Researcher profile

Prof Edward Nicol

Prof Edward Nicol is a public health specialist at the South African Medical Research Council (SAMRC) with expertise in health systems and services research, focusing on health information systems (HIS) and HIV prevention and care. With over 20 years of experience conducting and facilitating health research in Africa, Prof Nicol has published extensively at the intersection of HIS and fields such as maternal, neonatal, and child health (MNCH) and HIV. His impactful work has significantly contributed to improving health outcomes and informing public health strategies across the continent. In recognition of these contributions, Prof Nicol was awarded a C2 rating by the National Research Foundation, affirming his status as an established researcher. This distinction reflects both his expertise and the importance of his research in advancing public health initiatives. He holds a position as Extraordinary Associate Professor at Stellenbosch University’s Global Health Department and is currently a member of several advisory committees, including the WHO AFRO Regional Immunization Technical Advisory Group (RITAG), the SAMRC Human Research Ethics Committee, and the National Department of Health's National Health Information System of South Africa Committee. Additionally, he is an Academic Editor for the PLOS ONE editorial board and has previously served as a member of the WHO Strategic Advisory Group of Experts (SAGE) Working Group on quality and use of global immunization and surveillance data. Prof Nicol is Principal Investigator (PI) and Co-PI on several CDC/PEPFAR-funded, WHO-funded, and National Research Foundation (NRF)-funded studies, including the study on "Strengthening Health Systems' Capacity for Pre-exposure Prophylaxis (PrEP) and Enhancing Linkage to HIV Care in Adolescent Girls and Young Women and Men in South Africa." He also served as the South African PI for the recently concluded collaborative study funded by WHO/Health Data Collaborative (HDC) on "Making the case for investing in Routine Health Information Systems (RHIS) to achieve the health-related SDGs." His current interests include mortality and morbidity analysis, HIV prevention and care, health system strengthening, evaluation of maternal, neonatal and child health programmes, and health information systems, with a special focus on hospital information systems, electronic medical records, data quality improvement, data generation and use, and capacity development of front-line staff on data management competences.