I am Full Professor and Executive Head of the Department of Medicine at the Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences, University of Stellenbosch, South Africa, since February 2025. I previously served as Full Professor, Chair and Head of Division of Clinical Haematology, Department of Medicine, University of Cape Town, from April 10 2018 to January 2025. I am also the elected President of the South African Clinical Haematology Society (SACHAS) since September 2023. Before this, I worked as Clinical Haematologist in Panorama Mediclinic, Cape Town since February 2015. Honorary Professor in the Division Haematology, Department of Medicine, University of Cape Town from 2015 to April 2018. Affiliated Professor at the University of the Free State and the University of Stellenbosch since February 2015. Until end January 2015, Professor and Head of the Department of Internal Medicine at the School of Medicine, Faculty of Health Sciences, University of the Free State, South Africa. After completing my medical degree (MBChB) and specialist training as physician (M.Med in Internal Medicine) at the University of Stellenbosch (both summa cum laude), I spent three years at the Katholieke Universiteit Leuven and the Universitaire Ziekenhuis Gasthuisberg in Leuven, Belgium in Clinical Haematology from January 2001 to December 2003. In January 2004 I accepted the position of Head of Clinical Haematology, a subdivision of the Department of Internal Medicine at the University of the Free State. In 2011, I obtained my Ph.D. in Health Professions Education at the University of the Free State on the development of a postgraduate education programme for medical doctors in Transfusion Medicine. This contributed to the development of the first Anglophone Postgraduate Diploma and Master’s Degree Programmes in Transfusion Medicine in Africa, which has graduated more than 30 students from all over Africa. I became Acting Head of the Department of Internal Medicine in April 2013 after the retirement of the previous Head of Department. In September 2013 I was appointed Full Professor and Head of the Department of Internal Medicine at the University of the Free State. In June 2014, I was elected to be the Chairperson of the Faculty of Health Sciences Research Committee as well as a member of the Executive Committee of the School of Medicine at the University of the Free State. I have served on many other committees over the years, inter alia on the School of Medicine Selection Committee, the Institutional Pathology Committee, the Museum Committee and the Blood Conservation Committee. I have received a number of awards, bursaries, grants and academic honours, including Stellenbosch University Academic Colours and Honours for being the top student in Medicine at the University of Stellenbosch as an undergraduate student and the University of Stellenbosch Andries Brink medal for the best Postgraduate Student of all Health-related disciplines in the year 2000.

My research focus is on the interface between Transfusion Medicine, Patient Blood Management and Iron-related disorders. I have authored or co-authored many book chapters (10) and papers (140) in peer-reviewed medical journals with more than 300 poster and invited oral presentations at local and international meetings. Currently, I am a member of the World Health Organisation (WHO) Expert Working Group on Patient Blood Management Implementation, Chairperson of the Global Transfusion Forum, a Board Member of NATA (Network for Advancement of Patient Blood Management, Haemostasis and Thrombosis), NATA Scientific Steering Committee Member, Member of the Association for the Advancement of Blood & Biotherapies (AABB) [previously named the American Association for Blood Banking (AABB)], International Society for Blood Transfusion (ISBT) Convalescent Plasma Clinical Working Group Member, Chair of the AABB Global Transfusion Forum (GTF), Chair of the AABB GTF Executive Committee, AABB Transfusion Medicine Services Coordinating Committee (TMSCC); Member of the AABB GTF Education Working Party;  Member of the AABB GTF Policies and Procedures Working Party;  Member of the AABB GTF Research Working Party, Member of the AABB Global Standards Committee; International Collaboration for Transfusion Medicine Guidelines (ICTMG) Member, Steering Committee Member of the American Association for Blood Banking Global Transfusion Forum (AABB GTF). I served as reviewer for a number of national and international medical journals and is a member of and chairs a number of national and international advisory boards and trusts. I am a founding Chairman and director of the BloodSA Foundation. I am also a member of the European Haematology Association (EHA) and I am a founding member of the South African Society for Clinical Haematology (SACHAS). I have also served on the scientific and organizing committees of a number of national and international conferences.

My major strengths include strategic leadership, building visionary teams and clinical teaching. My vision is to develop online learning platforms so that world-class medical teaching would be freely available anywhere in the world. To this end I have embarked on a project whereby I produce teaching videos which can be found on my Vernon Louw MedEd YouTube Channel.