Professor Michael Pepper has made significant contributions in cellular and molecular medicine to the fields of vascular biology and immunology. He has held prominent positions at both the Universities of Pretoria (UP) and Geneva (Switzerland). He is currently Director of the Institute for Cellular and Molecular Medicine and the South African Medical Research Council Extramural Unit for Stem Cell Research and Therapy at UP. Michael has more than >370 medical and scientific publications with and H-Index of 79/97 (Scopus/Google Scholar). He is a member of the Academy of Science of South Africa and has received a number of awards for his research including the South African Health Excellence Award for Scientific Excellence in 2019. His work has had an impact on the development of cell and gene therapies in South Africa, and he continues to be a leading figure in addressing ethical, legal, and social implications of research in these areas.