Tahir Pillay

Prof Tahir Pillay is full Professor and Head of the Department of Chemical Pathology and overall Pathology Head, University of Pretoria & National Health Laboratory Service(NHLS), Honorary Professor of Chemical Pathology, University of Cape Town (UCT) in South Africa. He is immediate past President of the South African Association for Clinical Biochemistry and Laboratory Medicine (SAACB). He is immediate past Chair of the Communications and Publication Division(CPD) of the International Federation of Clinical Chemistry & Laboratory Medicine (IFCC), the first person from Africa to lead a division of the IFCC in its 75 year history. He has served as eNews editor for the IFCC newsletter for 2 terms. He was previously head of Chemical Pathology at UCT and Deputy Vice Chancellor at the University of KwaZulu-Natal; Deputy Director, Institute of Cell Signalling, University of Nottingham, UK. He currently holds the highest research ranking of any chemical pathologist in South Africa by the National Research Foundation, South Africa. He is a board member of the World Association of Pathology & Laboratory Medicine (WASPALM) and the Medical Research Council(MRC), South Africa. 

He is also the current Clinical Director of International Activities for the Royal College of Pathologists, London.

He has also served as Editor-in-Chief of the Journal of Clinical Pathology for two terms. Prof Pillay has an MBChB cum laude from the University of Natal and a PhD in biochemistry from the University of Cambridge. He completed his postgraduate specialist training at Imperial College and postdoctoral training in molecular and cellular endocrinology at University of California San Diego. He is a Fellow of the Royal College of Pathologists, London and the College of Pathologists, South Africa.

Prof Pillay’s research publications (>100) spans molecular cell biology of insulin signalling and insulin resistance, molecular modelling of ligand-receptor complexes and development of new diagnostic probes for laboratory diagnostics and toxicology using recombinant DNA technology and the use of big data analytics and synthetic data to solve clinical laboratory problems.

He is pioneering the increased application of single domain antibodies/nanobodies in pathology and laboratory medicine and forensic toxicology and has been working on the development of biosensors using nanobodies. His group received the first prize in the 2020 GAP Innovation award run by Emory University and the Technology Innovation Agency for the development of a nanobody-based test for Covid-19. In 2023 and 2024, he was listed in the Pathologist magazine Power List as one of the Top 100 most influential people in pathology – specifically, as one of the Top 20 Champions for Change. In his spare time, he produces deep house and electronic dance music through his record label, DJ Kempat.

He is pioneering the increased application of single domain antibodies/nanobodies in pathology and laboratory medicine and forensic toxicology and has been working on the development of biosensors using nanobodies. His group received the first prize in the 2020 GAP Innovation award run by Emory University and TIA for the development of a nanobody-based test for Covid-19.

He is also an executive member of the The Global Consortium of Innovation and Engineering in Medicine which is an international public-private-government collaborative serving the world as the premier global network to advance medicine through engineering and innovation, especially with POCT. The consortium brings together medical schools, universities, researchers and students, industry and government leaders, philanthropists, and foundations from across the globe to change the future of medicine through collaboration.

He is also a chapter contributor to the two most prestigious textbooks in Clinical Chemistry and Lab Medicine – Tietz Textbook of Clinical Chemistry, 7^th ed (published Aug 2022) and Tietz Fundamentals of Clinical Chemistry (published in 2023). He is also sole author of two 4-dimensional electronic books in laboratory medicine (“Practical Clinical Chemistry:core concepts”; “Interactive mathematics for laboratory medicine”) that have been released in 52 countries.

In 2023 and 2024, he has been listed in the Pathologist magazine Power List as one of the Top 100 most influential people in pathology – specifically, as one of the Top 20 Champions for Change. In his spare time, he produces deep house and electronic dance music through his record label, DJ Kempat.

Fundraising: He has been responsible for organising some of the most successful pathology and laboratory medicine conferences in South Africa, including Federation of South African Societies of Pathology (FSASP) Unipath 2014; FSASP 2009 and IFCC Worldlab 2017 generating substantial revenue for the FSASP and the South African Association for Clinical Biochemistry and Laboratory Medicine (SAACB), a member of WASPALM.