersburg (small town in central South Africa) and matriculated at Hendrik Potgieter High School in Reddersburg in 1992.

She obtained a B.Sc. degree (with Botany and Biochemistry as majors) in 1996, followed by a B.Sc. Hons. degree in Biochemistry in 1997 and M.Sc. degree in Food Science in 2000.  She obtained a Ph.D. in Food Science in 2003 at the UFS and was appointed as lecturer in the Department of Microbial, Biochemical and Food Biotechnology at the UFS in 2004. She is currently an Associated Professor in the Department of Sustainable Food Systems and Development at the UFS.

Her research on cactus pears started in 2006.  Since then, many students obtained their Hons., M.Sc. and Ph.D. degrees under her supervision.

She currently has 3 Hons. students, 4 M.Sc. students, 3 Ph.D. students under her supervision.