Thinking of Dan as we approach a time of memory

2026-01-13 14:06:33 UTC

In every generation and for every age, people are called out of the ordinary to show us different ways of thinking and to renew our ways of being. I have known Dan Stein only since March of 2020 when I arrived at UCT. For all my engagements with Dan, this was how I experienced him. A scholar who did not make me look foolish. A leader who valued my ideas and received my challenges with clarity while offering new possibilities for thinking through things. I am grateful that his story is forever a part of mine and I am better because he was a part of a shared leadership journey.

Hamba kahle, Nthathe Dan.

Qhawe lamaQhawe

Lionel Green-Thompson, colleague and manager

A picture of Dan with Taiwo Akindipe

2026-01-13 14:09:44 UTC

Claire van der Westhuizen, former PhD student, Division of Public Mental Health

clairevanderwesthuizen1 — 2026-01-14 09:36:08 UTC

Dan gave me a gateway into a world of academic enquiry and collaboration, taking a chance on a medical doctor with a tenuous (at best) grip on research concepts and skills. He connected me to Katherine Sorsdahl, Goodman Sibeko and to many others, weaving me into an intellectual community and introducing me to a career I love. He was patient with a very uncertain PhD student who ‘googled’ everything he and other researchers said – as well as other pertinent questions of her own. (How do you conduct a systematic review? Why on earth would anyone want to do a Cochrane review? What is logistic regression? Who is the notorious ‘reviewer 2’?) Dan never made me feel small for not knowing. Instead, he made curiosity feel welcome. He listened carefully to my sometimes fragile arguments, taking them seriously even when they were not yet fully formed. When he disagreed, he did so gently, often saying, “But you can persuade me.” In those words was a profound generosity, and a quiet confidence in the idea that thinking together matters more than being right.

In meetings and protocol presentations, I remember Dan asking a simple, yet weighty, question: “Where is the science?” When invited, he would help us find it, clarify it, and give it shape. He taught not by showing off his own brilliance, but by making space for others to discover. Dan’s legacy lives on in ways that are both visible and deeply personal: in the questions I now ask more carefully, in the standards I hold myself to, and in how I try to mentor those who come after me in my capacity building/leadership role within the Centre for Public Mental Health. He is woven into the fabric of our work in public mental health, and into my own way of thinking and working. I miss him greatly, remember him with deep gratitude, and will continue to be guided by the same commitment to clarity, integrity, and the relentless pursuit of good science. My thoughts and prayers are with Heather, Gabi, Josh and Sarah.

Remembering the Life and Legacy of Professor Dan Stein (1962–2025) by Shaylan Janneker

Thinking of Dan as we approach a time of memory

A picture of Dan with Taiwo Akindipe

Claire van der Westhuizen, former PhD student, Division of Public Mental Health