Claire van der Westhuizen

A/Prof Claire van der Westhuizen, MBChB (SU), PhD (Psychiatry & Mental Health) (UCT), is the Deputy Director at the Centre for Public Mental Health. Her research focuses on adolescent mental health, implementation research, and violence and injury prevention in low- and middle-income country settings, with a strong emphasis on translating evidence into practice. She is deeply committed to capacity building and to advancing Africa-focused, globally informed public mental health scholarship and training. Outside of research and leadership, Claire is known for her enduring optimism about opportunities to improve the mental health of populations, her fondness for unapologetically bad mom jokes, and her firm belief that most problems are easier to tackle after adequate caffeine.