Speakers Biographies

Nick Maynard
2025 Penman Visiting Lecturer: Professor Nick Maynard
Read moreProfessor Nick Maynard is a Consultant Upper GI Surgeon at Oxford University Hospitals NHS Trust, and Associate Professor of Surgery at Oxford University. Having trained at Oxford University, Guy’s Hospital London and Melbourne, Australia, he was appointed Consultant Upper GI Surgeon in Oxford in 1997 and set up the Oxford Oesophagogastric Cancer Centre. He is the Senior Surgeon and Clinical Lead. From 2008 to 2015 he was the Director of Surgery and from 2017 to 2022 he was Director of Cancer Services for Oxford University Hospitals. In 2020 he was awarded Fellowship ad hominem of the Royal College of Surgeons of Edinburgh. From 2021 to 2023 he was President of the Association of Upper GI Surgery for Great Britain and Ireland (AUGIS), demitting in September 2023. His main interests are in the surgical management of oesophagogastric cancer and complex benign disease, and he speaks regularly nationally and internationally on these topics. His operative experience includes over 1500 oesophagogastric cancer resections and over 500 laparoscopic operations for reflux disease, hiatus hernia and achalasia. He has extensive experience in revisional laparoscopic surgery for oesophagogastric disease, and is the principal regional referral point for revisional hiatal hernia, reflux and achalasia surgery. Nick first visited Palestine in 2008, and since 2010 he has been visiting Gaza regularly. Each October he leads a group of Oxford Consultants specialising in surgery, medicine, paediatrics, and obstetrics to Gaza to teach medical students from the Islamic University of Gaza and Al Azhar University. Nick also works with Medical Aid for Palestinians (MAP UK) as part of their surgical team to travel into Gaza to carry out and teach advanced upper gastrointestinal surgery for cancer and benign diseases. As part of this work, he has been helping his Gazan colleagues develop surgical oncology services in Gaza, embracing the need for multidisciplinary working and subspecialisation. In December 2023 with MAP Nick led the first UK medical mission into Gaza during the current conflict and worked at Al Aqsa Hospital for 2 weeks. He spent a further 2 weeks at Al Aqsa Hospital from April 20th to May 6th. He continues to be a vocal advocate for Gaza, conducting multiple media interviews and giving multiple lectures sharing his experiences in Gaza since October 7th, 2023. His advocacy has included multiple meetings with politicians in Westminster and Washington DC, and meetings at the United Nations in New York City. Nick has recently been awarded the Humanitarian Medal by the UK Government for his humanitarian work in Gaza, and will receive his award from King Charles at Buckingham Palace. Nick joined the Board of Trustees of IMET2000 (International Medical Education Trust) in 2016 and has been Chairman of the Board of Trustees from 2018.

Dale Creamer
Dr Dale Creamer is a vascular and interventional radiologist and the head of interventional radiology at Groote Schuur Hospital.
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Bart Rose
Dr J. Bart Rose joined the faculty of the UAB Department of Surgery, Division of Surgical Oncology in 2017. He has a combined research and clinical appointment.
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Deidré McPherson
MBChB, FCS(SA), MMED (Surg)(UCT)
Deidré is currently a subspecialty trainee in Trauma Surgery and Critical Care at Groote Schuur Hospital Trauma Centre and University of Cape Town.
She completed her FCS in 2017, and has been working in the field of trauma surgery since then. She is a recipient of the Discovery Subspecialty Training Fellowship for 2018/19. Her research interests include the effects of HIV in the Trauma patient. She is also a registered PhD candidate investigating the role of Enhanced Recovery After Trauma Surgery (ERATS) in a randomized control study.

Christo Kloppers
Professor Christo Kloppers is currently heading the Acute Care Surgery Unit at Groote Schuur Hospital and does work as a consultant in the HPB Unit.
Read moreHis undergraduate training was at the University of Stellenbosch. After a short stint in the UK and Ireland he received both his General Surgery and HPB subspecialty training at UCT. Christo was fortunate to receive further minimal invasive surgery training in a fellowship in Amsterdam.

