Prof Dana Niehaus

Prof Dana Niehaus completed his undergraduate studies at the University of the Free State. After an additional two-year research stint focused on Fabry disease genetics at Mount Sinai School of Medicine in New York, he commenced his training as registrar in the Department of Psychiatry at Stellenbosch University.

He has spent the last 23 years in the dual role of academic and psychiatrist at Stikland Hospital, first in Acute Female Services and later as subspecialist in Psychogeriatric Services.

During this period, he completed his doctoral degrees in Psychiatry (focusing on endophenotypes in schizophrenia) and a MPhil (Cum Laude) in Geriatric Psychiatry. Since 2017 he has been heading the Psychogeriatric Services unit at Stikland Hospital, managing tertiary care for Western Cape seniors and maintaining close working relationships with community organisations and subspecialist geriatric psychiatrists in private practice, aiming to provide seamless service across socio-economic strata.

For him, the value of clinical work, teaching and research lies in the community accessibility of this knowledge base and skill set. He is continually involved in media, outreach and information sharing efforts and professional development for NGOs focusing on geriatric care.

He serves as a director of Utilitas, an NPO providing optimal care for older adults, including retirees with psychiatric disorders.