Finalist: Distinguished Young Woman Researcher Category, South African Women in Science Awards 2025
Another day, another phenomenal female researcher to spotlight! A/Prof Tory Madden is a finalist in the 'Distinguished Young Woman Researcher' Category at the South African Women in Science Awards 2025'
Interview on OFM to follow.
And read the article published by the Department of Science,Technology and Innovation HERE
As South Africa celebrates Women’s Month, the Department of Science, Technology and Innovation (DSTI) proudly unveils the finalists of the South African Women in Science Awards (SAWISA) 2025. These exceptional women exemplify excellence, leadership, and transformative impact in research and innovation. Today, we spotlight the finalists in the Distinguished Woman: Natural and Engineering Sciences
Associate Prof. Victoria Madden is based in the Department of Anaesthesia and Perioperative Medicine at UCT, where she also serves as Director of the African Pain Research Initiative (APRI) at the Neuroscience Institute. Prof Madden is the chair of the research portfolio at PainSA and contributes to two international task forces within the International Association for the Study of Pain.
Prof. Madden's research is focused on understanding how pain emerges and persists after tissue healing, particularly in complex contexts such as HIV. In 2024, she formally established APRI as its Founding Director, leading the first African studies to integrate psychological, immunological and neural mechanisms of pain in human participants, including people living with virally suppressed HIV. Her transdisciplinary work has revealed distinct inflammatory profiles in African populations, prompting further investigation into the role of immune dysregulation in persistent pain. This work aligns directly with the DSTI's Decadal Plan, which prioritises HIV, non-communicable diseases and injury, and emphasises human-centred, impact-driven research. Her research addresses the needs of the one in five South Africans living with chronic pain.
She holds a Y-rating from the NRF and has published nearly 50 peer-reviewed articles in leading journals, including PAIN, British Journal of Anaesthesia, and The Journal of Pain. She is a sought-after keynote speaker, having presented at events such as the Paincloud Convention in Norway and the California Physical Therapy Association Summit. Her contributions have earned her several accolades, including the Emerging Global Leader award (2019) from the US National Institutes of Health and two collaborative research grants from the International Association for the Study of Pain (IASP). She is also a former fellow of the DHET's Future Professors Programme.
Prof. Madden has successfully supervised one PhD, four master's, and seven honours students, and is currently supervising two PhD and two master's students – all of whom are women. Prof Madden is a registered clinical physiotherapist with the Health Professions Council of South Africa (HPCSA) and is also an active member of both the IASP and the PsychoNeuroImmunology Research Society. She regularly reviews for top-tier journals, including PAIN and the Journal of Pain, and for funding bodies in Belgium, Poland and South Africa.
The South African Women in Science Awards celebrate the outstanding contributions of women researchers across disciplines, inspiring future generations and advancing equity in science, technology, and innovation.