Scientific Committee
SA Heart® is grateful to our Scientific Planning Committee for their vision and tireless efforts in curating the academic programme for the 2026 Congress.
We look forward to welcoming our esteemed members, whose expertise and dedication play a pivotal role in shaping the success of this event.
Stay tuned as we prepare to announce our Scientific Planning Committee, for the SA Heart® Congress 2026.
Members of the Scientific Committee
Dr. Ahmed Vachiat
Interventional Cardiologist
Dr. Ahmed Vachiat
Interventional Cardiologist
Dr Ahmed Vachiat is an Interventional Cardiologist currently working at Milpark Hospital, Johannesburg Surgical Hopsital and Wits Donald Gordon Medical Centre. He completed his PhD and MMed at Wits and the Interventional Cardiology Fellowship at UCT. He is the previous Convenor of the Annual SA Heart Congress, the Chairman of STEMI SA and an Executive member of the South African Society of Cardiovascular interventions. Interests include complex coronary interventions like rotablation, coronary imaging, bifurcations, left main disease and structural heart disease including percutaneous aortic valve implantation. Research interests include STEMI , HIV and cardiorenal disease. Teaching include Cath lab training and cardiology fellow workshops, proctoring for complex coronary disease, bedside clinical teaching for undergraduate students. Main interest is setting up Networks in South Africa to improve STEMI management and research.
Prof. Alfonso Pecoraro
Cardiologist and Head: Division of Cardiology at Stellenbosch University
Prof. Alfonso Pecoraro
Cardiologist and Head: Division of Cardiology at Stellenbosch University
Prof Pecoraro is a cardiologist pursuing an academic career in South Africa. My career objectives are to contribute to the accessibility of advanced health care for all people of South Africa, and to improve the outcome of patients through locally relevant research. My special interests include echocardiography, the management of acute coronary syndromes and infective endocarditis
Dr. Charles Kyriakakis
Interventional Cardiologist and SA Heart® 2026 Congress Convenor
Dr. Charles Kyriakakis
Interventional Cardiologist and SA Heart® 2026 Congress Convenor
Charles Kyriakakis is an Interventional Cardiologist practicing at Life Vincent Pallotti Hospital in Cape Town. His interests include complex coronary interventions, TAVI valve implants, and left atrial appendage occlusion.
He is actively involved in the work-up and management of patients who have suffered from a cardioembolic stroke, and he has a keen interest in both valvular heart disease and cardiomyopathy.
Dr. Darshan Reddy
Paediatric Cardiothoracic
Surgeon
Dr. Darshan Reddy
Paediatric Cardiothoracic Surgeon
Dr Darshan Reddy is a cardiothoracic surgeon practicing at the Lenmed Ethekwini Hospital and Heart Centre in Durban.
Dr Reddy completed his undergraduate medical degree at the University of Cape Town (UCT) and his cardiothoracic surgical training at the University of Kwazulu Natal (UKZN), completing both a Masters in Medicine and the Fellowship of the Colleges of Cardiothoracic Surgeons of South Africa. Dr Reddy spent a year as a visiting clinical lecturer in Pediatric Cardiac Surgery at the University of Michigan and has a special interest in the surgical treatment of paediatric and congenital heart disease.
Dr Reddy holds leadership positions in the Society of Thoracic Surgeons (STS), the World Society of Pediatric and Congenital Heart Surgery (WSPCHS), and the African Society of Pediatric and Congenital Heart Surgery (ASPCHS). His interests include complex neonatal cardiac surgery and rheumatic mitral valve repair.
Prof. Hellmuth Weich
Interventional Cardiologist
Prof Hellmuth Weich
Interventional Cardiologist
Hellmuth Weich is an interventional cardiologist with interest in structural heart disease and transcatheter valve therapies. He serves as Senior Consultant and Director of the Cardiac Catheterisation Laboratory at Tygerberg Hospital and was appointed Associate Professor in the Department of Medicine at Stellenbosch University in 2024.
Educated at Stellenbosch University and the UK, his PhD focused on the development of a novel transcatheter aortic valve designed to improve affordability and applicability in patients with rheumatic heart disease.
