Nokuthula Nhleko has been at Iziko Museums of South Africa for over ten years and is currently a Curator of Entomology, with a research focus is on the systematics and biogeography of ants in southern Africa.
Her current project is focusing on the taxonomy and historical biogeography of arid-adapted ants (Ocymyrmex). This group of ants is mainly restricted to the arid regions of southern Africa. The objectives of this project include providing an updated taxonomic revision of these ants using both morphology and molecular data, to infer the historical events that could have shaped the current biogeographical patterns of these ants in southern Africa and to investigate the physiological adaptations of these ants to arid environments.