Dulcie Mulholland studied at the University of Natal, graduating with a BSc in 1975 and BSc (Hons) in 1976 in Chemistry and Cell Biology. She continued to complete an MSc degree in 1977 and PhD in 1979 at the same institution in the field of Natural Products Chemistry under the supervision of the late Professor David Taylor.

After her PhD, Dulcie worked as a technical officer on the Chlor-Alkali plant at AECI in Umbogintwini, south of Durban, and her responsibilities included a halothane plant and chlorinated wax plant. She was appointed as a Lecturer at the University of Natal in 1991 where she led the Natural Products Research Group. In 2000 she was appointed as Professor of Organic Chemistry and as Head of the School of Pure and Applied Chemistry in 2002. In 2004 she became Head of School of Chemistry at the new University of KwaZulu-Natal, formed by the merger of the University of Natal and University of Durban-Westville. In 2006, Dulcie moved to the University of Surrey as Professor of Organic Chemistry and was appointed Head of Department of Chemistry in October 2008.

Her research interests lie in the field of natural products chemistry and its applications, such as in the isolation of novel anti-cancer compounds and in compounds of use in the agrochemicals industry. She has published almost 200 papers in the fields of phytochemistry, synthetic and analytical chemistry. In addition, she has supervised the completion of 28 PhD degrees and many research MSc degrees. Her particular interests lie in the phytochemistry of the Meliaceae and Hyacinthaceae families. She has been involved in large EU funded projects, such as ForestSpecs and is presently involved in ProLarix. Her group has strong international links. She is on the Editorial Boards of the Journal of Ethnopharmacology and Phytochemistry Letters.

To discover new molecules from natural sources that may have applications in the pharmaceutical, food or agrochemical industries. To collaborate with other research groups in screening compounds, in vitro or in silico. To collaborate with industry in upscaling laboratory methods for the production of compounds and extracts from natural sources.

Mulholland DA, Schwikkard SL, Crouch NR. (2013) 'The chemistry and biological activity of the Hyacinthaceae.'. Nat Prod Rep, 30 (9), pp. 1165-1210. doi: 10.1039/c3np70008a Mulholland DA, Mwangi EM, Dlova NC, Plant N, Crouch NR, Coombes PH. (2013) 'Non-toxic melanin production inhibitors from Garcinia livingstonei (Clusiaceae)'. Journal of Ethnopharmacology, doi: 10.1016/j.jep.2013.07.023 Waller CP, Thumser AE, Langat MK, Crouch NR, Mulholland DA. (2013) 'COX-2 inhibitory activity of homoisoflavanones and xanthones from the bulbs of the Southern African Ledebouria socialis and Ledebouria ovatifolia (Hyacinthaceae: Hyacinthoideae).'. Phytochemistry, 95, pp. 284-290. doi: 10.1016/j.phytochem.2013.06.024 Langat MK, Crouch NR, Smith PJ, Mulholland DA. (2011) 'Cembranolides from the Leaves of Croton gratissimus.'. J Nat Prod, 74 (11), pp. 2349-2355. doi: 10.1021/np2002012