Professor of Vaccinology
University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, South Africa
Disclosure: I do not have any relevant financial / non-financial relationships with any proprietary interests.
Shabir A. Madhi, M.B.B.C.H. (Wits), MMed (Paeds), FCPaeds (SA), Ph.D.
Shabir Madhi is Professor of Vaccinology at the University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, South Africa; and co-founder and co-Director of the African Leadership Initiative for Vaccinology Expertise (ALIVE). Professor Madhi completed his undergraduate and postgraduate training at the University of the Witwatersrand, qualifying as paediatrician in 1996 and obtaining his PhD in 2003.
He currently also holds the positions of Director of the South African Medical Research Council Vaccines and Infectious Diseases Analytical Research Unit (VIDA) and is Research Chair in Vaccine Preventable Diseases of Department of Science and Technology/National Research Foundation. He currently serves as the Chair of the National Advisory Group on Immunization in South Africa and is a member of the WHO Strategic Advisory Group of Experts on Immunization (SAGE) since 2019.
Shabir has co-authored over 460 scientific publications since 1997. His research has focused on the epidemiology, and clinical development of lifesaving vaccines against pneumonia and diarrheal disease. These studies have informed World Health Organization recommendations on the use of the lifesaving pneumococcal conjugate vaccine and rotavirus vaccine in children; and influenza vaccination of pregnant women. Over the past decade, he has focused on vaccines being developed for immunization of pregnant women for the benefit of the women and their young infants. He is leading the first two COVID-19 vaccine studies being undertaken in Africa.
In 2016, Madhi received the European and Developing Countries Clinical Trial Partnership Award for Scientific Leadership and in 2013 the South African Medical Research Council Lifetime Award Platinum Medal, amongst other accolades. In January 2021, Madhi takes up the position of Dean of the Faculty of Health Sciences at the Wits University.
