Abdool Karim Quarraisha

Abdool Karim, is a leading South African infectious diseases epidemiologist whose seminal contributions have shaped the global HIV prevention landscape, notably in prevention technologies for women. She demonstrated that ARVs prevent sexually transmitted HIV, which laid the foundation for HIV pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP); and has provided insights in Africa and globally on the impact of Covid-19 on HIV and in the evaluation of Covid-19 vaccines and therapeutics. She is a member of the National Academy of Medicine (US), a Fellow of the Royal Society of South Africa, the Academy of Science of South Africa, and the African Academy of Science. Her research contributions have been recognized nationally and internationally with over 30 honours, including the 2014 TWAS-Lenovo Prize, the John Dirks Canada Gairdner Global Health Award, the 2020 Christophe Mérieux Prize, and the 4th Hideyo Noguchi Africa Prize for Medical Research. She is the associate scientific Director of CAPRISA; professor in clinical epidemiology, Columbia University, and pro-vice chancellor for African Health, University of KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa. In 2025, she was elected a Fellow of the Royal Society (UK).