Martin Forlee
Dr Martin Forlee spent his youth in Kimberley and matriculated from Christian Brothers’ College.
Read moreHe obtained his MBChB from the University of Cape Town in 1993, where he achieved distinction in the pre-clinical and clinical exams and was awarded the degree with first-class honours. Dr Forlee received the University Gold Medal for Medicine as the most outstanding candidate in the final year examinations. He was also awarded the Barnard Fuller Prize for the best student with Honours, the Stabler Prize for the student showing the most promise in surgery, the Ebrahim Medal for Excellence in Haematology, The Manual and Luby Washkansky Postgraduate Scholarship, the JH Louw Prize for Paediatrics and the Cuthbert Crichton Prize in Obstetrics. He completed his postgraduate general surgery training through the University of Cape Town and Groote Schuur Hospital. During his final year of surgical training, he received the Ethicon Surgical Registrars Award for the best presentation at the National Surgical Registrars Symposium. Dr Forlee became a fellow of the College of Surgeons of South Africa in 2003. The same year he was awarded the Douglas Award as the most outstanding candidate in the FCS(SA) examination. He specialised in vascular and endovascular surgery for three years at the St James Vascular Institute in Dublin, Ireland. He successfully completed the Specialist Vascular Surgery exam, Cert Vasc Surg (SA), in 2006 and is a registered Vascular Surgeon. He is a senior honorary lecturer in the Surgical Department at Groote Schuur Hospital and the University of Cape Town, where he teaches undergraduate and postgraduate students. Dr Forlee served on the executive committee of the Vascular Society of Southern Africa from 2014–2021 and was the secretary from 2016–2018. He is a founding member and currently the secretary of The South African Lymphatic and Venous Society (SALVS). Dr Forlee specialises in vascular surgery with a special interest in minimally invasive venous and arterial endovascular surgery and the management of diabetic foot complications.

Bhekifa Dube
Bhekifa Dube is a Professor of Vascular Surgery based at Livingstone Tertiary Hospital in Gqeberha (Port Elizabeth).
Read moreHe is the current Head Clinical Unit at the institution and also serves as a Surgicom Board Member and the Treasurer for the Vascular Society of Southern Africa. In addition he has recently been co-opted into the European Society of Vascular Surgery Guidelines Committee as the African representative. Dr Dube completed his sub specialist training at Groote Schuur Hospital, University of Cape Town.

Anthony Sander
Dr Anthony Sander is a sub-specialist vascular surgeon with both academic and private practices.
Read moreHe holds teaching and clinical positions at Groote Schuur Hospital and operates his private practice out of Christiaan Barnard Memorial Hospital. He completed his undergraduate training at the University of Pretoria, followed by both his general surgery specialisation, and then vascular sub-specialisation at the University of Cape Town. His practice is balanced across all aspects of modern vascular surgery, with a special interest in endovascular advancements for both arterial and venous disease.

Heather Bougard
Professor Heather Bougard is the Head of Clinical Unit for Surgery at New Somerset Hospital, an urban general specialist hospital in the Cape Metropole.
Read moreHeather is passionate about Minimal Access Surgery with particular emphasis on cost containment and applicability in the public sector. She has a special interest in Hernia Surgery and is the chair of the South African Hernia Interest Group. Heather also serves as Vice Chair of the Somerset Hospital Facilities Board and on the Executive Committee of the South African Society of Endoscopic Surgeons.

Mark Hampton
Mark is the managing partner of Surgeons Incorporated, a large group practice at Mediclinic Constantiaberg.
Read moreHe completed surgical training at UCT in 2013, graduating with a MMed and fellowships of the South African College of Surgeons as well as the Royal College of Surgeons of Edinburgh. He completed consultant rotations in the Colorectal and Surgical Endocrinology units, after which he moved to Victoria Hospital Wynberg to head the surgical department. Dr Hampton was fortunate to have been awarded a SASES Storz fellowship which allowed him to undertake a clinical fellowship in advanced laparoscopy in Straubing, Bavaria with Dr Markus Walz. His interest in general surgery is wide and includes most aspects including endoscopy, breast cancer, endocrinology, emergency surgery, colorectal, endometriosis surgery and hernia surgery. His passions include excellence in patient care, as well as teaching students and young surgeons. Dr Hampton is an enthusiastic laparoscopist. He is married to Robyn, a vitreo-retinal surgeon in private practice, and has two young children. His weekends are spent on the side of the school sports fields, running and mountain biking.

