UKZN’s Nelson R Mandela School of Medicine recognised four members of its alumni community as Living Legends for their brilliance in science, medicine and public health leadership over the past few decades which has seen South Africa and the global community survive and overcome devastating TB, HIV and COVID-19 pandemics as well as recover from various musculoskeletal diseases.

The Minister of Home Affairs and former Health Minister, Dr Aaron Motsoaledi, and lauded CAPRISA scientists Professor Salim Abdool Karim and 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 prestigious Living Legends event held at the Medical School after being interviewed by media personality Ms Nongcebo Vukile McKenzie as members of a live panel discussion on their trailblazing journeys in science.

The in-person and live-streaming audience comprised academics, captains of industry, professional services staff, and first to final-year medical students, who applauded the Living Legends for their exemplary leadership, asking stimulating questions on critical ways forward.

In her welcome address, the College of Health Sciences Deputy Vice-Chancellor Professor Busi Ncama said the living legends event not only raised the UKZN flag high but also showcased South Africa as a global leader in research excellence.

Ncama commended the Dean and Head of the School of Clinical Medicine, Professor Ncoza Dlova – programme convener on the day – for introducing the Living Legends initiative at the Medical School in 2021 saying phenomenal individuals often remain unsung heroes until the day they died.

A former president of the Medical School’s student representative council, Motsoaledi was appointed Minister of Home Affairs on 30 May, 2019, serving as the Minister of Health from 26 May, 2014, until 25 May, 2019, and is also a member of the African National Congress’s National Executive Committee.

Motsoaledi said a lot of his leadership skills – which often required a great deal of courage in order to make a meaningful impact – were honed in the 1980s during his time as a medical student, before the release of the late President Nelson Mandela from prison. He remembered how orthopaedic surgeon and the then Dean of the Medical School, Professor Theodore (‘Teddy’) Sarkin, highlighted to him the link between medicine, health and politics at a time when he had to kneel and examine African patients on floor beds because there were not enough beds to accommodate admissions at King Edward VII Hospital while Addington Hospital, which was exclusively for whites, would not take the overflow of African patients!

Professor Salim Abdool Karim is a clinical infectious diseases epidemiologist, widely recognised for 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.

Karim is a also member of the WHO Science Council and Vice-President of the International Science Council, serves on the Boards of the New England Journal of Medicine, Lancet Global Health and Lancet HIV, has published over 500 journal articles, co-edited three epidemiology textbooks and is author of the book: Standing up for Science, is a member of the US National Academy of Medicine and the American Academy of Microbiology, and is a Fellow of the Royal Society.

Karim spoke expansively about the importance of continuously re-engineering health promotion and communication messages in order for them to have a meaningful behavioural impact on society. He said while all pandemics usually rise, reach a plateau, and fall, HIV and COVID-19 were still rife and part of the society in which we live. ‘Our job is to do our best to prevent new infections,’ he said.

It was agreed that his wife, Professor Quarraisha Abdool Karim, who was born and raised in the small town of Tongaat in KwaZulu-Natal, is testament to the fact that where you are born does not limit how far you can go in life.

A custodian for and an inspiration to many young women and girls, she 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.

Karim is the President of the World Academy of Sciences, co-chairs the United Nations Sustainable Development Goal 10 Member Technology Facilitation Mechanism, is a member of the PEPFAR Scientific Advisory Board, the World Science Forum Steering Committee and the Board of Directors of Friends of the Global Fight Against AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria (USA).

In addition to a plethora of other accolades, she is 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.

She said her journey had never been about awards and accolades but rather about making a meaningful contribution to humankind through science. She encouraged members of the audience to have a mentor, remember the people who opened doors for them and never fear academic scrutiny because it is what sharpens one’s research acumen.

World-renowned rheumatologist Mody was identified as a living legend for dedicating his life to medical education aligned with advancing the treatment and management of rheumatic diseases in South Africa and other African countries. (Rheumatic diseases are diseases that can affect the joints, muscles, and bones, causing pain, swelling, stiffness and possible joint deformities).

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 Dlova, who herself was presented with a surprise excellence glass award and certificate of appreciation by 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 which were rife elsewhere.

The audience enjoyed musical entertainment by the multi-talented sports fanatic, singer, bass guitarist, and pianist, final-year medical student, Mr Tyrell Pillay.

Thanking the living legends, Dlova said both staff and students learned a lot from the ‘nuggets they shared’.  Medical students were future leaders and thus their talents and potential needed holistic nurturing and cultivation over and above the demands of the medical curriculum in order to create positive lived experiences over the six years of training.

Words: Lunga Memela

Photo: Sethu Dlamini

Caption: Minister Aaron Motsoaledi together with Professors Girish Mody, Busi Ncama, Ncoza Dlova, Quarraisha Abdool Karim and Salim Abdool Karim.