Professor Essack is the College Dean of Teaching and Learning and Professor in Pharmaceutical Sciences at the University of KwaZulu-Natal (UKZN), a the South African Research Chair in Antibiotic Resistance and One Health and a Wellcome Trust Fellow. Her research has been published in numerous journals and has been presented in many national and international conferences.

Prof Essack established the Antimicrobial Research Unit at UKZN and has secured several research grants for Essential National Health Research. She serves on numerous committees including being the president of the South African Chapter of the Alliance for the Prudent Use of Antibiotics (APUA) and co-founder and chair of the South African Committee of Health Sciences Deans. She has a keen interest in health professional education.