Professor Karen Sliwa (South Africa)

Position: Director: Hatter Institute for Cardiovascular Research in Africa, Faculty of Health Sciences, University of Cape Town

Affiliation:

1. Hatter Institute for Cardiovascular Research in Africa, University of Cape Town

2. Department of Medicine, University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, South Africa

3. Honorary Baker IDI Fellow, Melbourne, Australia

A picture taken on Professor Sliwa’s way to work in the morning in Cape Town

  • What is your role at your work?

I currently hold the position of Director of the Hatter Institute for Cardiovascular Research in Africa, University of Cape Town. I am a clinician-scientist, having trained as an internal medicine specialist and cardiologist.  I have also obtained a Diploma in Tropical Medicine and Hygiene and a PhD related to immune activation in heart failure. I am leading several research working groups and do 2 specialized clinics per week (heart failure clinic and a clinic seeing pregnant women with cardiac diseases).


Hatter Institute for Cardiovascular Research in Africa Group picture April 2016


  • How did you get interested in your career path?

My career path was not really straightforward. I am by nature a very curious person and my career therefore developed somewhat by chance. If I spend time and energy on a topic I usually get fascinated by it and put in more time and effort. This leads usually to success and a career.


  • What are you most proud of in your career or otherwise?

One of the clinical conditions which became linked to my career path is peripartum cardiomyopathy which I became interested in by chance.  I had help from a young African woman who helped looking after my first daughter when I started working in a hospital in Soweto, South Africa. I noticed how the woman, who had recently given birth, was becoming increasingly short of breath. When I took her to hospital all the local physicians were familiar with her condition – peripartum cardiomyopathy.

My research in this field over the past two decades has helped identify an underlying mechanism (a form of prolactin which exerts a detrimental effect on heart muscle), and a straightforward intervention (withdrawal of breastfeeding in addition to standard heart failure care). I have now expanded my research interests to other cardiac conditions associated with pregnancy.


  • What important career challenges have you faced and how did you overcome them?

Everyone who is planning a career will have challenges because having a career means competition by nature. It is inevitable that some people will be jealous of your successes. I usually strive for respectful and fair working relationships with my colleagues. I feel it is important to be good in a particular field, but also acknowledge the excellence of my colleagues in other areas.


  • What advice would you give your younger self? To be a bit calmer and not to fight every battle with force. Many issues resolve themselves. A very practical approach is to give your competitor recognition for what they are good at, and seek a dialogue rather than to confront. It took me a few years to figure that out. Since then my life has been much more peaceful but I am still successful in my career.

    I am a mother of two very bright, confident and successful daughters who are also very valuable human beings. I was always worried about not having enough time for them, as I worked full time. I think I worried far too much about that fact! However, I also have a wonderful husband- we just shared the responsibilities.

Karen Sliwa with her husband Dr. UR Hahnle, her daughters Julia and Lina
and their boyfriends visiting a show in South Africa


  • Highlight your most significant research contributions and publications (3-5) – if relevant to you.
  1. Sliwa K, Wilkinson D, Hansen C, Ntyinyane L, Tibazarwa K, Becker A and Stewart S. Spectrum of heart disease and risk factors in a black urban population in South Africa (the Heart of Soweto Study): a cohort study. The Lancet. 2008- this paper has led to > 25 other publications

  2. Sliwa K, Blauwet L, Tibazarwa K, Libhaber E, Smedema JP, Becker A, McMurray JM, Yamac H, Labidi S, Struhman I, Denise Hilfiker-Kleiner D. Evaluation of bromocriptine in the treatment of acute severe peripartum cardiomyopathy: a proof-of-concept pilot study. Circulation. 2010;121:1465-1473.
  3. Sliwa K, Hilfiker-Kleiner D, Petrie MC, et al. Current state of knowledge on aetiology, diagnosis, management, and therapy of peripartum cardiomyopathy: a position statement from the Heart Failure Association of the European Society of Cardiology Working Group on peripartum cardiomyopathy. Aug, Eur J Heart Fail. 2010;12:767—this paper stimulated many other subsequent papers

  4. Sliwa K & Anthony J. Late Maternal Death- a neglected global responsibility. The Lancet 21 May 2016- This is a new area I am very passionate about

  • Have you had any significant career mentors? If yes, please provide further details.

I have not had any specific career mentors but my career is built on strong collaborations with colleagues, which became friendships.  I had a wonderful supervisor for my doctoral thesis – Prof. Blitstein-Willinger (Berlin, Germany), who really facilitated asking the right research questions and a speedy completion of my thesis.


  • How can we support the next generation of women scientists?

I feel that women in general are working together very well. Women in leadership positions usually make special efforts so that other women can join the team and follow their path. I think ‘career cafes’ (where one can meet for 30 minutes with a mentor) or other mentoring programs are highly important.