reNEW CEO named Fellow of the Royal Society
Copenhagen May 20, 2025 – Professor Melissa H. Little, reNEW’s CEO, has been appointed Fellow of the Royal Society. Fellows of the Royal Society are many of the world’s most eminent scientists, engineers and technologists.
Founded in 1660 and based in London, the Royal Society is the oldest and most prestigious scientific institution dedicated to advancing research and fostering scientific discovery. Out of the approximately 8,000 Fellows elected since its foundation almost four centuries ago, fewer than one in 10 have been women.
“It is such a privilege to be a scientist and such an honor to be recognized in this way. I hope that my recognition is also shared by all those who have taught me, mentored me and worked alongside me,” said Professor Little, who is an international leader in stem cells and kidney development.
Using her knowledge of how the kidney forms in the embryo, Professor Little has developed pioneering methods to recreate models of the human kidney to study disease and engineer kidney tissue. Her career is marked by a passion to give back and to drive knowledge to outcomes.
“What science can do for society has time and time again been demonstrated. To be recognized for having contributed is very special at any time in history, but particularly precious now as society is shifting away from evidence and back to hearsay,” she added.
Professor Little is the CEO of the Novo Nordisk Foundation Center for Stem Cell Medicine – reNEW – since the beginning of 2022. She is also principal investigator of research teams at reNEW Copenhagen and reNEW Melbourne.
In addition to her work at reNEW, Professor Little is chief scientist at the Murdoch Children’s Research Institute in Melbourne and leader of its Kidney Regeneration Laboratory.
Professor Little has received numerous awards during her more than thirty-year career, including the Homer Smith Medal for Lifetime Achievement in Nephrology, Alfred Newton Richards Award in Nephrology, the Julian Wells Medal in Genomics, the GlaxoSmithKline Research Excellence Award and the Eureka Prize for Scientific Research.
A Companion of the Order of Australia, the highest honor in her country, she is also a Fellow of the Australian Academy of Science, Australian Academy of Health and Medical Sciences, and the Danish Royal Academy of Science and Letters.
The announcement and list of the Royal Society can be found here: https://royalsociety.org/news/2025/05/new-fellows/