Local Speakers
Dr James Butler
Dr Butler practices as a neurologist in Mediclinic Constantiaberg, with an interest in epilepsy. He is affiliated to the Department of Neurology at UCT and Stellenbosch. He is privileged to be practising as a neurologist and has some research interests as well."
Prof Lebogang Phahladira
Lebogang Phahladira is an NRF-rated Associate Professor and Specialist Psychiatrist in the Department of Psychiatry at Stellenbosch University and Lentegeur Hospital. His portfolio includes patient-facing clinical work, teaching, research and a wide range of administrative responsibilities. He is a core member of the Psychosis Research Program at Stellenbosch University, a unit with over two decades of psychosis research expertise with a particular focus on “real-world” treatment outcomes in resource-constrained settings. He holds various leadership positions and is a recipient of numerous awards and grants.
Dr Irshad Siddi Ganie
Dr. Irshad Faizal Siddi Ganie is a South African specialist neurologist in independent practice, based in Durban, KwaZulu-Natal. He obtained his MBChB from the Nelson R Mandela School of Medicine, University of KwaZulu-Natal, and completed his specialist neurology training at Grey’s Hospital and Inkosi Albert Luthuli Central Hospital. He is a Fellow of the College of Neurology of South Africa and has been in specialist practice since 2010. Dr. Ganie holds consulting appointments at Life Mount Edgecombe Hospital, Busamed Gateway Private Hospital, and Netcare Umhlanga Hospital. He has been actively involved in the development of hospital-based neurological services, including the establishment of a stroke programme at Life Mount Edgecombe Hospital, and has served as Chairperson of the Medical Advisory Committee at the same institution. His clinical and academic interests include headache disorders, secondary headache syndromes, neuro-infectious disease, stroke, and the interface between neurology and systemic medical conditions. He has contributed to international academic forums, including authorship of a poster presented at the International Headache Society meeting in 2015 on Essential Thrombocythaemia with JAK2 Mutation and its Relationship to Benign Intracranial Hypertension as a Cause of Secondary Headache, published in Cephalalgia. He is a member of the Neurological Association of South Africa and the International Headache Society, and regularly contributes to continuing medical education as well as community and media-based neurological education.
Dr Kate McMullen
MBChB (UCT), FCNeurol (SA), MMed (UCT), MSc (UCT), CSCN (EMG), Neuromuscular Fellowship (University of Toronto), Dip HIVMan (SA)
Dr Kate McMullen is a neurologist currently working at Life Vincent Pallotti Hospital in Cape Town. She completed her MBChB at the University of Cape Town and returned to Groote Schuur Hospital to specialise in Neurology. She recently completed a neuromuscular fellowship at the University of Toronto, Canada, and returned to South Africa in 2025, where she enjoys seeing both general and neuromuscular patients, and teaching registrars in the EMG laboratory at Groote Schuur Hospital on a monthly basis.
Dr Aayesha Soni
(MBBCh (Wits); DipPEC (SA); DA (SA); FcNeurol (SA); MMed (UCT); Fellowship (Epilepsy & EEG, Western Univ., Canada))
Aayesha Soni completed her undergraduate medical degree at the University of Witwatersrand (2014) in South Africa, for which she was a recipient of the prestigious Vice Chancellor's Scholarship for the duration of her studies. She then completed her Neurology registrar training at the University of Cape Town and became a fellow of the College of Neurology, South Africa in 2023, followed by completing the Richard S. McLachlan Clinical Fellowship in Epileptology at the London Health Sciences Center in Ontario, Canada in 2025, where she was the recipient of the IFCN Education Fellowship Award (2024/5). Her interest in research is evidenced by 23 peer-reviewed publications, and a completed Master of Medicine in Neurology (2022) through the University of Cape Town. Aayesha also has a keen interest in healthcare advocacy and human rights, which has earned her recognition as a recipient of a number of awards including the Emerging Star Award at the South African Health Excellence Awards (2025), American Academy of Neurology International Scholarship Award (2024) and Advocate at the Palatucci Advocacy Leadership Forum (2025), as well as being named as 100 Young Mandelas of the Future (Leadership Category; 2018) and Mail and Guardian’s Top 200 Young South Africans (Health Category; 2017).