Prof Nazir Ismail

Prof Nazir Ismail is the Executive Director of the National Institute for Communicable Diseases (NICD). He is a clinical microbiologist and an internationally recognised authority in tuberculosis (TB) diagnostics, drug resistance, and genomic epidemiology. Prof Ismail previously served as Head of the Centre for Tuberculosis at the NICD (2012–2020) and as Principal Pathologist at the NHLS Tshwane Academic Division.

His most recent appointment was as Head of the Division of Clinical Microbiology and Infectious Diseases at the University of the Witwatersrand and the NHLS, with a new focus on One Health, antimicrobial resistance, infection control, and public health. He also served as Team Lead for Diagnostics in the World Health Organization’s Global TB Programme, where he led the development of influential WHO policies on rapid molecular diagnostics, next-generation sequencing, and global standards for diagnostic access.

While leading the Centre for Tuberculosis at the NICD, he oversaw landmark national surveillance initiatives, including South Africa’s TB Drug Resistance and TB Prevalence Surveys. He has published extensively, with more than 150 peer-reviewed publications, including first and senior-author articles in leading international journals such as the New England Journal of Medicine and the Lancet group. His academic interests also include curriculum redesign, postgraduate supervision, and capacity building in laboratory medicine in high-burden settings.