He was part of the teams that performed first Transcatheter Aortic Valve Implantation (TAVI) procedures and transcatheter mitral edge to edge repair (MTEER) in the country. Other research interests include pulmonary vascular interventions, biomedical device innovation, and cardiovascular health systems evaluation, particularly within resource-constrained environments
He is a past President of the South African Society of Cardiac Interventionists (SASCI) and is currently the Secretary of SASCI.
Prof. John Lawrenson
Paediatric Cardiologist
Prof. John Lawrenson
Paediatric Cardiologist
Professor John Lawrenson is the former head of the paediatric cardiology service of the Western Cape Province. He is still actively involved in research and teaching at Red Cross Children’s and Tygerberg Hospitals.
Dr. Kaveshree Govender
Cardiologist and
Electrophysiologist
Dr. Kaveshree Govender
Cardiologist and Electrophysiologist
Dr Govender is a Cardiologist who did a fellowship in Electrophysiology in Vancouver, Canada.
Since her return to South Africa, she’s been in private practice in Johannesburg. She also does cases at Baragwanath Hospital.
Dr. Marguerite Blignaut
Researcher at Stellenbosch University
Marguerite Blignaut
Researcher at Stellenbosch University
Dr Marguerite Blignaut is a researcher and principal investigator within the Centre for CardioMetabolic Research in Africa (CARMA) at the Division of Medical Physiology, Stellenbosch University. She investigates mitochondrial function and cardio-metabolic disease in advanced, three-dimensional in vitro models as potential human-relevant alternatives to animal models. She has a proven track record of first-author publications and presentations at international level, and was awarded the Discovery Best Oral presentation award at SA Heart in 2022. In 2024 she was awarded the Excellence in Research and Innovation award in the Early Researcher Career category by Stellenbosch University, and have received several national grants. She represents the South African Society for Cardiovascular Research (SASCAR), a special interest group of SA Heart on the SA Heart Scientific Committee for 2026.
Dr. Martin T. Mpe
Cardiologist and
SA Heart® President
Dr. Martin T. Mpe
Cardiologist and SA Heart® President
Dr Martin Mpe is a cardiologist and cardiovascular leader with extensive experience in clinical practice, medical education, and cardiovascular advocacy. He is in private practice at Raslouw Private Hospital in Pretoria and Netcare Pholoso Hospital in Polokwane and serves as a session cardiologist at No. 1 Military Hospital in Pretoria.
He currently serves as President of the SA Heart®, leading initiatives that strengthen cardiovascular education, research collaboration, and policy engagement to improve cardiovascular care in South Africa and across Africa.
Dr Mpe is a past president of both the Heart Failure Society of South Africa and the Southern African Hypertension Society.
Dr. Nico van der Merwe
Cardiologist and Head of Department Cardiology at University of Free State
Dr. Nico van der Merwe
Cardiologist and Head of Department Cardiology at University of Free State
Dr. Nico van der Merwe started his career at the Department of Cardiology at University of Free State (UFS). After doing a fellowship in Leuven, Belgium, he moved into private practice at Bloemfontein Mediclinic where he practiced for 12 years. He then moved to Gqeberha where he practiced at Netcare Greenacres hospital. He was the HOD Dept of Cardiology UFS and Universitas Academic Hospital until Feb 2026. Nico is now in private practice at Mediclinic Bloemfontein
Prof. Ruchika Meel
Cardiologist and Editor of SA Heart® Association Journal
Prof. Ruchika Meel
Cardiologist and Editor of SA Heart® Association Journal
Prof Ruchika Meel is a general cardiologist and a National Research foundation rated clinician scientist in the Department of Internal Medicine at the University of the Witwatersrand. She has an interest in clinical cardiology and cardiovascular imaging. She has a passionate interest in research with to date 1 book publication, four book chapters and over 50 research articles and 70 congress presentations. She is currently involved in research projects related to aortic aneurysms and valvular heart disease. She is a Fellow of European Society of Cardiology, cardiac imaging society of South Africa, and serves on various committees. She has received multiple awards for conference presentations and was the recipient of Carnegie doctoral and post-doctoral awards. She was awarded the prestigious TH Bothwell research prize in Internal Medicine at the University of the Witwatersrand school of clinical medicine annual awards ceremony. She is the Editor-in-Chief of the South African Heart Association Journal.
