22 Facts About Glenda Gray

Glenda Elisabeth Gray MB BCh, FC Paeds, DSc, is a South African physician, scientist and activist specializing in the care of children and in HIV medicine.

Glenda Gray became the first female president of the South African Medical Research Council in 2014, was recognized as one of the "100 Most Influential People" by Time in 2017 and was listed amongst "Africa's 50 Most Powerful Women" by Forbes Africa in 2020.

Glenda Gray's father was a mechanical engineer at the mines and her mother was a bookkeeper.

Glenda Gray's family were not typical of the residents of the town in that they had black friends.

Glenda Gray decided from the age of 6 that she would become a doctor.

Glenda Gray's family valued education greatly: her father was the first in his family to attend college and five of the six children went to university.

Three of them, including Glenda Gray, continued to higher degrees and pursued academic careers, but their father did not live to see this as he died when Glenda Gray was 16.

Glenda Gray's siblings were already at the university and one of her brothers was involved with a radical student union that was opposed to apartheid.

Glenda Gray joined the Health Workers Association, a group intent on desegregating South Africa's hospitals.

In 1996, Glenda Gray started the UNAIDS PETRA study, in five urban settings in South Africa, Tanzania and Uganda, to determine the effectiveness of a shorter anti-retroviral regimen.

In early 2020, an efficacy study for an HIV vaccine led by Glenda Gray was stopped early.

Glenda Gray believed that owing to the severity of the HIV epidemic in South Africa a new trial was worthwhile pursuing.

Glenda Gray is a member of the Academy of Science of South Africa, a foreign associate of the United States Institute of Medicine, an A-rated National Research Foundation of South Africa scientist, a co-principal investigator for the HIV Vaccine Trials Network and a fellow of the American Academy of Microbiology.

Glenda Gray was involved in the clandestine procurement of the drug and treatment of patients, in opposition to the government.

Only after Glenda Gray received the 2002 Mandela Award for Health and Human Rights and the legal battles in 2003 involving the TAC, were nevirapine, a drug more effective than AZT in preventing mother to child transmission of HIV, and other anti-retrovirals officially sanctioned by the government for use in South Africa.

In 2020, Glenda Gray was appointed to the South African government's Medical Advisory Committee owing to the COVID-19 pandemic in South Africa.

On 15 May 2020, Glenda Gray said, "Initially, there was good reason to implement the lockdown to slow down the spread of the virus and buy time to ready the health system, and this was largely achieved".

Health minister Zweli Mkhize stated that Glenda Gray had "made factually incorrect and unfounded statements".

Glenda Gray pointed out that the government had appointed a research subcommittee to which Gray belongs to advise them.

Subsequent to Mkhize's comments, the acting director general of the Department of Health, Anban Pillay, said that an investigation into Glenda Gray's conduct was needed.

Glenda Gray has authored or co-authored more than 300 scientific articles, including:.

Glenda Gray has contributed to and been featured in several books including:.