Epidemiology

Mailman School of Public Health’s Wafaa El-Sadr, MD, MPH, Named to Scientific American 10 Honor Roll

In its June issue, Scientific American Magazine named Wafaa El-Sadr, MD, MPH, professor of epidemiology and medicine and global director of the International Center for AIDS Care and Treatment Programs (ICAP) at Columbia University’s Mailman School of Public Health, to its first annual “Scientific American 10 honor roll.” The award recognizes ten individuals for innovations that benefit humanity. Dr. El-Sadr was cited for pioneering a comprehensive, family-based model for HIV care that has been adopted worldwide.

As ICAP global director, Dr. El-Sadr oversees an organization of more than 700 employees working in 14 countries in sub-Saharan Africa and Asia to scale up HIV services. Currently, ICAP provides HIV services to more than 690,000 people, including antiretroviral therapy (ART) to nearly 206,000 individuals. An estimated one tenth of all individuals receiving ART in sub-Saharan Africa obtain it through ICAP-supported sites.

Dr. El-Sadr, an infectious disease specialist and epidemiologist, has also led groundbreaking research on HIV/AIDS and tuberculosis through her work at Columbia and Harlem Hospital Center. She co-chaired the largest HIV treatment study every conducted–Strategies for Management of Antiretroviral Therapy (SMART)–that determined treatment interruptions pose significant health risks to people living with HIV.

“This is a great honor for an extraordinary person,” stated Linda P. Fried, MD, dean of the Mailman School of Public Health. “The recognition for her leadership on linking science to impact is well-deserved. It is a privilege to have her on our faculty.”

Candidates for the “Scientific American 10” were nominated by the magazine's Board of Editors, readers, and advisers in a broad range of fields. Others on the honor roll list include U.S. President Barack Obama, philanthropist Bill Gates, and New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg.

Additional Honors

Some of Dr. El-Sadr’s other recent honors include earning a place in Rolling Stone Magazine’s list of the Top 100 Agents of Change in America, as well as being named a 2008 MacArthur Fellow “Genius” by the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation.