Homegrown Dr Ruan shines internationally
Ruan Grobler, a product of Hutten Park Primary, is now one of the leading lights in the medical field of neurosurgery.
He has won numerous awards for his outstanding results and research and is now a sought-after international speaker.
Ruan recently obtained his MMed and PhD in neurosurgery which prompted his former principal, Llewellyn Gray, at Hutten Park Primary to pay tribute to one of the school’s top achieving ‘old boys’.
“Ruan attended Huttenpark Primary School from pre-school to Grade 7 in 2004.
“In his Grade 7 year, he was selected as the 1st team rugby and cricket captain and was a member of the 1st boys hockey team,” Gray told the Advertiser.
“He was selected as a member of the Under 13 Craven Week Rugby team and was also awarded the Sportsman of the Year award. “
After Grade 7, Ruan moved to Glenwood High School in Durban where he continued his exceptional career: he served as head prefect of the school and Gibson House in his matric year (2009), captained the 1st XV rugby team and played Craven Week Rugby, led the 2nd XI cricket team, became a regional Toastmasters champion, attained academic honours, and was Dux of Gibson House.
He was also awarded the Grant Robertson Leadership Excellence Award and the Gibson House Senior Sportsman of the Year Award.
“Upon successfully matriculating from Glenwood in his formal ‘Testimonial,’ he was described by his teachers as “a once in a generation individual.”
He was accepted to study medicine, and in 2014 he attained his M.B.,Ch.B. degree at the University of the Free State with multiple distinctions.
He subsequently completed his internship at Mitchells Plain Hospital in 2015-2016 and his community service year at The Robert Mangaliso Sobukwe Hospital in Kimberley.
Following his mandatory community service year, he was appointed to the post of Medical Officer in the Department of Neurosurgery.
In December 2019, he was asked to specialise as a neurosurgeon at Tygerberg Hospital, affiliated with Stellenbosch University, where he is set to attain his MMed degree in neurosurgery with distinction.
Ruan received the prestigious Roland A. Kraynauw Medal
After his final examinations, he received the Roland A. Kraynauw Medal for exceptional achievement at the College of Medicine of South Africa where he was placed 1st in the country.
This is only the 5th time in 35 years that this medal has been awarded and only the second time a candidate from Stellenbosch University achieved this feat.
Ruan is also the first candidate in the history of the Faculty of Health Sciences, Division of Surgical Sciences at Stellenbosch University to be granted simultaneous enrolment for a MMed and PhD in Neurosurgery due to his research excellence.
His research has been published in prestigious international medical journals such as the Lancet, The Journal of Trauma, The European Spine Journal, and the South Africa Medical Journal.
He has also been invited to present his research at various venues around the world as an expert in the management of skull fractures.
These venues included the following:
- He won the prize for best platform presentation of research at the South African Neurosurgical Society Congress in 2022.
- In Barcelona, Spain, at the European Association of Neurosurgical Societies Congress. (Sept 2023)
- In Cape Town, at the World Federation of Neurosurgical Societies congress (Dec 2023)
- In March he spoke in Phoenix, Arizona, USA, at the world-famous Mayo Clinic.
A career highlight will be next month when he addresses the International NeuroTrauma Society at the University of Cambridge, UK.
Starting in January 2025, he will be attending the University of Toronto, Canada, to complete a fellowship to subspecialise in cerebrovascular and endovascular neurosurgery for 18 months, where he will become the first neurosurgeon in South African medical history to complete an internationally recognised and accredited fellowship in both cerebrovascular and endovascular neurosurgery.
He will then return to South Africa to open a private practice.
“Congratulations Ruan, you are a true inspiration!” concluded Gray.
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