Prof Anton Doubell's significant contributions to medicine and specifically cardiology have been acknowledged by the South African Heart Association with an honorary membership and a lifetime achievement award.

It was only the fourth time this award was made and it was the first time that this honour was bestowed on a staff member of Stellenbosch University (SU). In 2000, Doubell was a founder member and the first president of the South African Heart Association, a position he held for two terms consecutively. He continues to serve on the executive committee. During his tenure as president, two important initiatives were launched, which still play an important role in the South African cardiology arena.

The first was the publication of the South African Heart Journal, for which Doubell served as editor since the first edition in 2004. The journal is listed by the Department of Education and the Academy of Science of South Africa (ASSAf) as an approved journal, and is recognised by the European Society of Cardiology as a national cardiovascular journal.

Another important initiative was the establishment of the South African Heart Registry, which is used by cardiologists in South Africa to upload patient-related information on a shared platform where it can be analysed to improve patient care.

Doubell has been the head of the Division of Cardiology of the Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences (FMHS) for the past 20 years. "I am particularly proud of the fact that I am part of a team who is evidently excited to come to work every day," he said. "With the enthusiastic cooperation of all staff members we have succeeded in establishing the necessary infrastructure and expertise to offer patient care, research and training on par with the best in the country."

"This definitely contributes to the fact that we can fulfil the Division's vision of access to advanced cardiac care and training to all our patients and students," Doubell noted. An important vehicle to pursue this vision was the establishment of SUNHEART, a non-profit entity in the Division of Cardiology striving for "Advanced cardiac care for all".

This Matie alumnus has been excelling academically since his schooldays and boasts a long list of national and international awards and prizes for his academic and research accomplishments. He has published 90 articles and has delivered more than 140 research papers.

He has a keen interest in nature and plants, and is known as an enthusiastic grower of clivia plants. In 2013, he donated more than 1 000 clivia plants to add colour to the Tygerberg Campus gardens and this year he followed that up with a donation of more than 50 indigenous trees grown from seed that will be planted on campus.

Photo: Prof Anton Doubell (middle) with Dr Liesl Zühlke, the current president of the South African Heart Association and his colleague, Dr Hellmuth Weich, at the award ceremony.