John's current research focus is the development of materials from renewable and sustainable resources, and includes areas on natural-fibre-reinforced composites, bio-based materials and agro-waste beneficiation.

She holds a PhD in chemistry from the Mahatma Gandhi University in India. She joined the CSIR in 2006 as postdoctoral fellow and was later appointed as senior researcher in the CSIR polymers and composites research group.

She has published 58 peer-reviewed international journal articles and book chapters, holds a patent and is the editor of a book published by the Royal Society of Chemistry. John’s research papers are frequently cited, with her articles being in the ScienceDirect list of Top 25 articles in journals. She is a research associate at the Nelson Mandela Metropolitan University in Port Elizabeth, South Africa.

Expertise: Chemistry; Polymer composites; Biopolymers