Quarraisha Abdool Karim

Quarraisha Abdool Karim, PhD, is a Professor of Epidemiology at Columbia University's Mailman School of Public Health and holds a joint appointment in Public Health at the Nelson R Mandela School of Medicine, University of KwaZulu-Natal. She is the Associate Scientific Director of CAPRISA and a visiting scientist at Massachusetts General Hospital and Visiting Lecturer at Harvard University. Her research focuses on HIV/AIDS epidemiology, particularly in South African adolescent populations, and includes landmark studies like the CAPRISA 004 tenofovir gel trial (2010), recognized as a Top 10 scientific breakthrough by Science.

Education:

• BS, University of Durban-Westville (1981)
• MS, Columbia University (1988)

Research Interests:

• Reducing HIV transmission in young women
• Antiretroviral therapy implementation in resource-limited settings
• Global health capacity building through programs like the Columbia University Southern African Fogarty AITRP

Awards:

• John Dirks-Canada Gairdner Award in Global Health
• L’Oréal-UNESCO Women in Science Laureate for Africa and the Middle East
• Order of Mapungubwe (Bronze)

Leadership Roles:

• Chair, South African National AIDS Council Prevention Technical Task Team
• Member, UNAIDS Scientific Expert Panel
• Vice-President, African Academy of Sciences

Key Projects:

• CAPRISA 007 RHIVA trial addressing HIV prevention in rural KwaZulu-Natal
• WHO Solidarity Trial evaluating antiviral drugs for COVID-19