Core Faculty
Ben van Heerden, M.B.Ch.B., M.Sc., M.Med. (Int.)
Ben van Heerden graduated as a medical doctor from Stellenbosch University (SU), South Africa, in 1978. He subsequently earned an M.Sc. in Medical Sciences (Nuclear Medicine) cum laude and an M.Med. in Internal Medicine, also from SU. He is registered with the Health Professions Council of South Africa as a specialist in both nuclear medicine and internal medicine. His career in nuclear medicine included a two-year post-doctoral fellowship at Johns Hopkins University in the United States and a year as a visiting consultant in nuclear medicine at the Catholic University of Leuven in Belgium. He was promoted to Professor, Chief Specialist, and Head of the Department of Nuclear Medicine at SU in 2001.
Professor van Heerden developed a keen interest in health professions education when he was appointed Head of the School of Medicine at SU in 2001. In 2006, he became the founding Director of the Centre for Health Sciences Education (CHSE) of the Faculty of Health Sciences (FHS) at SU. He has been the Programme Coordinator of the undergraduate medical program since 2001 and of the Master and Ph.D. programs in Health Sciences Education since 2008 and 2011, respectively.
Professor van Heerden has been actively involved with the South African Medical Association (SAMA) and the Medical and Dental Professions Board (MDPB) for many years. He is currently a member of MDPB and Chairperson of the MDPB Undergraduate Education and Training Subcommittee.
Professor van Heerden is a 2006 FAIMER Institute Fellow and has been a member of the council and faculty of the Southern Africa-FAIMER Regional Institute since its establishment in 2008.
He is a recipient of the Rector’s Award for Excellence in Teaching and Learning at SU and he received the Higher Education Learning and Teaching Association of Southern Africa (HELTASA) and Council on Higher Education National Award for Excellence in Teaching and Learning in 2010.
Professor van Heerden is author or co-author of 31 articles published in peer-reviewed scientific journals and of more than 80 presentations at national and international scientific meetings.
