UKZN Nelson R. Mandela School of Medicine honoured their Living Legends, from left, Minister Aaron Motsoaledi, professors Girish Mody, Busi Ncama, Ncoza Dlova, Quarraisha Abdool Karim and Salim Abdool Karim.
The University of KwaZulu-Natal (UKZN) Nelson R. Mandela School of Medicine recently celebrated members of its alumni community. Professor Salim Abdool Karim, his wife, Professor Quarraisha Abdool Karim, and former Aaron Beare Professor and Head of UKZN’s Department of Rheumatology, Professor Girish Mody, were honoured at the fifth Living Legends event held at the medical school.
The professors were awarded for their excellent work in the fields of science, medicine and public health leadership over the past few decades. Their work has enabled South Africa and the global community to survive the devastating tuberculosis (TB), HIV and Covid-19 pandemics as well as recover from various musculoskeletal diseases.
Minister of Home Affairs and former Health Minister Aaron Motsoaledi, praised the Centre for the Aids Programme of Research in South Africa (CAPRISA).
Scientists, professors Abdool and Quarraisha Abdool Karim and professor Mody, were interviewed by Nongcebo Vukile McKenzie as members of a live panel discussion on their progressive journeys in science. The in-person and live-streaming audience included academics, captains of industry, professional services staff, and first to final-year medical students.
The College of Health Sciences deputy vice-chancellor Professor Busi Ncama said the Living Legends event showcased South Africa as a global leader in research excellence. She commended the Dean and Head of the School of Clinical Medicine, Professor Ncoza Dlova, for introducing the Living Legends initiative at the Medical School in 2021 - saying “phenomenal individuals often remain unsung heroes until the day they die”.
Professor Abdool Karim, a clinical infectious diseases epidemiologist, is widely recognised for his scientific contributions to Aids and Covid-19. He is UKZN’s Pro Vice-Chancellor for research, director of CAPRISA, and a professor of Global Health at Columbia University, New York. He serves as special advisor on pandemics to the Director-General of the World Health Organization (WHO), is an adjunct professor of Immunology and Infectious Diseases at Harvard University and an adjunct Professor of Medicine at Cornell University.
Professor Abdool Karim is also a member of the WHO Science Council and Vice-President of the International Science Council. He serves on the boards of the New England Journal of Medicine, Lancet Global Health and Lancet HIV. He has published over 500 journal articles, co-edited three epidemiology textbooks and is author of the book Standing up for Science. Professor Abdool Karim is also a member of the US National Academy of Medicine, the American Academy of Microbiology and is a Fellow of the Royal Society.
“It is vital for us to continuously re-engineer health promotion and communication messages in order for them to have a meaningful behavioural impact on society,” said Professor Abdool Karim.
“While all pandemics usually rise, reach a plateau, and fall, HIV and Covid-19 are still rife and part of the society in which we live. Our job is to do our best to prevent new infections.”
Professor Quarraisha Abdool Karim is an infectious diseases epidemiologist, co-founder and Associate Scientific Director of CAPRISA, UKZN’s Pro-Vice-Chancellor for African Health, and a professor in Clinical Epidemiology at Columbia University, New York.
She is the president of the World Academy of Sciences, co-chairs the United Nations Sustainable Development Goal 10 Member Technology Facilitation Mechanism. She is also a member of the United States President’s Emergency Plan for Aids Relief (PEPFAR) Scientific Advisory Board, the World Science Forum Steering Committee and the Board of Directors of Friends of the Global Fight Against AIDS, TB and Malaria (USA).
Professor Quarraisha Abdool Karim is also an elected member of the National Academy of Medicine (USA), a Fellow of the Royal Society of South Africa, and a member of the Academy of Science of South Africa and the African Academy of Science.
“My journey has never been about awards and accolades but rather about making a meaningful contribution to humankind through science,” she said.
“I encouraged members of the audience to have a mentor, remember the people who opened doors for you and never fear academic scrutiny because it is what sharpens one’s research acumen.”
World-renowned rheumatologist Professor Mody has dedicated his life to medical education aligned with advancing the treatment and management of rheumatic diseases in South Africa and other African countries.
Professor Mody is past president of the African League Against Rheumatism, he served on the exco of the International League of Associations for Rheumatology and was an ambassador for the Bone and Joint Decade (2000-2010). He sits on the editorial boards of various rheumatology journals, and his academic activities have included studies on rheumatic diseases in Black Africans and promoting rheumatology education in Africa.
The event’s living legends received lifetime awards in recognition of their self-sacrifice from Professor Dlova. She also received the excellence glass award and certificate of appreciation by Professor Ncama, for driving positive change at the Medical School and stabilising the medical campus during the turbulent times of Covid-19, and student and civil society unrest.