US National Academy of Sciences brings Professor Emerita Mizrahi into fold

Professor Emerita Val Mizrahi’s election to the United States (US) National Academy of Sciences (NAS), announced on 28 April 2026, is in recognition of her outstanding contribution to the field of biological sciences. This award is a prestigious addition to the long list of accolades that have accrued to Professor Mizrahi throughout her illustrious career.

A senior academic and the director of the Molecular Mycobacteriology Research Unit at the University of Cape Town (UCT), she is also the former director of the Institute for Infectious Disease and Molecular Medicine (IDM) having held this role for 13 years.

This recognition honours Mizrahi’s outstanding career and enduring influence and speaks to the strength of her contribution to tuberculosis (TB) research; a legacy that continues to shape the discipline.

It follows closely on her 2025 election as an international honorary member of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences – another highly prominent academic society in the US. This makes her one of very few African scientists to be recognised by both esteemed institutions.

Mizrahi said this honour has reinforced her determination to spend what remains of her career doing everything she can to contribute to global efforts to discover new drugs and drug regimens for the treatment of TB.

“On receiving the news, all I could think about is how privileged I am to have mentored, worked with, learned from and been supported by phenomenal people throughout my career,” Mizrahi said. “The recognition rightly belongs to them.”

“I owe a special debt of gratitude to two of my many outstanding trainees,” she said, naming Professor Digby Warner, Professorial Director of the IDM, and Dr Helena Boshoff who is affiliated with the National Institutes of Health in the US. “They became my longest standing collaborators, from whom I learned so much."

Mizrahi also stated that she is the “product” of great South African institutions such as the University of the Witwatersrand and the National Health Laboratory Service (NHLS) where she became a TB researcher, and UCT first as a student, and years later, as a biomedical research leader.

“How privileged I am to have mentored, worked with, learned from and been supported by phenomenal people throughout my career.”

Elected among 25 international members this year, alongside 120 US-based scientists, for Mizrahi and her peers this accolade recognises their distinguished and continuing achievements in original research. She joins UCT colleague Professor Kelly Chibale, the Neville Isdell Chair in African-centric Drug Discovery & Development, who was elected as a member in 2025.

The NAS is a private, nonprofit institution that was established under a congressional charter signed by President Abraham Lincoln in 1863. It recognises achievement in science by election to membership, and – with the National Academy of Engineering and the National Academy of Medicine – provides science, engineering and health policy advice to the federal government and other organisations.