Galya Chinnery
Professor Chinnery did her undergraduate medical training at University of Pretoria, Surgical specialisation at University of KwaZulu Natal, Durban and Sub-specialisation in Surgical Gastroenterology, University of Cape Town.
Fellowship in Upper Gastrointestinal Surgery, AMC, Amsterdam, Netherlands Presently running Upper GI Unit at Groote Schuur Hospital, University of Cape Town, Cape Town, with a special interest in laparoscopic surgery and interventional endoscopy.

Dion Levin
MBBCH (WITS), MBA (UCT), FCP(SA), Cert Gastroenterology (SA) Phys
Read moreDr Dion Levin is a Medical Gastroenterlogist in the Department of Medicine at Groote Schuur Hospital and a Senior Lecturer for undergraduate and postgraduate students at the University of Cape Town.

Karin Hardimann
Karin Hardiman is a surgeon scientist at the University of Alabama at Birmingham. She attended UAB for her MD/PhD degrees.
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Linda Pohl
Dr Linda Pohl completed her surgical training at the University of Cape Town and is currently a consultant in the Acute Care Surgery firm at Groote Schuur Hospital and a senior lecturer at the University of Cape Town.

Nsizwenye Mkhwanazi
Dr Nsizwenye Mkhwanazi graduated from the University of KwaZulu-Natal with a Bachelor of Medicine and Bachelor of Surgery.
Read moreFollowing his undergraduate medical studies, I\he completed an internship at Dr. George Mukhari Academic Hospital and his community service at Sebokeng Hospital. In 2020, he began his general surgery training as a registrar at the SMU/DGMAH complex. From 2022 to 2023, Dr Mkhwanazi served as a registrar representative. Recently, he was admitted as a Fellow of the College of Surgeons (FCS) and received the Douglas Award for achieving the highest mark in the 2023 exams. Currently, he is halfway through his training in colorectal surgery at Groote Schuur Hospital in Cape Town. During this time he has had the pleasure of broadening both his professional and academic horizons. Dr Mkhwanazi is deeply committed to academic medicine and has resolved to contribute to a healthcare force that serves with passion, thought leadership, and clinical excellence. spital with a tertiary referral practice in complex aortic disease, Dr Jenkins is a consultant vascular surgeon with Imperial College Healthcare NHS Trust.

Marc Bernon
Professor Marc Bernon is a hepatobiliary and pancreatic surgeon in the UCT Hepato-pancreatico-biliary (HPB) surgical unit.
Read moreProfessor Bernon completed his undergraduate training at the University of the Witwatersrand. He completed his specialist general surgical training at the University of Cape Town in 2008 and completed his sub-specialist training in HPB surgery in 2011. During this time, he became involved in the UCT liver transplant program. He has a specific interest in colorectal liver metastases, hepatocellular carcinoma, portal hypertension, pancreatic cancer and malignant biliary obstruction.

Margie Venter
Dr. Margie Venter is a former Clinical Oncologist and current Palliative Medicine Specialist based in Stellenbosch.
Read moreShe is a co-founder and the current Clinical Director of PALPRAC, the Association of Palliative Care Practitioners of South Africa. Dr. Venter also serves as a part-time lecturer at the University of Cape Town (UCT), where she teaches communication skills in the postgraduate Diploma in Palliative Medicine. She has a particular interest in serious illness communication.

David Thomson
David Thomson is a critical care subspecialist and transplant surgeon working at Groote Schuur Hospital and the University of Cape Town.
Read moreHe completed his undergraduate training at the University of Kwa-Zulu Natal and postgraduate training at the University of Cape Town. His areas of interest include organ donation, medical education and extra-corporeal membrane oxygenation.

Santhuri Viranna
Dr Santhuri Viranna is a Clinical Oncologist working at Groote Schuur Hospital and the University of Cape Town.

