AWARDS AND HONOURS 

Kelly Chibale elected to the United States National Academy of Sciences (2025) and selected as an American Society of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene (ASTMH) Distinguished International Fellow (2025) 

In 2025, Professor Kelly Chibale marked two significant milestones in international scientific leadership. He was named an ASTMH Distinguished International Fellow by the American Society of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene (ASTMH) and delivered the Commemorative Lecture at the Closing Plenary Keynote of the ASTMH Annual Meeting in Toronto. The fellowship recognises eminent contributions to tropical medicine and global health by scientists outside the United States.

Later in the year, Professor Chibale was formally inducted as an International Member of the United States National Academy of Medicine (NAM) in Washington, D.C., following his election in 2024. His induction reflects sustained global recognition of African-led scientific excellence and his leadership in building drug discovery and development capacity on the African continent through the Drug Discovery and Development Centre (H3D) at the University of Cape Town and the H3D Foundation.

For more info: 

https://www.news.uct.ac.za/article/-2025-11-13-prestigious-international-fellowship-for-prof-kelly-chibale 

https://www.nasonline.org/news/2025-nas-election/ 

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Awarded Honorary Doctorate of the Faculty of Science, Faculty of Social Sciences and Leiden University Medical Centre, Leiden University (Netherlands)

Professor Kelly Chibale will be awarded an Honorary Doctorate by Leiden University on 7 February 2025, during the institution’s 450th anniversary celebrations. The honour recognises his pioneering contributions to drug discovery in Africa, including leading the first African-led international team to advance a small-molecule antimalarial drug candidate into clinical development, as well as his leadership in building sustainable scientific capacity through UCT’s Holistic Drug Discovery and Development (H3D) Centre and the H3D Foundation.

Link: https://www.news.uct.ac.za/article/-2024-12-13-honorary-doctorate-for-kelly-chibale)

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Selected as an American Society of Tropical Medicine & Hygiene (ASTMH) Distinguished International Fellow 

Professor Kelly Chibale has been named a Distinguished International Fellow of the American Society of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene (ASTMH), one of the highest honours conferred by the world’s oldest and largest society dedicated to tropical medicine and global health. The fellowship recognises his eminent contributions to infectious disease research and African-led drug discovery, and was marked by his delivery of the Commemorative Lecture at the ASTMH Annual Meeting in Toronto.

Link: https://www.news.uct.ac.za/news/research-office/-article/2025-11-13-prestigious-international-fellowship-for-prof-kelly-chibale

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Honorary Fellowship – Queens’ College, University of Cambridge 

 In December 2024, Kelly Chibale was elected and admitted as an Honorary Fellow of Queens’ College, University of Cambridge – his alma mater where he completed his PhD in Chemistry. This is the highest honour the College can bestow on an individual, reflecting their exceptional achievements and contributions.

As noted by the President of Queens’ College, Dr Mohamed A. El-Erian: “This is the highest honour that we, as a College, can bestow and reflects our admiration for you as a person and your wonderful achievements to date.”

Kelly’s Fellowship was officially conferred on 13 December 2024, a moment celebrated in write-ups by both Queens’ College and the Yusuf Hamied Department of Chemistry, where he pursued his doctoral studies.

Pictured: (top) Kelly with Dr Mohamed A. El-Erian, President of Queens’ College, (bottom) Kelly with fellow Honorary Fellows and the President of Queens’ College.

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Kelly Chibale Elected to United States National Academy of Medicine (NAM)

Kelly Chibale, PhD, has been elected as one of the 10 international members of the prestigious United States National Academy of Medicine (NAM). This honour recognises Kelly’s pioneering work in drug discovery and development, particularly in tackling infectious diseases on the African continent.

Kelly’s election to NAM highlights his leadership in global health and his exceptional contributions to advancing medical science in Africa. Notably, he has led international teams to discover the first small molecule clinical candidate researched on African soil by an African-led team. This recognition is a testament to Kelly’s unwavering commitment to improving health outcomes and fostering scientific innovation.

Kelly extends his heartfelt gratitude to his academic group, H3D team members – past and present – as well as his research collaborators and funders for their invaluable support in achieving this milestone.

Full press release here: https://nam.edu/national-academy-of-medicine-elects-100-new-members-2024/

Named the first Editor-In-Chief (EIC) from Africa of an American Chemical Society (ACS) publication when appointed EIC of ACS Medicinal Chemistry Letters, 2023 | Read More ▸

Awarded Royal Society (UK) Africa Prize 2023 ‘For exceptional leadership and groundbreaking work in drug discovery for African endemic diseases’

Awarded Schmidt Sciences AI2050 Senior Fellowship 2023. The AI2050 Senior Fellowship supports established leaders who have made significant contributions to their field. Senior Fellows are highly accomplished individuals working on approaches for increasing the beneficial promise of AI. The breadth of their collective projects showcases the range of work that will be critical to answer the AI2050 motivating question.

Awarded Honorary Doctorate of the Faculty of Science, University of Basel (Switzerland), 2023, in ‘honor of exceptional and inspiring Curriculum vitae, outstanding academic achievements and continuous and ongoing support of the Swiss Tropical and Public Health Institute, an associate Institute of the University of Basel.

Named as one of the 25 standout voices in African public health by Harvard University’s Public Health magazine, 12 May 2022. | Read More ▸ 

Named as one of the 22 black biotech leaders in honour of Juneteenth in the USA, 17 June 2021. The list, published by the Timmerman Report, celebrates innovative black leaders who are change-makers in their respective fields. | Read More ▸

Named as one of the world’s top 60 most influential/ inspirational leaders in the pharmaceutical industry (one of the top 20 inspirational medicine makers in the field of small molecules) on The Medicine Maker's 2020 and 2021 Power Lists.

Named as one of the 100 Most Influential Africans by New African magazine for 2019 | Read More ▸

South African National Research Foundation (NRF) A-rating, 2018

Named as one of Fortune Magazine’s World’s 50 Greatest Leaders for 2018  | Read More ▸

Awarded South African Chemical Institute (SACI) Gold Medal for 2018

Elected Member of the Academy of Science of South Africa (ASSAf), 2018

Elected Fellow of the African Academy of Science (FAAS), 2018