Two Wits Professors Join Isaac Newton and Einstein As Royal Society Fellows

• Professor Glenda Gray and Professor Clifford Woolf, both Wits University alumni, were named among the 2026 Fellows of the Royal Society
• Professor Gray is a pioneering HIV and COVID-19 vaccine researcher
• Professor Woolf is a Harvard-based neuroscientist whose research into pain have changed how the medical world treats it

Two South African scientists with roots at the University of the Witwatersrand have earned a place in one of the most prestigious scientific bodies in the world.

Wits University announced on their Facebook page on 10 June 2026 that Professor Glenda Gray and Professor Clifford Woolf were named among the 2026 Fellows of the Royal Society, the United Kingdom's national academy of sciences. The university said:

"Their recognition celebrates the highest standards of scientific excellence and reflects the global impact of Wits graduates in advancing research, discovery, and innovation."

The Royal Society was founded in the mid-1600s and counts only around 1,700 current Fellows and Foreign Members worldwide. Since its founding in 1660, only 8,000 people have ever been elected, including roughly 85 Nobel Laureates. Past Fellows include Isaac Newton, Charles Darwin, Albert Einstein and Dorothy Hodgkin.

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Professor Glenda Gray

Professor Gray is a trained paediatrician who spent years watching HIV devastate infants, children, and young mothers at Chris Hani Baragwanath Academic Hospital in Soweto.

That experience pushed her into research. She went on to play a leading role in preventing HIV transmission from mothers to infants, advancing HIV vaccine development, and leading South Africa's COVID-19 vaccine research. She was also the first woman to serve as president and CEO of the South African Medical Research Council.

She said:

"The path to find a successful HIV vaccine has been a long and hard one, and one that I hope to be involved in until we hit a breakthrough."

Professor Clifford Woolf

Professor Woolf is now director of the Neurobiology Program at Boston Children's Hospital and a professor at Harvard Medical School.

His interest in pain research began as a medical student at Johannesburg General Hospital, where he watched post-surgical patients suffer and decided to do something about it. He completed his PhD at Wits before moving to the UK and then Harvard, where his research has changed how pain is understood and treated globally.

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He said that the Fellowship was a very nice recognition of the impact and novelty of his neuroscience research.

See the Facebook post below:

SA celebrates Wits Royal Society Fellows

People were proud and full of congratulations on the University's Facebook page:

@MicheleLeRouxLowdon wrote:

"Congratulations to Professor Glenda Gray and Professor Clifford Woolf, as well as Wits University! Excellent and uplifting news!"

@TerryOakleySmith wrote:

"Marvellous achievement. Congratulations both!"

@CornellMiti said:

"Congratulations to both of you, our very own Witsie Profs."

@KathleenSowersby wrote:

"Congratulations to you both! Well done on your amazing achievement."

@LeeLabuschagne said:

"Congratulations also from me!"

@TraceyNaledi wrote:

"Congratulations Profs Glenda Gray and Clifford Woolf!!"

More on South African academic excellence

• Briefly News recently reported on former Miss SA Shudufhadzo Musida completing her master's degree at Columbia University.
• A Johannesburg woman called on Black South Africans to pool resources and build a university.
• Wits University claimed the top spot in Africa in the 2026 global university rankings, and the University of Cape Town's response to the news surprised a lot of people.

Source: Briefly News