Professor Quarraisha Abdool Karim elected Fellow of the Royal Society

World-renowned infectious diseases epidemiologist, Professor Quarraisha Abdool Karim, has been elected a Fellow of the Royal Society.

An Associate Scientific Director of the Centre for the Aids Programme of Research in Durban, South Africa (CAPRISA), Professor Karim has been inducted into the world’s oldest scientific academy. Formed in 1660, the Royal Society is a fellowship of the world’s most eminent scientists.

She will be formally admitted as a Fellow of the Royal Society at a ceremony in London in July.

As a Fellow of the Royal Society, Professor Karim joins the ranks of Stephen Hawking, Sir Isaac Newton, Charles Darwin and Albert Einstein, who have been Fellows during the Society’s illustrious history.

She joins six other South Africans who are Fellows of the Royal Society – Wits Vice-Chancellor and physicist Prof Zeblon Vilakazi, tuberculosis researcher Professor Valerie Mizrahi, epidemiologist (and Professor Karim’s husband) Professor Salim Abdool Karim, chemist Professor Tebello Nyokong, physicist Professor Bernie Fanaroff and theoretical physicist Professor George Ellis.

For over three decades, Professor Karim has played a leading role in shaping the global HIV prevention field. She has focused on developing prevention technologies for adolescent girls and young women. Her landmark research - the CAPRISA 004 trial - demonstrated that antiretrovirals can prevent the sexual transmission of HIV, forming the foundation for pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP). 

“Who bears the greatest burden of AIDS? It is the poorest of the poor, where we face a multiplicity of challenges. The burden of infectious diseases and social inequality go hand-in-hand,” Professor Karim said.

Professor Karim has over 300 peer-reviewed publications and has helped train more than 600 African scientists. Her dedication to mentorship and empowering women in science has inspired the next generation of researchers, ensuring an enduring impact on science, public health research and evidence-based policy. 

Professor Karim is also a professor of Clinical Epidemiology at the Mailman School of Public Health at Columbia University in New York. She holds the John C. Martin Chair in Global Health at CAPRISA and is Pro Vice-Chancellor (African Health) at the University of KwaZulu-Natal (UKZN).

As President of The World Academy of Sciences (TWAS), she is a leading figure in global science leadership and as the UNAIDS Special Ambassador for Adolescents and HIV. Professorm Karim continues to play a role in providing scientific support for the global AIDS response. 

“Healthy nations are wealthy nations, I see it every day. We remain committed to ending AIDS as a public health threat,” said Professor Karim. “Also creating a platform for emerging young scientists in Africa - that’s our continent’s treasure chest.”