Registering as a physician with the South African Medical and Dental Council in 1984, Wim started his career as an intern and medical officer at Frere Hospital in the Eastern Cape, which is where he decided to specialise in gastroenterology. After a stint in Pretoria, he returned to Stellenbosch University to take up the post of Registrar in the Department of Internal Medicine in 1986.​ In the 1990's Wim travelled to the UK and completed a DPhil in Immunology at Oxford University in 1995. He moved to America in 1995 after being recruited to the University of Kentucky Medical Centre, and intending to remain for 18 months, stayed for 18 years while ascending through the ranks. He became Head of Gastroenterology at the University of Kentucky and Administrative Head of the Good Samaritan Hospital in Lexington. Working as a gastroenterologist, he became a respected medical researcher and was featured in the Best Doctors in America publication. His passion is the immunology of the gut and specifically the role of the innate immune system and macrophages. His clinical expertise is in Inflammatory Bowel Disease (IBD) (Crohn's disease and ulcerative colitis). Wim is a translational scientist who brings advances at the laboratory bench to the patient bedside. He has shown the importance of macrophages (and their pattern recognition receptors) in many murine models of gut inflammation. He then contributed significantly to the clinical development and wide-spread application of targeted monoclonal antibody therapies in numerous patients with complicated inflammatory bowel disease. This work was published in top medical journals such as the New England Journal of Medicine and Gastroenterology. 

​Moving back to South Africa in 2013, he became the Dean of Health Sciences at the University of Cape Town, before moving to his current position at Stellenbosch in December 2014. He is married to Catherine, and they have two daughters, Katusha and Gera; a son, Braam and daughter-in-law, Kelly; and three grandchildren, Eloise, Beatrice and Rosalie. De Villiers sees SU as a mature university that is well positioned to be locally relevant, yet globally competitive. He wants students to receive an excellent education that will give them a competitive advantage as graduates in a rapidly changing world. He believes the University should offer an experience that is pleasant, welcoming and hospitable – in an inclusive environment. He is committed to continued transformation to address the inequalities of the South African past.​​

In addition, she is a Professor in the Department of Global Health, Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences. In her academic capacity she has supervised 50+ Master and 35+ PhD students; published 80+ peer-reviewed articles; and is the Editor-in-Chief of the Elsevier journal IJANS.

Internationalisation and Global health has become a focus area of her work over the past decade, and through her visionary leadership, the Global Advisory Panel on the future of Nursing and Midwifery (GAPFON) was established. She has served as Chairperson of GAPFON for 2017-2019. She serves as Director on the following boards: Consortium for Universities in Global Health (CUGH) (2018-2021), the APO Accreditation Body Council (Japan), Venice International University and the Global Alliance for Universities in Climate (GAUC). Hester is to date the only South African inducted into the American Academy of Nursing (FAAN), is a Fellow of the Academy of Science of South Africa (ASSAf), and inducted into the International Hall of Fame for Research Excellence in 2016. Also in 2016, a Doctorate (Honoris Causa) from Oxford Brookes University was conferred recognising her contribution to health science education and research globally. In country, she is a Fellow of the Academy of Science (ASSAf), a member of the South African Academy for Science and Art, member of the Institute of Directors of South Africa (IODSA) and Fellow of the Academy of Nursing of South Africa (FANSA).

He was also the holder of the DST/NRF South Africa Research Chair (SARChI): Fluorine Process Engineering and Separation Technology at the University of KwaZulu-Natal from September 2007 to December 2018 (Interim chair from March 2017 to December 2018). He was appointed full professor of chemical engineering, at the age of 31, in January 2004 at the University of KwaZulu-Natal. From July 2007 to December 2011, he also served as the Assistant Dean: Research and Postgraduate Studies in the Faculty of Engineering at University of KwaZulu-Natal. Prior to his appointment as a SARChI Chair, he served as the Head of School of Chemical Engineering (January 2005 to June 2007) at the University of KwaZulu-Natal. 

Professor Ramjugernath and his team have worked closely with the chemical industry in South Africa and internationally and have undertaken numerous contracts and research projects. He has served on a number of company boards and has been a consultant for research and innovation for organizations globally. He is also an entrepreneur and runs start-up companies, which have been spun-off, from research at the University. He has also established numerous international collaborations with universities and industry abroad. 

He has to date published and co-published in excess of 350 peer-reviewed journal papers and over 345 national and international conference papers. He has also authored and co-authored numerous consulting and technical reports. In addition, he has published and co-published 10 chapters in books and has 7 patents which have been either granted or filed. He has also successfully graduated over 90 Masters and 40 PhD students, as well as supervised and co-supervised over 22 Post-doctoral fellows. 

He has been the recipient of numerous awards and recognition, including the NRF President’s Award in 2005; NSTF Awards in 2006 and 2010; UKZN Vice-Chancellor’s Research Awardee in 2010; honorary professorship from Durban University of Technology in 2012; inducted as a member of the Academy of Science of South Africa in 2012; inducted as a fellow of the South African Academy of Engineers in 2013; South African Institute of Chemical Engineers Gold Medal in 2013; South African Institute of Chemical Engineers Innovation Award in 2013 (member of the team); listed by Thomson Reuters in 2013 as one of the most highly cited researchers; Fellow of the African Academy of Science in 2016; Fellow of the University of KwaZulu-Natal in 2017; and most recently the Universities South Africa Entrepreneurial Development in Higher Education Deputy Vice-Chancellor Award in 2020.