27 July 2026 | Story Niémah Davids. Photos Lerato Maduna.
Professor Joel Dave arrived at the University of Cape Town’s (UCT) Faculty of Health Sciences as a budding medical student four decades ago. Since then, a lot has changed in the university and in South Africa. But one thing remains constant – no meaningful achievement in medicine is ever the work of one person alone.
Professor Dave is the head of the Division of Endocrinology in UCT’s Department of Medicine and Groote Schuur Hospital (GSH), a UCT teaching hospital. And his sentiments were quite fitting as he kicked off his joint inaugural lecture: “The power of collective endeavour: Advancing through partnership, mentorship and inclusivity”, with his colleague and wife Professor Nicola Wearne, the head of the Division of Nephrology and Hypertension.
The rise to full professor marks a milestone in an academic’s career, and for Professors Dave and Wearne, it was no different. The duo used their inaugural lecture to celebrate their wins as clinician scholars – serving patients at one of the largest tertiary hospitals in the country; teaching and learning from their students and mentors while immersing themselves in the ongoing research that shaped their careers in academia. But one common thread was evident, Dave’s and Wearne’s gratitude to those who positively influenced their careers, who rooted for them along the way and contributed to their success. The lecture theatre was filled with family, friends and colleagues as well as mentors and students, who braved a cold winter evening to share this milestone. The joint lecture was also a first of its kind for UCT.
“Every milestone in my career has been built on the generosity of mentors, the dedication of colleagues, the trust of patients, the enthusiasm of students and the unwavering support of family and friends. That is why Nicci [Wearne] and I have chosen to speak about the power of the collective,” Dave said.
“Whenever we have an opportunity, we have a duty to use our expertise to advocate for those voices who may not otherwise be heard.”
“Our talks are not simply about our careers. It’s about a community, an institution and the remarkable people who have shaped us along the way.”
Dave started his talk by giving thanks to three mentors who not only taught him medicine, but also demonstrated the values, principles and qualities he strives to emulate in teaching and clinical practice today.
He said the late Professor Ralph Kirsh, the former head of UCT’s Liver Research Centre, taught him that it is possible to hold strong liberal values while respecting differing opinions; while Professor Solly Benatar, the former head of the Department of Medicine, taught him the importance of having a moral compass. He said Professor Benatar also showed him that leadership is not about popularity and position “but about being able to make difficult decisions because they are right”. In addition, he added, Dr Aziz Aboo, the former head of GSH’s Emergency Unit, taught him that humility and clinical excellence belong together.
Dave further explained that his research philosophy is shaped by two quotes articulated by the late former head of the Department of Medicine and former Dean of Health Sciences Professor Bongani Mayosi.
“The first ‘an agenda for Africa by Africans’ reminds us that our research will be driven by the health priorities of our own continent and the needs of our own patients; and ‘there is enough space under the African sky’. This reflects his belief that there is room for all of us to continue to contribute, collaborate and succeed together,” Dave said.
Over the years there have been many standout moments in Dave’s career as a clinician, scholar and a teacher. During his subspeciality training in endocrinology, he told the audience that he and UCT’s Professor Naomi (Dinky) Levitt designed a study that investigated the metabolic complications of antiretroviral (ARV) therapy. He said at the time, South Africa’s ARV treatment programme was in its infancy stages, and emerging evidence globally suggested that some ARVS could contribute to diabetes, high cholesterol and obesity.
“This represented an important clinical problem, one that demanded local evidence to guide our management and improve long-term outcomes,” Dave said. “While studies from high-income countries have demonstrated important metabolic differences in African American women, remarkably little was known about the metabolic characteristics of black South African women.”
One of the biggest privileges of his career came knocking in 2017 when he was approached by Athletics South Africa to assemble a multidisciplinary team of clinicians to assist with defending Olympic gold medallist Caster Semenya at the Court of Arbitration for Sport in Lausanne, Switzerland. Semenya was taken to court for refusing to comply with the national-condemns-indias-invocation-of-police-powers-under-national-security-act/” title=”Amnesty International condemns India’s invocation of police powers under National Security Act”>International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF) regulation requiring her to take medication to artificially lower her natural testosterone levels to compete in women’s events. He said the team’s approach was based on a single principle, that decisions affecting an athlete’s career and dignity should be guided by robust scientific evidence and sound ethical principles. They identified substantial methodological limitations on which the IAAF relied. In the end, the court upheld the IAAF’s regulations.
