Bio: Professor Mervyn Mer
MBBCh, Dip PEC (SA), FCP (SA), Pulmonology subspecialty, Cert Critical Care (SA), M Med (Int Med), FRCP (London), FCCP, PhD
Professor Mer is based in the Department of Medicine, Divisions of Critical Care and Pulmonology, at the Charlotte Maxeke Johannesburg Academic Hospital (CMJAH), Faculty of Health Sciences, University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, South Africa. He also serves as Clinical Head of the Adult Multidisciplinary Intensive Care Unit at CMJAH and is Academic Head of Critical Care at the University of the Witwatersrand.
Professor Mer’s academic background includes a MBBCh degree from the University of the Witwatersrand, as well as a Dip PEC (South Africa), FCP (South Africa), M Med (University of the Witwatersrand) and a PhD (University of the Witwatersrand). He has a Pulmonology subspecialty as well as Cert Critical Care (SA). He is a Fellow of the Royal College of Physicians – FRCP (London, UK) and a Fellow of the College of Chest Physicians – FCCP (United States).
Professor Mer is involved in various aspects of clinical research, is a hands-on clinician, and has participated in more than 1000 lectures and presentations. He is a sought-after presenter nationally and internationally with many presentations given to standing ovations. He is extensively involved in postgraduate and undergraduate teaching and serves as an examiner for the Colleges of Medicine of South Africa in several disciplines. In addition, Professor Mer is widely published, has been a contributor to book chapters, consensus documents, various national and international guidelines, and is the author of the booklet, Antifungal Pocket Guide for Systemic Fungal Infections. He is also one of the editors of the recently published book “Clinical Examination Skills in the Adult Critically Ill Patient” which has been broadly acclaimed. He has been an invited reviewer for several peer review journals. Professor Mer is a past President of the Critical Care Society of Southern Africa (CCSSA), having served four terms. He also served as Secretary of the CCSSA for 17 years. He previously ran the portfolio of Continuing Medical Education for the South African Thoracic Society (SATS) for more than a decade and was a founder-member and is current vice-President of the Southern African Society of Thrombosis and Haemostasis (SASTH). Professor Mer is the current Chairperson of the Global Intensive Care Group of the European Society of Intensive Care Medicine (ESICM) and has been integrally involved in the development and rollout of the ALIVE Sepsis project, the COVID-19 ALIVE educational initiative of the ESICM, as well as being involved in a current initiative with the World Health Organisation on ICU and sepsis training in resource-limited regions. He is also an invited member of the Society of Critical Care Medicine (SCCM) (USA) and ESICM venture that is currently addressing sepsis in developing countries. Professor Mer was an invited panel member of the latest international Surviving Sepsis Campaign guidelines and was also an invited member and contributor to the latest international mucormycosis guidelines. He serves as an executive Council member of the African Sepsis Alliance. In 2018 Professor Mer was invited to be a visiting professor at the world-renowned Amsterdam Medical Center and University of Amsterdam (one person globally invited). He has received numerous awards, including the Surgeon General Commendation Award, the Phillip V. Tobias and Convocation Clinical Award for Distinguished Teaching (highest teaching award offered by the Faculty of Health Sciences, University of the Witwatersrand), The FJ Milne Department of Medicine Service and Teaching Award (premier award conferred to a member of the Department of Medicine, University of the Witwatersrand), the President’s Award of the Critical Care Society of Southern Africa (highest award offered by the CCSSA to a doctor for outstanding contributions to Critical Care) and the Sam Naidoo Award for the best clinician, conferred by the Southern African Society of Thrombosis and Haemostasis. He was also the first recipient of the Hilda Datnow Jacobson award (awarded to the most competent, caring and capable doctor in the profession, irrespective of field of interest), the recipient of the ABSA Achievers Award for Professional Excellence in the time of COVID-19, the recipient of the Glenda Gray Award by the SASTH for extraordinary expertise, research and dedication to patients during the COVID-19 pandemic, as well as being a 2022 Presidential Citation Award recipient of the Society of Critical Care Medicine (SCCM).
