Dr Tlou Masehela is currently employed as a Scientist at the South African National Biodiversity Institute (SANBI), and Leads the work program that focuses on monitoring and reporting on the impacts of Genetically Modified Organisms (GMOs) on the environment.
He is also the current Chairman of the Western Cape Bee Industry Association (WCBA). Dr Masehela's primary research and work has been on honey bees, in particular, honey bee forage and agricultural crop pollination. His expertise and competency areas on GMOs are on Biosafety Regulations, Environmental Risk Assessments, and some limited aspects of Pesticide use.
Dr Masehela occasionally gets involved in Science Communication projects and facilitates for various educational outreach programmes. Some of his career highlights include being Chair of the South African Environmental Observation Network (SAEON)-Graduate Student Network (GSN), starring in The Buzz for Food Educational Short Film, Second Place prize in the South African Agency for Science and Technology Advancement (SAASTA) Young Science Communicators Competition, the South African Bee Industry Organization (SABIO) recognition award for Bee Forage research and contribution to the beekeeping industry in South Africa, Mentoring of Eskom Expo candidates, and respective Participation in the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) - Conference of the Parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) serving as the Meeting of the Parties to the Kyoto Protocol (COP-MOP).
