Farrant (PhD, University of KwaZulu Natal, South Africa) holds a research chair in molecular physiology of plant desiccation tolerance at the University of Cape Town (UCT), South Africa (SA). She is considered a world leader in the field of plant desiccation tolerance, having won several awards in this field, incl. the S2A3 and Biological Society medals for best MSc thesis and SAAB junior medal for best PhD thesis in South Africa. Senior awards include the SAAB Silver Medal for Excellence in Botany, the Harry Oppenheimer Memorial Trust Fellowship, the Dept. of Science and Technology (SA) distinguished woman in science award and the 2012 L’Oréal- UNESCO life sciences award. She is a Fellow of UCT and the Royal Society of South Africa, and a member of several national and international societies. She is an editor of Frontiers in Biotechnology and associate editor of Plant Growth Regulation.