Max Theiler 30 January 1899 – 11 August 1972 was a South African-American virologist and physician. He was awarded the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine in 1951 for developing a vaccine against yellow fever in 1937, becoming the first African-born Nobel laureate. Born in Pretoria, Theiler was educated in South Africa through completion of his
Sir Arnold Theiler KCMG 26 March 1867 – 24 July 1936 Pour le Mérite is considered to be the father of veterinary science in South Africa. He was born in Frick, Canton Aargau, Switzerland. He received his higher education, and later qualified as a veterinarian, in Zurich. In 1891 Theiler travelled to South Africa and at first found employment as a farm worker
Patrick Soon-Shiong born July 29, 1952 is a South African-American transplant surgeon, billionaire businessman, bioscientist, and media proprietor. He is the inventor of the drug Abraxane, which became known for its efficacy against lung, breast, and pancreatic cancer. Soon-Shiong is the founder of NantWorks, a network of healthcare, biotech, and artificial intelligence startups; an adjunct professor
Anna Coutsoudis born 21 September 1952 is a South African public health scientist and academic who has conducted research on HIV and nutrition, specializing in the benefits of breastfeeding. An elected member of the Academy of Science of South Africa, she is a founder member and chair of iThemba Lethu, an organization for children with
Joan Alison Morice 1904-1944 was the first woman to qualify and practice as a veterinary surgeon in South Africa. She graduated from Onderstepoort Veterinary Institute, South Africa in 1927 and it was nineteen years later that the next woman, Maud Bales, qualified as a veterinary surgeon in South Africa. Morice immediately started a private veterinary practice which lasted until 1935.
Mary Malahlela-Xakana 2 May 1916 – 8 May 1981 was the first black woman to register as a medical doctor in South Africa (in 1947). She was also a founding member of the Young Women’s Christian Association. Contents 1Early life and education 2Career 3Personal life 4References Early life and education Mary Susan Makobatjatji Malahlela was born in Pietersburg. Her father
John Dowie Borthwick 1867 – 1936 was a veterinary surgeon in the Cape Colony, South Africa Contents 1Early life 2Personal life 3Veterinary work 4Military service 5Notes and references Early life Borthwick was born in Kirkliston, Scotland to John Borthwick (also a vet) and Janet Dowie. He studied veterinary medicine at the Edinburgh College of Medicine and
Wouter Basson born 6 July 1950 is a South African cardiologist and former head of the country’s secret chemical and biological warfare project, Project Coast, during the apartheid era. Nicknamed “Dr. Death” by the press for his alleged actions in apartheid South Africa, Basson was acquitted in 2002 of 67 charges, after having been suspended from
Christiaan Neethling Barnard 8 November 1922 – 2 September 2001 was a South African cardiac surgeon who performed the world’s first human-to-human heart transplant operation. On 3 December 1967, Barnard transplanted the heart of accident-victim Denise Darvall into the chest of 54-year-old Louis Washkansky, with Washkansky regaining full consciousness and being able to easily talk with his wife, before
Abraham Manie “Abe” Adelstein 28 March 1916 – 18 October 1992 was a South African born doctor who became the United Kingdom’s Chief Medical Statistician. Career Adelstein was the fourth of five children (four boys and one girl) of Nathan Adelstein, a miller, and Rosie Cohen, Jewish immigrants from Latvia to South Africa. After graduating from the University of Witwatersrand and doing