Prof. Faadiel Essop is currently a professor in the Division of Medical Physiology (BMRI, Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences) at Stellenbosch University. He is also the Director of the Centre for Cardio-metabolic Research in Africa (CARMA). Prof. Essop completed his undergraduate and doctoral studies at the University of Cape Town and subsequently pursued a BA (Hons) degree (Arabic Studies) at the University of the Western Cape. He was awarded the Helen Suzman Chevening Fellowship for postdoctoral research (Leeds, UK) and worked as a Fulbright Fellow at the University of Texas-Houston Medical School.

Prof. Essop is an NRF-rated internationally acclaimed researcher and is investigating the effects of chronic stress on cardio-metabolic diseases onset and the role of immune activation in HIV-related cardiovascular diseases. He also completed the Scholarship of Educational Leadership course at Stellenbosch University, was a recipient of the university’s teaching excellence award (two occasions) and is a Teaching Advancement at University (TAU) fellow.

Prof. Essop was a former President of the Physiology Society of Southern Africa (PSSA), is the immediate past President of the African Association of Physiological Sciences (AAPS) and was a council member of the International Union of Physiological Sciences (IUPS). He is also a Fellow of the American Physiological Society (FAPS). Prof. Essop was a previous chairperson of the Research Advisory Committee of the SA Heart and Stroke Foundation and is the current chairperson of the SA National Committee (of IUPS). During 2021 he was awarded the PSSA’s prestigious Lifetime Career Achievement Award for research excellence. Prof. Essop is an elected Fellow of the Royal Society of South Africa and an elected Member of the Academy of Science of South Africa.