Dr Cascia Day is one of two registered Physician Allergists in South Africa. She is the recipient of the SAMRC Clinician-Researcher Development Programme Scholarship, and the Discovery Foundation Academic Fellowship award for her PhD work on ACE-inhibitor Angioedema Biomarkers in Africa.

Dr Day was awarded her Masters in Medicine with distinction in 2019 and graduated as a Specialist Physician at the University of Cape Town (UCT) in 2020. She then went on to sub-specialise in Allergology and Clinical Immunology, graduating in 2023.

Dr Day is a member of the steering committee for the International Network of Antibiotic Allergy Nations (iNAAN) with a focus on penicillin allergy de-labelling in Africa, and she has been the Co-Chair of the UCT Department of the Medicine Research Symposium Committee since 2023.

Dr Day is a clinician scientist with experience in both original research, and industry trials at the UCT Lung Institute Allergy and Immunology Unit. She has published in high impact journals and has presented her research both locally and internationally. Dr Day is passionate about improving allergy education for health care-workers and expanding access to allergy care in Africa.

Dr Pauline Howell is a deputy director at Wits Health Consortium’s Clinical HIV Research Unit (CHRU) and site leader at both the Sizwe Tropical Disease Hospital in Johannesburg and the Isango Lethemba TB Research Unit in Gqeberha. With 12 years’ experience as a clinical trial investigator, Dr Howell has contributed to landmark drug-resistant tuberculosis (DR-TB) trials, including STREAM, Nix, ZeNix and BEAT-Tuberculosis which all led to WHO guideline changes.

Dr Howell is a member of the South African National Clinical Advisory Committee, a ministerial committee that advises the National Department of Health on treatment for DR TB. She is also a member of the IMPAACT TB Scientific Committee, a network specific to mothers and children. Dr Howell is committed to developing shorter, safer, and more effective DR-TB treatments for all patients, including children and pregnant women.

Pieter qualified as a Paediatrician in 2009 at the University of the Free State. In 2017, he earned the South African Certificate in Asthma Care (NAEP), and in 2018, he obtained a Diploma in Allergology from the College of Family Physicians of South Africa. That same year, he became a certified Allergologist at the University of Cape Town and went on to complete his M.Phil. degree in Allergology in 2019, graduating cum laude.

He worked as a full-time subspecialist in Allergology at MediClinic Bloemfontein whilst also holding a part-time position as a senior consultant at the University of the Free State. In this role, he taught Allergology, Asthma, and Pulmonology to both undergraduate and postgraduate medical students, as well as registrars.

Currently, Pieter serves on the Executive Committee of the South African National Asthma Education Programme (NAEP) and the Allergy Society of South Africa (ALLSA). He is also a member of the South African Allergic Rhinitis Working Group. He has been appointed as an extraordinary consultant at the University of the Free State and is now in full-time private practice at MediClinic Panorama Hospital in Cape Town.

Dr Sze Wai Chan is a medical oncologist in private practice at Sandton Oncology, and West Rand Oncology, Johannesburg, South Africa. She is the director of clinical research at Sandton Oncology and is involved as principal and sub-investigator in local and international clinical trials. She is a member of ASCO, ESMO, IASLC and is an executive member of SASMO since 2022.

Dr Chan is the vice president of the Melanoma Society South Africa (MSSA). She has authored in peer-reviewed journals and has presented abstracts locally and abroad. She serves on both local and international Advisory Boards. She was trained professionally at the University of Witwatersrand (Wits) and she was involved previously with the Wits HREC (Human Research Ethics Committee). Her main oncology interests are lung cancer, skin cancer, head and neck cancer, and urogenital cancer.

Dr Chan serves on the scientific programme committee for World Conference on Lung Cancer (WCLC 2025) in Barcelona, Spain, and is an invited speaker at the conference.

Ziyaad Dangor is the clinical research director at the world-renowned Vaccines and Infectious Diseases Analytics Research Unit (VIDA) at the University of the Witwatersrand. He also works as a paediatric pulmonologist in the Department of Paediatrics and Child Health at the Chris Hani Baragwanath Academic Hospital. His research interests include paediatric lung health, infectious diseases, health advocacy and medical education. Ziyaad has undertaken investigator-initiated, original research using a range of clinical, epidemiological, and laboratory-based research techniques to establish a successful research output, including the publication of cited papers in high-impact factor journals in the field.

Ziyaad is actively involved in undergraduate and postgraduate teaching at the University of Witwatersrand. He is the ex-president of the South African Paediatric Association, an examiner in the College of Paediatricians of South Africa, and an instructor with the Advanced Paediatric Life Support Group.

