April 17, 2019 -- South African AIDS researcher and scientist, Salim Abdool Karim, PhD, CAPRISA Professor of Global Health at Columbia University Mailman School of Public Health, has been elected a Fellow of the prestigious Royal Society, the world's oldest science academy.
Established in 1660, the Royal Society, based in London, has included many of the world's leading scientists over the past four centuries from Sir Isaac Newton and Charles Darwin to Albert Einstein and Stephen Hawking.
Abdool Karim is also director of CAPRISA in South Africa and Pro Vice-Chancellor (Research) at the University of KwaZulu-Natal.
A clinical infectious diseases epidemiologist, Abdool Karim is widely recognized for his research contributions in HIV prevention and treatment. He was co-leader of the CAPRISA 004 tenofovir gel trial that provided proof-of-concept that antiretrovirals can prevent sexually transmitted HIV infection and herpes simplex virus type 2 in women. His clinical research on TB-HIV treatment has shaped international guidelines on the clinical management of co-infected patients.
He serves as Chair of the UNAIDS Scientific Expert Panel, Chair of the World Health Organization's Strategic and Technical Advisory Group on HIV and a member of the WHO TB-HIV Task Force.
He has received many awards, including the most prestigious scientific award in Africa - the African Union's "Kwame Nkrumah Continental Scientific Award". Abdool Karim is an elected Member of the U.S. National Academy of Medicine, The World Academy of Sciences and serves on the Boards of several journals, including the New England Journal of Medicine, Lancet HIV and Lancet Global Health.
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Columbia University Mailman School of Public Health
Founded in 1922, the Columbia University Mailman School of Public Health pursues an agenda of research, education, and service to address the critical and complex public health issues affecting New Yorkers, the nation and the world. The Columbia Mailman School is the third largest recipient of NIH grants among schools of public health. Its over 450 multi-disciplinary faculty members work in more than 100 countries around the world, addressing such issues as preventing infectious and chronic diseases, environmental health, maternal and child health, health policy, climate change & health, and public health preparedness. It is a leader in public health education with over 1,300 graduate students from more than 40 nations pursuing a variety of master's and doctoral degree programs. The Columbia Mailman School is also home to numerous world-renowned research centers, including ICAP and the Center for Infection and Immunity. For more information, please visit http://www.mailman.columbia.edu.