Quarraisha Abdool Karim, is an infectious diseases epidemiologist, who has in the past three decades made key research, policy and programmatic contributions to understanding the evolving HIV epidemic in South Africa; unravelling factors influencing HIV acquisition in adolescent girls and young women; design and testing of interventions to prevent HIV infection (including leading the CAPRISA 004 trial that demonstrated proof of concept for PrEP) and developing sustainable strategies to introduce ART and new HIV prevention technologies in resource constrained settings. With the emergence of SARS-CoV-2 she contributed to understanding interactions between HIV and SARS-CoV-2; the evolving SARS-CoV-2 pandemic and Covid-19 treatment and vaccine research. Her leadership role in the CU-SA Fogarty AITRP between 2005-2015 played a key role in training over 600 scientists in southern Africa that was key to establishing a strong science base in South Africa to enhance the response to HIV and Tuberculosis. She is co-founder and Associate Scientific Director of CAPRISA; Professor in Clinical Epidemiology, Columbia University and Pro Vice-Chancellor: African Health, University of KwaZulu-Natal in South Africa. She has over 300 peer-reviewed journal publications, is an editor of several books including the 6th and 7th editions of the Oxford Textbook on Global Public Health, which is widely used to teach public health; and is on the Editorial Board of AIDS, HIV Clinical Trials, and the South African Medical Journal. Her research contributions to Global Health have been recognized by 6 honorary doctorates and over 30 global and national awards. She is currently President of The World Academy of Sciences (TWAS) that focuses on the advancement of science in developing countries and since 2017, is the UN Ambassador for Adolescents and HIV. She plays a leading role in global policy development through several Advisory Committees being co-chair of the PEPFAR Scientific Advisory Board. She is a Fellow of the International Science Council, TWAS, CBAS, ASSAf, OWSD, the Royal Society of South Africa and the African Academy of Science and is an elected member of the National Academy of Medicine and the American Academy of Arts and Sciences.
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