Image: University of Glasgow
Spotlight · Health and medicine
Professor Ntobeko Ntusi
Physician, cardiologist and President of the South African Medical Research Council, honoured by the University of Glasgow in 2026.
Key facts
- DPhil in cardiovascular medicine from the University of Oxford
- Former Chair and Head of the Department of Medicine at the University of Cape Town and Groote Schuur Hospital
- Member of the Academy of Science of South Africa
- President and CEO of the South African Medical Research Council since July 2024
Their story
Celebrating Professor Ntobeko Ntusi
Our fourth Honorary Doctor this week from the University of Glasgow is Professor Ntobeko Ntusi, President and CEO of the South African Medical Research Council.
In its 575th anniversary year, Glasgow honoured Ntobeko with an Honorary Doctor of Science at its summer graduations, recognising his contribution to medicine.
A physician and scientist Ntobeko was born in Mthatha, South Africa, in 1977. He studied cellular and molecular biology at Haverford College in the United States before qualifying in medicine at the University of Cape Town. He trained in internal medicine and cardiology at Groote Schuur Hospital, and completed a DPhil in cardiovascular medicine at the University of Oxford.
Understanding the heart in Africa His research focuses on cardiovascular disease in Africa, inflammatory heart disease and cardiac magnetic resonance imaging. His doctoral work at the University of Cape Town examined cardiomyopathy in Black South Africans, and his Oxford research used cardiac MRI to study how inflammatory and rheumatic diseases affect the heart.
Leadership in medicine Ntobeko served as Chair and Head of the Department of Medicine at the University of Cape Town and Groote Schuur Hospital. He was elected a Member of the Academy of Science of South Africa in 2021. On 1 July 2024 he became President and CEO of the South African Medical Research Council.
Why this matters Ntobeko's honour from Glasgow celebrates a clinician and scientist whose work improves heart health across Africa, and reflects the University's global reach in its 575th year.