From NRF ratings to global honours: Wits celebrates research excellence

From NRF ratings to global honours: Wits celebrates research excellence

27 July 2026 - Wits University

National Research Foundation ratings, major national and international awards and spin-off companies recognised.

Twenty-six researchers with new or new-category National Research Foundation (NRF) ratings in the 2025 review cycle, recipients of major national and international honours, and three new research spin-off companies were recognised at the Wits Celebration of Research and Innovation Excellence on 23 July at the Wits Anglo American Digital Dome.

Only about 4,400 of South Africa's approximately 18,000 researchers are NRF-rated, and around 10% of the country's rated researchers are based at Wits University.

The celebration also comes in a year in which Wits was ranked the number one university in Africa by the Centre for World University Rankings.

"At a time when the value of evidence, scholarship and scientific inquiry continues to be questioned around the world, occasions such as this remind us why research matters, and why excellence in research deserves to be recognised and celebrated," said Professor Brett Bowman, Senior Director for Research at Wits.

A new A-rated researcher

Among the evening's biggest announcements was the news that Professor Yahya Choonara had received an NRF A-rating.

A-ratings are awarded to researchers recognised by their peers as international leaders in their fields.

Choonara is the Director of the Wits Advanced Drug Delivery Platform (WADDP), where researchers combine translational pharmaceutical science, nano-engineering and regenerative medicine to develop safer and more effective ways of delivering medicines. His work has produced an extensive portfolio of international patents while helping to build Africa's capacity to move pharmaceutical discoveries from the laboratory towards patient care.

Ten Wits researchers received Y-ratings, which recognise early-career researchers with the potential to become established researchers within five years:

• Dr Charl Chen
• Dr Desmond Klenam
• Dr Isobel Kolbe
• Dr Siyabonga Kuenene
• Dr Ntsoaki Mokala
• Dr Tessa Moll
• Dr Makhosazane Ndimande-Khoza
• Dr Edward Nkadimeng
• Dr Andrew Skinner
• Dr Kudzaiishe Vanyoro

Eleven researchers received C-ratings, awarded to established and independent researchers:

• Dr Sam Challis
• Dr Anosh Joseph
• Professor Geci Karuri-Sebina
• Professor Thashree Marimuthu
• Professor Ruchika Meel
• Professor Joanne Neille
• Professor Thobeka Nkomo
• Professor Adeola Oyenubi
• Professor Luna Pellegri
• Dr Sonti Pilusa
• Professor Andrew Swarts

Four researchers received B-ratings, which recognise researchers who enjoy considerable international recognition for the quality and impact of their work:

• Professor Frances Griffiths
• Professor Matt Hilton
• Professor Mandeep Kaur
• Dr Laura Pereira

The University is still receiving results from the 2025 review cycle and researchers who receive new-category ratings later in the year will be recognised at the next celebration.

Each year, the awards host a keynote speaker to highlight their research contribution at the University and to show the interdisciplinary ways in which the research ecosystem operates.

In her guest address, African fire ecology in the age of mega-fire, Professor Sally Archibald at the Wits School of Animal, Plants and Environmental Sciences (APES) showed why apparently simple global environmental narratives often become more complicated when viewed from Africa.

Fire is shaped by an intricate relationship between climate, vegetation and human activity. While extreme wildfires are becoming more frequent in North America, parts of Eurasia and Australia, the pattern in Africa is different. The area burned across the continent has been declining, even though many African grassland and savanna ecosystems evolved with fire and depend on it.

In these landscapes, fire can stimulate flowering and seed production, maintain open grasslands and create habitats needed by particular species. Removing fire or suppressing it indiscriminately can therefore damage biodiversity and alter the structure of an ecosystem.

Drawing on research that combines satellite observations with field-based ecological studies, Archibald cautioned that data without local context can produce the wrong conclusions. A satellite image may show more fire in an African savanna than in a tropical forest, for example, without revealing that the savanna fire is part of the ecosystem's natural functioning while fire in the forest may signal degradation and deforestation.

There is no single "correct" fire regime, she argued. How fire should be managed depends on the ecosystem and on whether the goal is to conserve biodiversity, protect carbon stores, support tourism or maintain healthy rangelands.

