Rate My Professor Derick Raal

Professor Derick Raal is a Distinguished Professor and Head of the Division of Endocrinology and Metabolism in the Faculty of Health Sciences at the University of the Witwatersrand. He also serves as Director of the Carbohydrate and Lipid Metabolism Research Unit. Raal holds the qualifications MB BCh, MMed, PhD from the University of the Witwatersrand, as well as a DSc, FCP(SA), FRCPC and MRCP. His research focuses on the epidemiological, clinical and biochemical aspects of lipid and glucose metabolism disorders, with particular emphasis on familial hypercholesterolaemia. The unit maintains one of the largest cohorts of homozygous familial hypercholesterolaemia patients worldwide and contributes to international registries for the condition.

Raal has been named a Highly Cited Researcher by Clarivate multiple times, reflecting the impact of his more than 270 publications, which have accumulated over 17,000 citations. He received an NRF A1 rating and was awarded a Doctorate in Science. Over an eight-year period he published 119 peer-reviewed articles and seven book chapters while delivering 31 keynote addresses. Raal has played a pivotal role in advancing therapies for severe familial hypercholesterolaemia both locally and internationally over three decades.