TWAS President Quarraisha Abdool Karim is one of the recipients of the 2024 Lasker~Bloomberg Public Service Award, a highly prestigious award for medical science.

She will receive the award from the Albert and Mary Lasker Foundation this year, alongside her husband, TWAS Fellow and co-winner Salim S. Abdool Karim, at a ceremony on 27 September. As part of the announcement, the Lasker Foundation also made an animated video which describes the Abdool Salims’ work:

Since 1945, the Lasker Foundation has awarded more than 400 prizes through the Lasker Awards, renowned as the preeminent biomedical research prize of the United States of America. According to the About the Lasker Foundation, the awards recognize the contributions of leaders who have made major advances in the understanding, diagnosis, treatment, cure, and prevention of human disease. Over the years, 97 Lasker Laureates have also received the Nobel Prize, including nine since 2018.

“As vocal advocates for the vulnerable, the Abdool Karims advise medical, philanthropic, and government leaders on optimal public health strategies,” said the Lasker Foundation through a 19 September press release. “Through their founding and leadership roles in CAPRISA (Centre for the AIDS Programme of Research in South Africa), the Abdool Karims have helped train more than 600 South African HIV and TB investigators and established world-class research centers in Africa. They are powerful voices in the response to Covid and have tirelessly fought medical disinformation. The Abdool Karims have saved lives around the globe through their innovative research, evidence-based policy proposals, public education, and courage to speak truth to power.”