The 35-year-old Prof Strauss works in the broad field of enzymology and biocatalysis, and he has a special interest in designing new antibiotics by targeting the way that pathogens prepare and use vitamins.
He received the award at a recent function at Stellenbosch University. At the same event, Prof Stephanie Burton of the Cape Peninsula University of Technology, was honoured with the Beckman Coulter Gold Medal for her lifelong work as an academic, researcher and leader in the field of biochemistry in South Africa.
Prof Strauss is a P-rated scientist according to the evaluation criteria of the National Research Foundation (NRF). It recognises his considerable research achievements at an early career stage, and his potential to become a world leader in his discipline of chemical biology.
He is current research is directed into the area of drug target characterisation. With his strong background in chemistry and biochemistry, colleagues in the field believes he is set to make a major impact in the drug discovery field in the next 5 to 10 years.
"The goal of my research group is to identify new drug targets in important human pathogens such as Staphylococcus aureus, that causes anything from skin rashes to food poisoning, Mycobacterium tuberculosis that cause tuberculosis, and Plasmodium falciparum that can lead to severe malaria," he explains the work being done in his laboratory on Coenzyme A (CoA) enzymology. "Our ultimate goal is to use this knowledge to help develop pharmaceutical products to fight specific diseases caused by these bacteria and parasites."
"We endeavour to apply and use both chemical and biological principles when engaging in problem solving around these matters," he says.
After receiving his PhD degree from Cornell University in 2003, Prof Strauss started his academic career at Stellenbosch University as a lecturer in the Department of Chemistry and Polymer Science. In 2008 he moved to the Department of Biochemistry, also at Stellenbosch University, where he currently holds the position of associate professor.
His publication productivity in international peer-reviewed journals (including high-impact journals such as Nature Chemical Biology) has enabled him to garner a continuous stream of research income since 2004 from national and international funding agencies such as the National Research Foundation, the Medical Research Council (MRC), the South African Malaria Initiative, the International Foundation of Science (IFS) and the International Centre for Genetic Engineering and Biotechnology (ICGEB).
He has not only excelled as a researcher, but is also a popular and competent educator who has received Rector's Award for Excellence in Teaching from Stellenbosch University (2007), and the DuPont Prize for Excellence in teaching from Cornell University (1999). Furthermore, he has graduated seven MSc students and three PhD students - with four more PhD students who are set to graduate this year.
