Rate My Professor Glenda Gray

Professor Glenda Gray is a Distinguished Professor in the Faculty of Health Sciences at the University of the Witwatersrand and Director of the Infectious Disease and Oncology Research Institute. She holds an MB BCh from the University of the Witwatersrand and is a Fellow of the College of Paediatrics of South Africa. Gray founded the Perinatal HIV Research Unit at Chris Hani Baragwanath Hospital, where she served as executive director, and has led extensive research on paediatric HIV, including prevention of mother-to-child transmission and HIV vaccine development. She previously served as the first female President and CEO of the South African Medical Research Council, directing national medical research strategy and priorities. An A-rated researcher by the National Research Foundation, Gray is co-principal investigator of the HIV Vaccine Trials Network and has contributed to large-scale clinical trials in HIV, tuberculosis, and other infectious diseases. Her honours include the Order of Mapungubwe (Silver) awarded in 2013 and the Nelson Mandela Health and Human Rights Award. She was named one of Time magazine’s 100 Most Influential People in 2017 and elected a Fellow of the Royal Society in 2026. Gray is a member of the Academy of Science of South Africa, the African Academy of Sciences, the World Academy of Sciences, and the US National Academy of Medicine.

Gray trained as a paediatrician at the University of the Witwatersrand and completed a Fogarty Postdoctoral Fellowship in Clinical Epidemiology at Cornell University. She has held research appointments at the South African Medical Research Council and collaborated on international studies advancing HIV prevention and vaccine science. Her leadership has shaped South Africa’s scientific response to major public health challenges, including through roles on national advisory committees and global research consortia. Gray continues to focus on infectious disease research as Director of the Infectious Disease and Oncology Research Institute at Wits.