QUARRAISHA ABDOOL KARIM

Quarraisha Abdool Karim is the Associate Scientific Director of the Centre for the AIDS Programme of Research in South Africa (CAPRISA) and an infectious diseases epidemiologist.

Her research focus includes: understanding the evolving HIV epidemic in South Africa; factors influencing acquisition of HIV infection in adolescent girls; development and evaluation of prevention interventions for HIV prevention in young women and sustainable strategies to introduce HAART in resource-constrained settings. She has over 200 peer reviewed publications and is editor of several books.

Quarraisha Abdool Karim is a member of the UNAIDS Scientific Expert Panel and Scientific Advisor to the Executive Director of UNAIDS. She is a UNAIDS Special Ambassador for Adolescents and HIV. She is an Advisory Board member of the End AIDS Coalition; MACAIDS Foundation and Scientific Advisory Board member of the US President’s Emergency Pan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR), Chair of the PEPFAR PrEP Expert Working Group and is Vice-Chair of the Board of the South African Medical Research Council where she also chairs the Research and Development Committee.

Notably she was the Principal Investigator of the landmark CAPRISA 004 tenofovir gel trial which provided proof of concept for Microbicides highlighted by Science as one of the Top 10 scientific breakthroughs in 2010. She is a recipient of several prestigious local and international awards. She is a NRF A rated scientist.