Accolades galore for Wits scientists and scholars
- Wits University
Prestigious research societies and eminent associations bestow medals, awards and prizes for excellence.
Research powerhouses including the Academy of Science of South Africa, the Royal Society of South Africa, and Clarivate, a British American publicly traded analytics company, all named Wits scientists amongst their awardees in 2025, as did the Cancer Association of South Africa and the South African Literary Awards.
Professors Rachel Jewkes, Lyn Wadley, and Marietjie Venter were awarded prestigious accolades for research excellence in gender studies, ecology, and emerging viral threats, respectively. Jewkes received ASSAf's Science-for-Society Gold Medal, while Wadley and Venter received the Royal Society of South Africa's John F.W Herschel Medal and Marloth Medal respectively.
Professors Maureen Joffe, Nasreem Mahomed, and Zaheera Jina Asvat were each recognised for contributions to oncology, radiology leadership, and literature. Joffe was awarded CANSA's highest accolade, the Oettlé Memorial Medal and the South African Clinicians' Society recognised Mahomed for leadership excellence in healthcare. Asvat won a national short story award for her literary prowess.
Professors Andrew Forbes (Physics), Shabir Madhi (Vaccinology), and Derick Raal (Endocrinology) are for the second year running amongst the world’s most highly cited researchers on Clarivate's annual list.
Gold Medal for galvanising against gender-based violence
The Academy of Science of South Africa (ASSAf) annually awards Science-for-Society Gold Medals to recognise outstanding achievement in scientific thinking for the benefit of society.
At an awards ceremony held on 30 October 2025, ASSAf awarded a Gold Medal to Rachel Jewkes, Visiting Professor in the Wits School of Public Health.
The award recognises Jewkes’ outstanding scientific excellence and groundbreaking contributions to gender and health research, particularly in addressing gender-based violence (GBV)
Jewkes has devoted more than 30 years to advancing knowledge, developing interventions, and influencing global policy to prevent GBV and improve health outcomes.
Her leadership in pioneering initiatives such as the Sexual Violence Research Initiative and the What Works Global Programme has transformed the field, demonstrating that violence against women can indeed be prevented.
Jewkes’ research has had a profound global impact — empowering women and girls, shaping evidence-based policy, and addressing one of the most urgent social and public health challenges of our time.
New ASSAf Fellows
Membership of ASSAf represents one of the highest honours a South African scholar can achieve. It acknowledges outstanding research contributions and dedicated service to society.
ASSAf members embody South Africa’s intellectual leadership and play a vital role in advancing evidence-based knowledge for the public good.
ASSAf inducted a new cohort of distinguished scholars and scientists on 30 October 2025, including the following nine Wits researchers:
- Professor Kevin Behrens, Director of the Steve Biko Centre for Bioethics,
- Professor Raymond Durrheim, South African Research Chair in Exploration, Earthquake and Mining Seismology
- Jennifer Fitchett, Professor of Physical Geography and new Head of Postgraduate Studies and Researcher Development
- Professor Nelesh Govender, Head of the Wits Mycology division in the Faculty of Health Sciences
- Professor Michelle Groome, joint appointment as Reader in the Faculty of Health Sciences and postgraduate supervisor
- Katijah Khoza-Shangase, Professor of Audiology
- Chris Mathew, Distinguished Professor in Human Genetics at the Sydney Brenner Institute for Molecular Bioscience and Professor Emeritus at King’s College London
- Dilip Menon, Professor of History and International Relations
- Professor Alisha Wade, Director of Research in Metabolism and Endocrinology and a Reader and Clinician Scientist in the Department of Internal Medicine
Professor Lynn Morris, Deputy Vice-Chancellor: Research & Innovation, says “Congratulations to the nine Wits academics elected to the Academy of Science of South Africa — a remarkable honour that recognises their research excellence, leadership, and service to society. Wits is also proud to celebrate Professor Rachel Jewkes, who received ASSAf’s Science-for-Society Gold Medal for her pioneering and globally influential work in addressing gender-based violence. These achievements underscore the depth of talent and impact that define the Wits academic community.”
Research royalty
The Royal Society of South Africa (the Society) aims to foster and advance pure and applied science, particularly in the interdisciplinary context.
The John F.W Herschel Medal is the Society’s senior medal. It is awarded to those who are outstanding in either a field of research that straddles disciplines or in more than one unrelated field.
Professor Lyn Wadley awarded John F.W Herschel Medal
Professor Lyn Wadley is the Society’s 2026 senior medallist. She is jointly Honorary Professor of Archaeology in the School of Geography, Archaeology and Environmental Studies, and the Evolutionary Studies Institute.
Archaeology and early modern human behaviour
Wadley’s research focuses on the cognition of people who lived more than 30 000 years ago. Since daily activities can be proxies for cognitive attributes, she has experimentally replicated Stone Age tasks such as heat treatment of rocks and colouring material, and hafting of stone tools with glues made from natural products.
Her multidisciplinary research includes archaeological excavation, analysis of stone, shell and bone artefacts, and botanical fieldwork and microscopy to identify ancient plants used for food, medicine, and bedding. Recent (co-authored) books include Rock Art of the Waterberg and the botanical field guide Wildflowers of the Waterberg.
Professor Marietjie Venter awarded Marloth Medal
The Society’s Marloth Medal recognises highly distinguished contributions and service to the furtherance of science. Distinguished Professor Marietjie Venter is the Society’s 2026 Marloth medalist.
The Marloth Medal recognises Venter’s contribution to research and global leadership in promoting the One Health approach in epidemic and pandemic preparedness for emerging and reemerging diseases.
