Rate My Professor Erick Strauss

Erick Strauss is Professor of Biochemistry and Head of the Department of Biochemistry at Stellenbosch University, where he also serves as co-director of the Africa Centre for Therapeutics Innovation. He earned a BSc(Hons) in Chemistry from the University of Pretoria in 1997 and a PhD in Chemistry and Chemical Biology from Cornell University in 2003. After completing his doctorate, he joined Stellenbosch University in 2003 to establish a research group in chemical biology within the Department of Chemistry and Polymer Science before moving to the Department of Biochemistry in 2008.

His research centers on the multidisciplinary field of chemical biology, with emphasis on the chemistry and biology of coenzyme A, mechanistic enzymology, low molecular weight thiol-dependent redox biology, biocatalysis, and the design and development of antimicrobial agents targeting pathogens relevant to African health contexts such as malaria and tuberculosis. Strauss has received the President’s Award from the South African National Research Foundation (P-rating, 2008–2012), the Beckman Silver Medal Award from the South African Society for Biochemistry and Molecular Biology (2010), the Rector’s Award for Excellence in Teaching from Stellenbosch University (2007), and multiple grants from the Grand Challenges Africa initiative. He maintains extensive international collaborations and leads efforts to advance drug discovery and therapeutics innovation in Africa.