South Africa’s medical fraternity is mourning the death of renowned academic and cardiologist Professor Bongani Mayosi. Mayosi, who was the Dean of the Faculty of Health Sciences at the University of Cape Town, at 51 years old. He was a National Research Foundation A-rated scientist.
Mayosi’s family issued a statement after his death in which they described his battle with depression and called his death “a desperate decision to end his own life”
The late Professor’s 2015 CV says he has been published in more than 168 peer-reviewed journals. A search for his publications on scholar.google.com affirms his impressive output.
In the years before he became dean, Mayosi first-authored on a variety of topics. (This means that he was the lead author taking principal responsibility and credit for the scientific innovation and work reflected in the publication.)
Examples are the design of a clinical trial to test a treatment for a complication of tuberculosis that affects the heart; mortality caused by this complication; a review of the burden of non-communicable diseases in Africa; a fascinating commentary on a paper published in the 1950s on heart disease in Uganda in which Mayosi raises concerns about the rate of progress since then in preventing the disease; a number of articles on rheumatic heart disease – his main research interest; and an easy-to-read article on the first black doctors in South Africa.
After Mayosi became dean, there are no more first-authored articles. He is the last author on several articles, suggesting that he found time to advise and review the work of up-and-coming researchers. But there was likely no time or energy for him to do what scientists love most in their work – research.
Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs minister Zweli Mhkize paid tribute to the renowned cardiologist Professor Bongani Mayosi, calling him a role model and hero of South Africa in the medical sector.
“He was one of the rare breed of African physicians to have scaled the climax of this complex and highly technical specialist field of cardiology.
“Prof Mayosi possessed a rare combination of a brilliant mind, yet remained very friendly, warm and sociable due to his humble and extremely down to earth personality.” In bidding farewell, Mhkize said that Mayosi’s achievements were a source of pride and inspiration to all.
“Many of us who qualified in medicine ahead of or together with and after him held him in high regard as a symbol of pride and encouragement for more black students to aspire to the greater heights of the medical profession,” said Mhkize.
“In this sector Prof Mayosi was a role model and a hero of a democratic South Africa. He represented the actualisation of the dreams and aspirations of the previously oppressed and the celebration of our newly found freedom.”
Parliament issued a statement on Saturday, honouring the legacy of Mayosi – who in 2009 received the country’s highest honour, the Order of Mapungubwe.
“Professor Mayosi’s death has robbed South Africa of one of the finest brains and passionate health experts who still had so much more to offer the nation,” said Parliamentary officials in the statement.
The country was indebted to him for his “immense contribution to the country’s policy and strategy for health research”.
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