Matthias Scriba
Matthias Scriba obtained his MBChB and FCS degrees in Cape Town, having also trained in General Surgery in Pietermaritzburg.
He is currently a consultant in the Upper Gastrointestinal Surgery Unit at Groote Schuur Hospital. His special interests include minimally invasive surgery, interventional endoscopy, research and teaching.

Professor Cairncross
Professor Cairncross is a general surgeon with a special interest in soft tissue sarcomas.
She works as a senior consultant at Groote Schuur Hospital and the University of Cape Town and is head of the Surgical Oncology Unit (Breast, Endocrine, Sarcoma) ,the Division of General Surgery as well as the Head of the Department of Surgery for the University of Cape Town.

Adam Boutall
Professor Adam Boutall is the Head of the Colorectal Unit at Groote Schuur Hospital and operates as a colorectal surgeon at UCT Private Academic Hospital.
He is the clinical lead for the Groote Schuur Intestinal Failure Unit and has an interest in complications of surgery and colonoscopy.

Francois Malherbe
Professor Francois Malherbe is the Head of the Breast and Surgical Endocrine Unit at Groote Schuur Hospital and the University of Cape Town.
He received his degree in Medicine and Surgery in 1998 from the University of the Free State. He continued his studies at the division of general surgery at the University of Cape Town, specialising in general surgery. He graduated with an FCS(SA) and MMed degree in 2011. Since then, after a brief 2 years working as a general surgeon at the New Somerset Hospital in Cape Town, he has worked in the Breast and Surgical Endocrine Unit at Groote Schuur Hospital. He was the clinical lead in breast surgery from 2018 before taking over as the Head of the Unit in 2022. His research interests include oncoplastic breast surgery, new axillary surgery techniques, and localisation techniques for impalpable breast lesions. Dr Malherbe serves on the executive committee of the Breast Interest Group of South Africa (BIGOSA) and is part of the Cape Town Breast Forum planning committee. He is a member of the Association of Surgeons of South Africa (ASSA), the Oncoplastic Breast Consortium (OPBC) and the European Society of Surgical Oncology (ESSO).

Thozama Siyotula
Dr Thozama Siyotula is a distinguished paediatric surgeon at Red Cross War Memorial Children’s Hospital in Cape Town, South Africa.
With a profound interest in hepatobiliary, transplant, thoracic and neonatal surgical outcomes. She completed his undergraduate training in 2011 at the University of the Witwatersrand in Johannesburg. Furthering her studies she went on to specialise in paediatric surgery through the Colleges of Medicine of South Africa, completing her FCPaedSurg (SA) in 2021 and a master’s in medicine (Paediatric Surgery) in 2021 at the University of Cape Town. She currently works as a paediatric surgeon and transplant surgeon. A senior lecture at the University of Cape Town and course convenor for the 5th year undergraduate paediatric surgery program at the University of Cape Town. Her involvement in executive committees in a leadership position has allowed her the opportunity to lead, organize conferences, conduct research, create and implement change at various levels. She is involved as a member of SATS, SAAPS and an IPTA executive committee member for multi-organ transplant and organ allocation. She has a passion to prioritize paediatric organ allocation and strategies to improve transplant outcomes in South Africa. Past president of the South African Paediatric Surgical Trainees Association and previous executive member of South African Society of Surgeons in Training. A recipient of the IPTA Future Leaders Career Development Award for her contributions to the field of Paediatric Solid Organ Transplantation. Awarded the ESOT Educational Global grant for 2022 to attend the HESPERIS 2022 course in Italy. She is currently involved as a mentee in the ESOT Mentorship Programme 2024. She is the recipient of the Mail and Guardian 200 Young South Africans of 2020. She advocates for paediatric equity to surgical access via her involvement in global Surgery. She is also an alumnus of the executive leadership in Global Surgery at the Graduate School of Business at the University of Cape Town. Her passion is that every child has access to the best surgical care regardless of their socio-economic status or geographical location in the country. She would like to be an apart of creating solutions regarding the surgical care of children in South Africa.