Marushka Soobben

Marushka joined the Naked Scientists as our intern in 2025. She holds a PhD in biochemistry and biophysics and is a postdoctoral fellow at the Protein Structure-Function Research Laboratory at the University of the Witwatersrand. Passionate about making science fun, accessible and inclusive, Marushka loves helping people see the wonder in the everyday science around them, whether she’s explaining proteins on a podcast or breaking down biochemistry in a social media post. For her, the Naked Scientists is the perfect playground to learn, share and connect over cool ideas. As a Naked Scientist, she writes articles, interviews researchers, and has been learning the ropes of producing science podcasts and programmes.

She is also an entrepreneur, having co-founded Trichome Biotechnologies - a biotech company solving real-world problems using biology. She is dedicated to science outreach, making science more visible and exciting to young learners through her company.

Marushka also runs Proteins and Profits, a social media page blending science, business, and a lot of laughs to bring a fresh voice to research and entrepreneurship. She is a lover of chai, spontaneous science facts, and a firm believer that knowledge and curiosity should never have limits.