“This example reflects that our responsibility as academic clinicians extends beyond the clinic, the laboratory and the lecture theatre. Whenever we have an opportunity, we have a duty to use our expertise to advocate for those voices who may not otherwise be heard,” he said.
Foundation of research journey
When Wearne reached the podium, she told the audience that when she entered nephrology, the HIV/AIDS epidemic had transformed the face of medicine. She said ARV treatment was only just becoming available in the public sector, and clinicians were seeing dozens of young people with advanced HIV, and many were dying.
“For those [HIV patients] who developed kidney failure, access to dialysis and transplantation was very limited. This wasn’t just a medical challenge; it was a profound human crisis,” she said.
As a young nephrology fellow, Wearne said she became fascinated by the spectrum of kidney disease among people living with HIV and what was causing it. That curiosity became the foundation of her research journey. She quickly realised that becoming proficient at understanding the kidney biopsy was necessary. And she did, thanks to the guidance of several mentors, including UCT’s Dr Maureen Duffield, Dr Frans-Peter Botha and Dr Brendon Price.
“They taught me not just how to read them but also how to think about them, and together, we built one of the largest biopsy cohorts of people living with HIV in Africa,” she said.
At the time, she said, if someone living with HIV developed end-stage kidney failure, “it was a death sentence”. But South Africa’s landscape was changing – community activists, non-governmental organisations, research organisations and policy makers changed the conversation. Further, she added, access to ARVs transformed lives and gradually the way clinicians cared for patients living with HIV started to change, too.
“Today, what seemed impossible has now become the standard of care.”
This work, Wearne said, was integral to setting up the HIV Clinic at GSH, which became the place where clinicians could understand HIV-associated kidney disease and optimise treatment. And during this time, she said, work led by Professor Elmi Muller (a UCT and GSH transplant surgeon), showed that kidney transplantation in people living with HIV was possible.
“Today, what seemed impossible has now become the standard of care. We can now offer dialysis and transplantation to people living with HIV,” Wearne said.
But medicine is not just about the patients who clinicians can cure. It’s also about the patients who cannot be cured. In South Africa’s public sector health facilities, Wearne said, access to dialysis remains heavily constricted.
“Every week we need to meet to discuss who will benefit from dialysis, knowing that not everyone will receive it. This creates profound tension between our commitment to equity and justice and the reality of limited re are never just clinical. Rationing dialysis is not simply a health system problem. It is a profoundly human problem.”
But all of it has taught Wearne a valuable career lesson.
“Even though we cannot offer dialysis [to everyone]; we must never stop caring. Compassion should not be rationed. Every patient deserves dignity, honesty and compassionate care regardless of whether dialysis is possible,” she said.
She reminded her family, friends and colleagues that the success of an academic career is often measured by publications, research grants and promotions. For Wearne, the real measure of success in life is the people who choose to walk alongside you.
“No one builds a career alone. There are people who quietly shape who we become, and tonight is a celebration of those people. The mentors who opened doors, the colleagues who became lifelong friends, the patients who taught me the most important lessons, and the teams who have made every achievement possible,” she said.
And some mentors and teachers are not senior clinicians. They are nurses whose names rarely appear on publications and lecture programmes. Yet, Wearne said, they have been some of her greatest teachers – teaching her patience, wisdom and that the smallest act of kindness can make a huge difference to a patient. Other members of her multidisciplinary team include social workers, transplant coordinators, clinical technologists and dieticians who continue to remind her that excellent kidney care is never delivered by one person, it’s always a team effort.
But the “greatest teachers” have always been the patients.
“The greatest teachers have been the people I’ve had the privilege to work alongside and the patients who have entrusted me with their care.”
“During every encounter, many have taught me what matters most in life. Some have taught me acceptance, some have taught me courage, some have taught me resilience. The greatest teachers have been the people I’ve had the privilege to work alongside and the patients who have entrusted me with their care,” Wearne said.
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