One Health approach to pandemic preparedness
Venter is the SARChI Research Chair and Director of the Centre for Emerging Arbo and Respiratory Virus Research.
She has championed One Health and epidemic and pandemic preparedness, serving in several leadership roles that translate science into policies. This includes chairing the World Health Organization Scientific advisory group for the Origins of Novel pathogens from 2021-2025. She established One Health early detection systems for arbo and respiratory viruses and she developed novel diagnostic tools and genomics for pathogen discovery.
Venter's research described the epidemiology, evolution pathogenesis, and vectors of several neglected and novel viruses as well as viruses of international concern including West Nile virus, Influenza, RSV and SARS-COV-2.
New Society Fellows
The Society also announced the new Fellows for 2025. To become a FRSSAf, one must be nominated, the prime criterion for election being scientific standing. Wits scientists inducted as FRSSAf in 2025 include:
- Professor Graham Alexander, School of Animal, Plant and Environmental Studies
- Professor Bavesh Kana, Director of the Department of Science and Technology/National Research Foundation Centre of Excellence for Biomedical TB Research
- Professor David Limebeer, School of Electrical and Information Engineering
- Professor Michèle Ramsay, Director of the Sydney Brenner Institute for Molecular Bioscience
Three Witsies again amongst world’s most highly cited
Wits Professors Andrew Forbes, Shabir Madhi and Derick Raal are three of just 11 South Africans on Clarivate’s 2025 list of Highly Cited Researchers™.
A Highly Cited Researcher™ is an individual who has demonstrated significant and broad influence in their field(s) of research.
Of the world’s population of scientists and social scientists, Highly Cited Researchers are 1 in 1 000.
Analysts from the Institute for Scientific Information (ISI) at Clarivate, which produces the annual listing, revealed the 2025 Highly Cited Researchers on 12 November 2025.
The 2025 listing recognises 6 868 individuals from more than 1300 institutions in 60 countries and regions.
Although the U.S. leads in the number of highly cited researchers, according to this listing, with China and the UK in second and third place respectively, three individuals are South African – and they are Witsies.
Professor Derick Raal is no stranger to the list, making his sixth appearance in 2025, while Professors Andrew Forbes and Shabir Madhi feature again after making their debuts on in 2024.
Familial hypercholesterolaemia
Distinguished Professor and Head of the Division of Endocrinology and Metabolism, and Director of the Carbohydrate and Lipid Metabolism Research Unit, Derick Raal is a leading expert on familial hypercholesterolaemia (FH).
FH is one of the most common inherited disorders in the world, yet it remains a difficult condition to treat. Raal has been instrumental in advancing the treatment for FH both locally and internationally over the past three decades. His research unit is internationally recognised for its work on FH and has one of the largest cohorts of homozygous FH patients in the world.
Light is the science of the future
Andrew Forbes is a Distinguished Professor in the School of Physics where he established the Structured Light Laboratory in 2015. Forbes actively promotes photonics in Africa. He is a founding member of the Photonics Initiative of South Africa and initiator of South Africa’s Quantum Roadmap.
Amongst multiple accolades, Forbes was joint winner in the Physics category of the 2024 The World Academy of Sciences (TWAS) Awards, which recognised his seminal contributions in creating new forms of classical and quantum states of structured light, thereby advancing photonic-based applications and fundamental sciences.
Maternal immunisation saves infants
Shabir Madhi, CBE, is Professor of Vaccinology and the National Research Foundation/Department of Science and Innovation SARChI Chair in Vaccine Preventable Diseases. He is the Director of the Wits Vaccines and Infectious Diseases Analytics Research Unit (Wits VIDA), and co-Director of the African Leadership Initiative for Vaccinology Expertise (ALIVE).
A paediatrician, Madhi’s research focuses on the epidemiology and clinical development of vaccines against pneumonia and diarrhoeal disease. His studies have informed World Health Organization recommendations on the use of the lifesaving pneumococcal conjugate vaccine and rotavirus vaccine in children, and influenza vaccination of pregnant women.
Health leadership excellence
Professor Nasreen Mahomed has received the Leadership Excellence Award at the 2025 South African Health Excellence Awards.
The Academic Head Of the Division of Radiology at Wits, Mahomed received the Health Excellence Leadership Award on 8 November, the International Day of Radiology.
This day marks the anniversary of Wilhelm Conrad Roentgen’s discovery of X-rays on 8 November 1895 — a milestone that transformed medicine and diagnostic imaging forever.
Mahomed says, “True leadership thrives when we create opportunities, nurture talent, and leave systems stronger than we found them. In healthcare, leadership means ensuring that every child, every patient, every life matters,” says Mahomed.
CANSA's A.G Oettlé Memorial Medal
The Cancer Association of South Africa (CANSA) has awarded the A.G. Oettlé Memorial Medal to Dr Maureen Joffe for outstanding contributions to cancer research.
Joffe is Director of the Batho Pele Breast Clinic Research and Noncommunicable Diseases Research Divisions.
The award recognises Joffe’s leadership, mentorship, and lifelong dedication to equitable cancer care and research excellence. CANSA lauded Joffe as “a visionary scientist whose work continues to shape the future of cancer control in South Africa and beyond.”
Nadine Gordimer Short Story Award
Professor Zaheera Jina Asvat has won the Nadine Gordimer Short Story Award at the South African Literary Awards for her short story collection, Tears of the Weaver.
Asvat is a lecturer in Mathematics Education in the Wits School of Education. She received the award on 11 November at the Roodepoort Theatre and Museum.
Tears of the Weaver was previously shortlisted for this award in 2024.