Theresa Marié Rossouw is a Professor in the Department of Immunology at the University of Pretoria (UP), South Africa. She obtained her bachelor’s degree in Medicine and Surgery (MBChB) cum laude from Stellenbosch University. She then completed two Masters’ degrees, both cum laude (Master’s in Philosophy – Biomedical Ethics – Stellenbosch University, and Master’s in Public Health – Epidemiology and Biostatistics – UP) and two doctoral degrees (PhD Philosophy, Stellenbosch University, and PhD Immunology, UP). She worked as the Clinical Head of the HIV clinic at Pretoria Academic Hospital from 2005, HIV consultant for Tshwane district from 2014, and then transitioned into research as Head of the Immunopathology Laboratory in the Department of Immunology at UP in 2016.

Professor Rossouw is specifically interested in HIV-associated drug resistance and systemic immune activation as well as the impact of COVID-19 on people with immunodeficiency. A member of the World Health Organization’s Research and Innovation Working Group, HIVResNet, as well as various scientific committees, and is the current President of the South African Immunology Society.

Professor Rossouw also  has a keen interest in ethics, chairperson of the Research Ethics Committee (REC) of the Faculty of Health Sciences at the University of Pretoria and the immediate past chairperson of the REC of the Human Sciences Research Council. She is an NRF-rated scientist and was awarded a silver medal by the South African Medical Research Council in 2023.  

Professor Masekela is a distinguished lung health researcher with over 17 years of experience, currently serving as a National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR) Global Health Research Professor (2022–2027). Her research focuses on paediatric asthma and lung physiological testing, making significant contributions to paediatric respiratory medicine and earning her international recognition.

Masekela holds several prominent leadership roles in global lung health. She is the Co-Chair of the Global Asthma Network and President of the Pan African Thoracic Society. Additionally, she serves as Co-Chair of the Federation of Respiratory Societies (FIRS) Lung Health Task Force Steering Committee. Her influence extends through memberships in leading organizations such as the Global Initiative for Asthma (GINA) Scientific Committee, European Respiratory Society (ERS) Global Lung Initiative (GLI) Network Clinical Research Collaboration Committee, ERS Long Range Planning Committee for the Pediatrics Assembly, and the American Thoracic Society (ATS) Ethics and Conflict of Interest Committee.

Nationally, Masekela is the President of the South African Thoracic Society, where she plays a crucial role in shaping respiratory healthcare policies and practices. A prolific researcher, Masekela has authored over 100 peer-reviewed publications and contributed to eight book chapters on paediatric respiratory diseases. Beyond her research, Masekela is deeply committed to mentoring the next generation of researchers. She has supervised and graduated PhD and Master’s students, fostering research capacity in Africa. She co-directs the PATS-Methods in Epidemiological, Operational, and Clinical Research (MECOR) program, supported by the American Thoracic Society, and serves as a faculty member of the Virtual ATS International Pediatric Pulmonology Research Academy (VIPPRA) program. She also mentors and reviews for the USAID-funded SMART4TB Early-Stage Investigator program.

Through her groundbreaking research, leadership, and mentorship, Professor Masekela continues to shape the future of paediatric respiratory health, both in Africa and globally.

Professor Matthias (Matt) Haus is a Medical Scientist, a specialist Allergologist and an Academic at the University of Pretoria Medical Faculty. He is a well-known businessman and Philanthropist, until recently the Lead Independent Non-Executive Director on the Holding Company Board of the Bidvest-controlled Public Company, Adcock Ingram.  He has been Chairman of numerous other Companies and organization’s including the Professional Provident Society Financial Services Board and the Allergy Society of South Africa.

He has directed Clinical Pharmaceutical Research for the global AstraZeneca and Johnson and Johnson companies for 35 years as Executive Vice President and has worked around the world, also living in Shanghai, China for a period. He has lectured and travelled extensively on all continents, presenting on Medical, Philosophical and Business-related topics, resulting in numerous significant Awards and Distinctions. He has a particular interest in the management of patients living with Cancer and is the founder of the Moments in Time Oncology Project.

His Awards include an Honorary Fellowship of the Colleges of Medicine of South Africa in 2020, the South African Academy of Arts and Sciences Award for 2003, the South African Financial Mail Award for Science and Technology in 1989 and the University of the Witwatersrand Award for Oncology in 2005.

He is a well-known after-dinner speaker and television presenter and has been a musician and composer since the age of three. He enjoys presenting Soire’s and musical concerts from time to time and has appeared with numerous Orchestras, including the National South African Youth Orchestra in 1966 and the East London Symphony Orchestra as a violinist. He made a guest appearance with the Johannesburg Philharmonic Orchestra under the baton of Richard Cock as a pianist in 2003.

He has a particular interest in Existential Philosophy and is a student of Viktor Frankl’s Logotherapeutic School of Thinking, on which topic he has published numerous books.