Ncoza Dlova MBChB, FCDerm, PhD

Professor Ncoza Dlova is Dean and Head of School of the University of KwaZulu-Natal’s (UKZN) School of Clinical Medicine and a local and internationally renowned dermatologist. More recently, through her global collaborative work with a number of scientists; she played an instrumental role in discovering a new gene that is a major cause of permanent hair loss amongst women of African descent. This ground-breaking study, titled: ‘Variant PAD13 in Central Centrifugal Cicatricial Alopecia’ was published in the New England Journal of Medicine.

Dlova’s area of interest and the subject of her Ph.D. is “Ethnic Skin and Hair Diseases.” Her research has gained her international recognition as evidenced by the number of committees, editorial boards and invitations she receives annually to national and international dermatology meetings. Dlova’s phenomenal contribution to the global growth of African Dermatology cannot be overemphasized and has earned her membership to the prestigious American Dermatology Association (ADA) as the first African honouree. She has excelled in all aspects of her career; research, outreach programs as well as teaching and administrative roles. She is intuitive and a natural leader, an inclusive visionary, and someone who leads by example.

She is a C1 NRF-rated researcher with more than 75 peer-reviewed publications. She has authored 3 books and 15 book chapters, and has been awarded several research grants; including the Discovery Foundation Academic Fellowship Award for Ph.D. studies, the Dermatological Society of South Africa Research Grant, University of KwaZulu-Natal (UKZN) College of Health Sciences Strategic Research Fund, the UKZN Competitive Research Fund and the Medical Education Partnership Initiative (MEPI) grant to name a few.

With a National Research Foundation C1 rating, Dlova is the author of nearly 75 peer-reviewed publications, including papers in leading international journals such as the New England Journal of Medicine, Nature, Journal of Investigative Dermatology, Journal of the American Academy of Dermatology and British Journal of Dermatology. She is a frequent keynote speaker for international audiences and has received several national scientific awards. This includes the Norvatis registrar award, Stiefel Laboratory, and National Skin Centre Dermatology Fellowship, the Junior Consultant Galderma scholarship award from Galderma and the South African Dermatological Society, the KZN MEC for Health’s Annual Service Excellence Awards (MASEA), the MEC Leadership, Excellence and Innovation Award for raising half a million to refurbish the skin clinic at King Edward VIII hospital as well as the American Dermatology Association’s award in recognition for her contribution in outreach and research in Africa and the African Women’s Dermatology Society award for Best Leader and Innovator and recently the April 2019 MEC Leadership, Excellence and Innovation Award, a Special Recognition Award for Sterling and ground-breaking research work done in the field of Dermatology: identifying a new gene (PADI3) that is a major cause of permanent hair loss amongst African women.

Dlova is a dermatologist by profession registered with the Health Professions Council of South Africa, an editorial board member for Global Images, an International Advisory board member for “The Journal of Cosmetic Dermatology” and an International Editorial Advisory Board member for “Pigment International Journal”. She is an honorable member representing Africa in the prestigious American Dermatology Association and founding executive member of the African Society of Dermatology and Venereology (ASDV) and inaugural President of the African Women’s Dermatology Society (AWDS) and the only female Medical Dean in the nine-member South African Society of Medical Deans (SACOMD).