2026 SAWiSA Finalist Profile: Prof. Sabrina Kumschick
As South Africa commemorates the 70th anniversary of the historic 1956 march of 20 000 women to the Union Buildings, the Department of Science, Technology and Innovation (DSTI) is proud to showcase the extraordinary finalists for the 2026 South African Women in Science Awards (SAWiSA).
Prof. Sabrina Kumschick is a finalist in the Distinguished Young Woman category: Innovation for Impact: Women Leading Change. She is an Associate Professor of Risk Analysis for Biological Invasions at the Centre for Invasion Biology at Stellenbosch University. She is also Chair of the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Environmental Impact Classification for Alien Taxa (IUCN) Environmental Impact Classification for Alien Taxa (EICAT) Authority, Vice-Chair (EICAT) of the IUCN Invasive Species Specialist Group, and a member of the national Alien Species Risk Analysis Review Panel.
Prof. Kumschick's research focuses on advancing the understanding and management of biological invasions, with particular emphasis on assessing and predicting the environmental and socio-economic impacts of invasive alien species to support evidence-based conservation policy and management. Her work integrates ecology, risk assessment, environmental management and policy engagement to develop practical tools that inform biodiversity conservation and sustainable ecosystem management. She has played a leading role in developing and advancing globally adopted impact assessment frameworks, including EICAT, strengthening international approaches to invasive species prioritisation and management. Prof. Kumschick formally established the IUCN EICAT Authority in 2018 to oversee, coordinate and review EICAT assessments for the IUCN. Her research findings have contributed to improved invasive species legislation, evidence-based management prioritisation, and international biodiversity policy development, while also supporting more inclusive approaches to conservation that recognise impacts on ecosystems, livelihoods and communities.
With an NRF B2 rating, Prof. Kumschick is the author of 81 peer-reviewed publications, including papers in leading international journals such as Trends in Ecology and Evolution and Bioscience. She has given a keynote address at the largest national invasion science conference. Prof. Kumschick has successfully mentored two postdoctoral fellows and supervised three PhD, four master's, and nine honours students. She currently supervises five PhD students and one master's student. An invasion science research scientist registered with the South African Council for Natural Scientific Professions, she serves on the editorial board of established journals such as NeoBiota and Biological Invasions.
