Professor Tahir Pillay, Head of the Department of Chemical Pathology and the Division of Clinical Pathology in the Faculty of Health Sciences at the University of Pretoria (UP), has been appointed editor-in-chief of the Journal of Clinical Pathology with effect from January 2017.

The Journal of Clinical Pathology (JCP), which is part of the British Medical Journal group, is a leading international journal that covers all aspects of pathology. The diagnostic and research areas covered include histopathology, virology, haematology, microbiology, cytopathology, chemical pathology, molecular pathology, forensic pathology, dermatopathology, neuropathology and immunopathology. It is the official journal of the Association of Clinical Pathologists and each issue contains reviews, original articles, case reports, book reviews and more. Prof Pillay will head the publication's team of editorial board members from around the world to ensure continued coverage of global research.

In addition to this prestigious new appointment, Prof Pillay is also a fellow of the College of Medicine of South Africa and the Royal College of Pathologists in London, and an elected member of the Academy of Science of South Africa (ASSAf). He has a doctorate from Cambridge University and previously led the Departments of Chemical Pathology at the University of Cape Town and the University of KwaZulu-Natal. He is one of the two most senior chemical pathologists in South Africa, the South African country advisor for the Royal College of Pathologists and a ministerial appointee to the Medical and Dental Board of the Health Professions Council of South Africa (HPCSA). Prof Pillay is also a former Deputy Vice-Chancellor and Head of the College of Health Sciences at the University of KwaZulu-Natal.