Alumni

Panel participants from left to right: Wafaa El Sadr, Ariel Pablos Mendez, Monica Sweeney, Quarraisha Abdool Karim, Linda Fried, and Salim Abdool Karim.

More than 175 Mailman School alumni gathered for the School’s 3rd Annual Alumni Summit on June 16, along with faculty, staff, and students. The summit’s theme was the 30th anniversary of the outbreak of the HIV/AIDS epidemic in the U.S. To mark the occasion, a panel of scientists and research leaders in the field explored the latest medical breakthroughs and achievements in the fight against HIV/AIDS, and addressed how education and scaled-up prevention can help stop the spread of this disease in the U.S. and globally.

Dean Linda Fried made introductory remarks and welcomed returning alumni. Dr. Ariel Pablos-Mendez, managing director, The Rockefeller Foundation, and recently nominated for the position of assistant administrator for Global Health at USAID, served as moderator for the distinguished panel of experts.  The panelists:

• Quarraisha Abdool Karim, PhD, MS ’89, associate professor of Clinical Epidemiology at the Mailman School and associate director of the Centre for AIDS Programme of Research in South Africa (CAPRISA);
• Salim Abdool Karim, MD, PhD, MS ’89, professor of Clinical Epidemiology at Mailman and director of CAPRISA;
• Wafaa El-Sadr, MD, MPH ’91, professor of Epidemiology at Mailman and director of International Center for AIDS Care and Treatment Programs (ICAP); and
• Monica Sweeney, MD, MPH ’92, assistant commissioner, Bureau of HIV/AIDS Prevention and Control, NYC Department of Health and Mental Hygiene.  

Among the many provocative questions discussed by the panel were: How does the HIV/AIDS research agenda translate into policy? What sorts of collaborations are needed to prevent HIV/AIDS?  What is the role of academic institutions?

Panelists noted that many new approaches are on the horizon for disease prevention and treatment, including the use of microbicidal gels to prevent male-to-female transmission—a breakthrough approach developed by the husband-wife team of the Drs. Abdool Karim. 

While the virus continually undergoes rapid evolution—a significant scientific challenge to prevention and treatment—it remains within our grasp to end the epidemic if the scientific community continues to be creative, open-minded, and takes an activist role.

They also stated how it is imperative to use all the “tools that are available in our toolbox” to stop the epidemic. They noted the critical role that schools of public health must play -- to train and create the next generation of scientists -- for achieving this goal.

At a reception following the panel, alumni had a chance to reconnect with their fellow graduates. The Allan Rosenfield Alumni Award for Excellence was presented at the reunion dinner to Drs. Salim and Quarraisha Abdool Karim, who are faculty members and graduates of the class of 1989. 

Recognized for their exceptional contributions to public health research and education, Drs. Abdool Karim have achieved what the National Institutes of Health deemed a "significant milestone in HIV prevention" by developing the first-ever microbicide to effectively prevent HIV infection in women. The breakthrough made global headlines when announced at last summer International AIDS Conference in Vienna.

June 24, 2011