Ntusi Ntobeko Ayanda Bubele

Ntusi, president and CEO of the South African Medical Research Council, is a distinguished leader in medical research. Prior to this role, he served as chair and head of the Department of Medicine at the University of Cape Town (UCT) and Groote Schuur Hospital. His groundbreaking research has significantly advanced the understanding of heart failure and cardiomyopathy, the cardiovascular phenotype and pathophysiology of autoimmune inflammatory heart disease, as well as HIV-associated cardiovascular disease across diverse global clinical settings. More recently, he led pioneering studies on the biology and immunology of COVID-19, with impact extending beyond South Africa’s borders. A member of the South African Academy of Sciences and a Fellow of the Royal College of Physicians, the Royal Society of South Africa, and the UCT College of Fellows, Ntusi's accolades include the prestigious South African Medical Research Council Gold Medal, the Walter Siegenthaler Medal and Memorial Lecture from the University of Zurich, and the University of Oxford's Oppenheimer Fund Academic Exchange Award.