First African director for Durban-based health research institute

The African Health Research Institute in Durban has appointed its first African director: Willem Hanekom, a South African tuberculosis researcher.

The appointment was announced on 27 August. Hanekom will replace Deenan Pillay, who is resuming his role as a virology professor at University College London in the United Kingdom.

Hanekom trained in medicine at Stellenbosch University and in paediatrics at the University of Cape Town before leaving for the United States. He led the South African Tuberculosis Vaccine Initiative from 2011 and joined the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation in 2013 to lead its TB vaccine group.