Dr. Sarah Kraus
Cardiologist & Honorary Senior Lecturer, UCT
Dr. Sarah Kraus
Cardiologist & Honorary Senior Lecturer, UCT
Doctor Kraus completed her undergraduate and postgraduate training at the University of Cape Town (UCT), graduating as a Fellow of the College of Physicians of South Africa in 2013. She was awarded the Helen and Morris Mauerberger Scholarship in 2014 and completed her PhD at UCT in 2019. Her doctoral work focused on the establishment of the African Cardiomyopathy and Myocarditis Registry Program (IMHOTEP), a prospective multi-centre clinical registry and DNA repository designed to facilitate cardiomyopathy and genetics research in Africa. In 2017, she and her colleagues were awarded the National Research Foundation (NRF) Team Science Award and the Congress of Business and Economics (CBE) Innovators’ Award for the discovery of the CDH2 gene, a novel cause of Arrhythmogenic Cardiomyopathy. After completing her PhD in Medicine, Sarah went abroad to do a Postdoctoral Fellowship in Cardiovascular Genetics at the University of Oxford, while completing the Postgraduate Course in Heart Failure in London (Zurich/London Heart House, Royal Brompton & Harefield), United Kingdom. On returning to South Africa, Sarah continued as an Honorary Consultant and the Clinical Lead for the Cardiomyopathy Clinical Service at Groote Schuur Hospital (GSH), Cape Town. In 2023, she launched the Inherited Cardiomyopathy Genetic Counselling and Family Screening Initiative at GSH, a programme that facilitates genetics results feedback, counselling and family screening to individuals with cardiomyopathy-causing gene mutations identified through research. Sarah started consulting part-time in private practice in Cape Town in 2024. Recognising the growing need for specialized care for individuals with inherited cardiomyopathies, she launched her own private practice in 2026. Sarah holds a position of Honorary Senior Lecturer position at UCT. Her local research affiliations include the UCT SAMRC Extramural Unit on Intersection of Noncommunicable and Infectious Diseases, the Cardiovascular Genetics Laboratory at the Cape Heart Institute (UCT), and the Cape Universities Body Imaging Centre. Sarah has continued her affiliation with the Department of Cardiovascular Medicine at the University of Oxford, as a visiting researcher. She is an active member of the World Heart Federation Emerging Leaders Programme and is an associate editor for Global Heart. Sarah was recently appointed to the Executive Committee for the Heart Failure Society of South Africa (HeFFSA).
Sr. Suriah Salam
Registered Nurse
Sr. Suriah Salam
Registered Nurse
Suriah Salam is a registered nurse with over ten years Cardiac Catheterization Laboratory experience. Suriah has qualified with a Bachelor’s Degree in nursing from the University of Kwa Zulu Natal in 2007. Community service completed at Dundee Provincial Hospital in 2008. She has worked in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia at National Guard King Abdul Aziz in Jeddah. Suriah is the current co Vice Chair of CAPSSA.
Prof. Vernice Peterson (PhD)
Associate Professor, University of the Witwatersrand
Prof. Vernice Peterson (PhD)
Associate Professor, University of the Witwatersrand
Professor Vernice Peterson is an associate professor in physiology based in the Department of Physiology, School of Biomedical Sciences at the University of the Witwatersrand. Her research is rooted in translational cardiovascular science, with a strong emphasis on addressing unique health challenges faced in Africa. Prof Peterson is particularly passionate about bridging the gap between basic physiology and clinical application. Her work employs innovative techniques such as non-invasive central pressure and echocardiographic measurements to explore cardiac function and haemodynamic mechanisms underlying hypertension, heart failure, coronary artery disease, and the cardiovascular implications of non-communicable diseases such as HIV and TB. She has authored numerous peer-reviewed publications and actively contributes to the scientific community by participating in national and international professional societies and reviews for leading journals. Prof Peterson is the recipient of multiple prestigious fellowships, including the World Heart Federation Emerging Leaders program, and Wits Chancellors Female Academic Leaders Fellowship. As an advocate for cardiovascular health, Prof Peterson has secured national and international research grants, as well as industry-linked partnerships. Beyond her scientific contributions, she is deeply committed to academic mentorship, fostering the growth of emerging researchers and postgraduate students. Her leadership continues to shape diverse research initiatives that aim to improve cardiovascular health research across the African continent.