Farhanah Paruk MBChB, FCP, PhD

Dr. Farhanah Paruk is a Lecturer and Head of Clinical Unit of the Division of Internal Medicine at the Nelson R Mandela School of Medicine, University of Kwa-Zulu Natal, and the King Edward VIII hospital in Durban. She holds an MBChB, FCP (South Africa), Certificate in Rheumatology, and PhD.

She is a rheumatologist with a special interest in osteoporosis and her doctoral thesis was on minimal hip fracture in elderly subjects. She heads the rheumatology service at KEH and the unit provides a service to Northern KZN. Her current research areas include the epidemiology of osteoporosis and the impact of HIV on bone health. She is the principal investigator for Kwa-Zulu Natal in the multi-center study on the epidemiology of hip fractures and the development of gender and ethnic-specific FRAX® models in SA. She is also a collaborator in the Sub-Saharan Africa Musculoskeletal Network (SAMSON). She also has an interest in rheumatoid arthritis and is supervising Masters's students in this area.

Within the university, she is also head of the Division of Internal Medicine undergraduate program and has a keen interest in improving undergraduate education and assessments, and is a member of the school curriculum and teaching committees.