Archibald called for a stronger community of African fire researchers able to shape global debates and ensure that African ecological knowledge is not treated as a gap to be filled by researchers elsewhere. The task, she said, is to provide nuance without undermining important global messages, while using the public's interest in fire to "turn fear into fascination".

Wits researchers recognised around the world

The evening also brought together a selection of major honours received by Wits researchers during 2025 and 2026.

Professors Derick Raal, Shabir Madhi and Andrew Forbes were named Highly Cited Researchers for 2025. The annual list identifies researchers whose publications rank among the most frequently cited in their fields, placing them among approximately one in every 1,000 researchers globally.

Professor Rachel Jewkes received the 2025 Academy of Science of South Africa Science for Society Gold Medal, ASSAf's highest honour. The medal recognises researchers whose scholarship has benefited society, influenced policy or practice, promoted public understanding of science and strengthened scientific collaboration. Jewkes, whose research focuses on gender studies, gender-based violence, and how to prevent it, also received the Lifetime Award at the NSTF Awards earlier in July.

Professor Shabir Madhi was named the 2026 recipient of the Maxwell Finland Award for Scientific Achievement. Presented by the National Foundation for Infectious Diseases, the award recognises his contributions to infectious-disease research, public health and the training of future scientific leaders.

Professor Lyn Wadley, an ecologist, received the Royal Society of South Africa's John F.W. Herschel Medal in October 2025. The Society's senior medal recognises outstanding research that crosses disciplinary boundaries or makes major contributions in more than one field.

The Royal Society of South Africa awarded its 2026 Marloth Medal to Professor Marietjie Venter, ann expert in zoonotic arbo and respiratory viruses and One Health. The award recognises a distinguished scientific career and contributions to advancing a discipline, mentoring younger researchers and strengthening public understanding of science.

Several Wits health researchers received further international recognition. Professor Helen Rees was named by Meridian Letters as one of 20 leaders shaping health across Africa, while Professor Glenda Gray was elected a Fellow of the Royal Society as part of its 2026 cohort.

Precious Matsoso, Director of the Health Regulatory Science Platform at the Wits Health Consortium and an Honorary Lecturer in the Wits Department of Pharmacy and Pharmacology, was named one of Nature's 10 people who shaped science in 2025. She was recognised for her leadership in brokering the world's first pandemic agreement.

Professor Benjamin Rosman was included in the 2025 TIME100 AI list of the world's most influential people shaping artificial intelligence.

Turning research into companies

The celebration also recognised three spin-off companies established in 2025 to translate Wits research into healthcare, biotechnology, industry and environmental applications.

AirSynQ commercialises artificial intelligence and high-performance computing technologies developed through particle physics research. Its technologies have potential applications in healthcare, industry and environmental monitoring. The team behind the company comprises Professor Bruce Mellado, Dominique Adams, Ryan McKenzie and Edward Nkadimeng.

GreenEx, led by Professor Luke Chimuka, develops sustainable environmental analysis technologies and green chemistry solutions for industrial and environmental use.

Green Lipids is commercialising bio-renewable ionisable lipids for mRNA vaccines and gene therapies. Its technology converts cashew nutshell liquid into components used to make lipid nanoparticles, supporting efforts to strengthen vaccine manufacturing and biotechnology capacity in Africa. The team comprises Professor Patrick Arbuthnot, Professor Charles de Koning, Dr Kristie Bloom, Professor Abdullah Ely and Dr Robin Klintworth.

"The spin-offs demonstrate how research excellence at Wits is being translated into practical solutions, new enterprises and wider societal and economic impact," said Letlotlo Phohole, Director of the Wits Innovation Centre.

Bowman served as programme director for the event, which was opened by Professor Lynn Morris, Deputy Vice-Chancellor: Research and Innovation. Professor Sally Archibald from the Wits School of Animal, Plant and Environmental Sciences delivered the guest address and was introduced by Professor Ruksana Osman, Acting Vice-Chancellor and Principal and Senior Deputy Vice-Chancellor: Academic Affairs.