I am the current Principal Investigator of the McLab Field Pathology and Epidemiology Group at the University of the Free State. For information about our group projects, graduate research, disease resources, publications, and research outputs, please visit the McLab website.

This personal site is a space where I share my academic identity, teaching and mentorship philosophy, reflections on field pathology and epidemiology, engaged scholarship, leadership contributions, and the broader work that shapes my role as an academic.

The name LandbouLisa carries a little piece of my story. I was an English-speaking girl from KwaZulu-Natal with a dream of coming to the Free State (predominantly Afrikaans and Sotho province) and living in Emily Hobhouse residence (evidence of my <3 of history)  at the University of the Free State. At the time, I did not know that UFS would become much more than the place where I studied. It would become my academic home, the place where I met my husband, and eventually, the university where I would serve as a Senior Lecturer. To my parents’ surprise, their first-year BSc “city girl” soon asked to change direction and study BSc Agric. That decision shaped much of who I became. 

What I do...

• About | Read more about my academic identity, background, and the values that shape how I work.

• Research | Explore the broader themes that guide my research in field pathology, epidemiology, disease management, and engaged scholarship. Group projects and outputs are hosted on the McLab website.

• Teaching |   Learn more about my teaching approach, supervision philosophy, and interest in helping students think, reason, and communicate as plant pathologists.

• Learning | A space for thoughts along the way, shaped by what I continue to learn from colleagues, students, farmers, extension officers, mentors, and shared academic spaces.

  • Resources Worth Sharing | Links, tools, books, videos, frameworks, and resources I have found useful, returned to, used for a season, or simply thought worth sharing.

• Living | Small stories, reflections, practical lessons, and everyday moments that invite me—and perhaps others—to notice, remember, and hold onto the wonder in life.