Glenda Gray is a South African trained paediatrician and clinician scientist who has made pioneering contributions towards the prevention of HIV-1 transmission in infants, supported interventions to prevent HIV in women through HIV vaccinology and antiretroviral prophylaxis, and led COVID-19 vaccine research, establishing the effectiveness and safety of COVID vaccines in South Africa.
As the first female President/CEO of the SAMRC, Gray transformed health research in South Africa and built clinical research expertise in Africa receiving the World Academy of Sciences Regional Award for being an exceptional scientist in the establishment of lively scientific institutions and expanding its activities in the developing world.
For her research she received the Nelson Mandela Health and Human Rights Award, the Order of Mapungubwe, South Africa’s highest order, the EDCTP’s Outstanding African Scientist, the John F.W. Herschel Medal (Royal Society of South Africa) and the Academy of Science of South Africa (ASSAF) Science for Society Gold Medal. Gray is a member of the: US National Academy of Medicine; the African Academy of Science; The World Academy of Sciences; the American Academy of Microbiology; and the ASSAF.
Professional position
- Distinguished Professor and Executive Director, Infectious Disease and Oncology Research Institute, University of Witwatersrand
- Professor, Vaccine and Infectious Disease Division, Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center
- Chief Scientific Officer and Past President/CEO, South African Medical Research Council (SAMRC)
