Dear Staff and Student Colleagues

I am delighted to announce the appointment of Professor René English, a a Public Health Medicine specialist and medical doctor, as Head of Division of Public Health in the Faculty of Health Sciences, from the 1st of July 2026. She will report to Prof. Susan Cleary as the Head of Department for Public Health and Family Medicine. 

Professor English holds an MBChB with distinction, a PhD, an MMed in Public Health Medicine, a Fellowship of the Colleges of Public Health Medicine of South Africa, and an MPhil in Health Professions Education, which she completed cum laude at Stellenbosch University.

Professor English is currently the Clinical Unit Head of the Division of Health Systems and Public Health in the Department of Global Health at Stellenbosch University’s Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences. She provides strategic leadership for teaching, postgraduate training, research, social-impact initiatives, and partnerships with health services.

Previously she was the Director of the Health Systems Research Unit at the Health Systems Trust, leading national and provincial health-systems research, implementation, and evaluation with the National Department of Health and other partners. Earlier roles include Public Health Medicine registrar (Western Cape DoH and UCT), doctoral fellow and clinical trial clinician at the UCT Lung Institute, and clinical appointments at Groote Schuur and Victoria Hospitals. She led the development of the PALSA syndromic respiratory and TB case-detection guideline, which was the basis of her PhD. 

She has held the Kofi Annan Global and Public Health Leadership Fellowship and the Africa Science Leadership Fellowship, served as a Commissioner on The Lancet National Commission on High-Quality Health Systems, and contributed to national task teams (including human resources for health information, monitoring and evaluation). She is a member of the Council of Public Health Medicine (South African Colleges of Medicine).

Her work includes contributions to the South African Health Review, the District Health Barometer, workforce planning, emergency preparedness, and quality improvement. She is committed to academic development through teaching, curriculum renewal, mentorship, and supervision.

A central feature of her career is sustained community-engaged public health work—notably in Bishop Lavis—focusing on university–government–community partnerships to co-create practical, sustainable solutions to key public health challenges.

Congratulations to Prof. English on embarking on this new chapter. We look forward to your leadership in health systems strengthening, research, and community-engaged public health.

May your impact continue to shape equitable, responsive healthcare in South Africa and beyond.

Enkosi kakhulu.

Kaise ge gangans

Professor Lionel Green-Thompson
Dean: Faculty of Health Sciences