Prof Lynn Morris appointed as acting head of NICD
Professor Lynn Morris has been appointed as the interim Executive Director of the National Institute for Communicable Diseases (NICD). A leading NRF A-rated scientist, Morris is a CAPRISA Research Associate and holds a joint appointment as Research Professor in the Faculty of Health Sciences at Wits University and is the Head of the HIV Virology Laboratory within the Centre for HIV & STIs based at the National Institute for Communicable Diseases, a division of the National Health Laboratory Services (NHLS).
She has been at the NICD for the past 25 years where she established a “world-class laboratory dedicated to developing a vaccine against HIV,” said Dr Kamy Chetty, acting CEO of the NHLS. For the past 3 years, Morris is listed on the Highly Cited Researcher list which honours scientists globally.
“I feel very honoured to have been asked to lead the NICD during this transition period. The NICD is a superb and highly functioning organization responsible for pathogen research and surveillance of communicable diseases affecting public health. I am committed to maintaining this high level of scientific excellence in order to best serve the people of South Africa”.