Dr. Salim Karim, Dr. Anthony Fauci to Speak at Hood College for FNL Life Sciences Symposium

Aug 6, 2024

By Mason Cavalier

Hood College and the Frederick National Laboratory for Cancer Research (FNL) are proud to announce the line-up of speakers for the “HIV in 2024: Progress, Problems and Prospects,” a scientific symposium hosted by Hood in partnership with FNL, which will take place from September 23 to 25. Included in the impressive list of scientists and researchers are Dr. Salim Abdool Karim and Dr. Anthony Fauci.

Karim, the director for the Centre for AIDS Programs of Research in South Africa, will open the scientific symposium with a keynote address on Monday, September 23 at 7:30 p.m. entitled “Reaching the 2030 SDG Target for AIDS: Success, Challenges and Prospects.”

Karim is a renowned clinical infectious diseases epidemiologist who splits his time between the University of Kwazulu-Natal in Durban, South Africa and Columbia University in New York. Karim is widely recognized for his research contributions in HIV prevention and treatment, with his development of microbicides for HIV prevention spanning two decades. Most notably developing an antiretroviral drug which can prevent sexually transmitted HIV in women. Karim’s keynote and opening remarks are free and open to the public.

“This meeting will bring together key individuals in HIV research—past, present, and future and promises to be one of historical significance.”

Fauci served as Director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases at the National Institutes of Health from 1984 to 2022, where he was a key advisor to seven presidents on global HIV/AIDS issues. Fauci was one of the principal architects of the President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief, which has helped save more than 25 million lives throughout the developing world. He is currently a Distinguished University Professor at Georgetown University. He will offer a plenary lecture titled “HIV/AIDS: Science, Policy and a Personal Journey,” on Tuesday, Sept. 24 at 8:15 a.m., kicking off the symposium’s first of two full days of scientific lectures from scientists and clinicians whose discoveries have shaped the public’s current understanding of HIV. Admittance to the symposium’s two full days of scientific presentations, including Dr. Fauci’s plenary lecture, requires advance registration.

The “HIV in 2024: Progress, Problems, and Prospects” symposium marks the third installment in the prestigious Hood College – Frederick National Laboratory Life Sciences Symposium series. Led by FNL investigators Mary Carrington, Ph.D., and Jeffrey Lifson, M.D., experts will speak on topics such as epidemiology of HIV, vaccine and non-vaccine prevention, treatment of HIV infection, KSHV and the HIV reservoir and HIV cure strategies. The symposium is geared towards students, trainees, active researchers, and clinicians; including those who may not presently be engaged directly in HIV research. Registration for the symposium is open now.

“This is the third scientific symposium in six years that Frederick National Lab has organized in coordination with Hood College,” said Leonard Freedman, chief science officer at FNL. “This meeting will bring together key individuals in HIV research—past, present, and future and promises to be one of historical significance.”