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2016 Hamilton Naki Clinical Scholarship
Matie cardiologist receives prestigious fellowship
Author: FMHS Marketing & Communication / FGGW Bemarking & Kommunikasie
Published: 06/04/2017

​A senior registrar from the Division of Cardiology, Dr Marshall Heradien, was awarded the prestigious Hamilton Naki Clinical Scholarship for 2016.

He was one of two researchers to receive the award last year. Dr Shrish Budree, a paediatric gastroenterologist currently studying at Harvard University, is the other recipient.

“This scholarship initiative, in which Netcare has joined hands with the medical schools of South African universities, creates opportunities for deserving South African medical practitioners to further their studies and research in their respective fields of specialisation, before returning to South Africa to continue to contribute towards the advancement of South African academic medicine,” Dr Richard Friedland, chief executive of Netcare said at the awards ceremony according to a statement by Netcare.

The award is named after Hamilton Naki, a self-taught surgeon who assisted in the experimental work that preceded the first human heart transplant. Naki was recognised by the legendary Prof Christiaan Barnard as a man of extraordinary natural surgical ability, but who, due to the policies of apartheid, was denied any formal medical training, despite his remarkable aptitude.

“In this way, we honour the legacy of Hamilton Naki and numerous other South Africans who were denied the chance to fulfil their potential in the field of medicine during apartheid and ensure the continued progress of medicine in our country,” said Friedland.

Dr Bonginkosi Chiliza, who until recently was an associate professor at the Department of Psychiatry, is the only other Matie to receive the award in the almost 10 years of its existence. 

Caption: Prof Bongani Mayosi, Dean of the Faculty of Health Sciences of the University of Cape Town, Dr Marshall Heradien, a cardiologist and specialist physician at Stellenbosch University who is one of the recipients of the 2016 Hamilton Naki Clinical Scholarship, and Dr Richard Friedland, chief executive officer of Netcare.