Foundation's International Leadership Awardee Wins Science Magazine Prize
Posted by
Dr. Jeffrey Safrit
Los Angeles, California
September 23, 2010
Today the Foundation learned that one of its International Leadership Awardees has received a prize from
Science magazine for his work combating pediatric HIV/AIDS. A web site created by Dr. Clive Gray from South Africa has won the
Science Prize for Online Resources in Education (SPORE), which was established by the magazine to recognize outstanding online materials that enrich science education.
There were more than 100 entries in the competition from multiple countries on diverse subjects covering all aspects of science education. Each month this year,
Science has published an essay from the creator of one of the winning web sites describing the online resource.
Dr. Clive Gray (left)
Dr. Gray’s web site
Immunopaedia is highlighted in the September 24th edition of Science. The Foundation is honored to have one of our supported scientists recognized for his contribution to the elimination of pediatric HIV/AIDS.
Dr. Gray works for the
National Institute for Communicable Diseases as part of the
University of Johannesburg, South Africa. He has a PhD in Immunology and conducts research on HIV/AIDS in
South Africa. As a scientist whose interactions with clinicians and their patient populations are critical to the research he conducts, Dr. Gray realized over the years that there was a gap in the knowledge of the science of immunology and its intricate relationship with HIV/AIDS among South African pediatricians.
To help bridge this gap, Dr. Gray and colleagues proposed the establishment of a clinical immunology website for information sharing and training of clinicians who are the front line of the war against HIV/AIDS in sub-Saharan Africa. The web site offers case studies and other tools to provide easy to understand summaries of the effects of HIV on the immune system, with a particular focus on the pediatric population. Dr Gray received the Foundation’s prestigious
International Leadership Award (ILA) in 2004 to begin this important task.
The ILA was created in 2002 to invest in trained scientists, physicians, and public health specialists who have the potential to develop pediatric HIV/AIDS programs, but lack the in-country resources, modern technologies, and other tools to implement such vital initiatives.
Since the program’s inception eight years ago, the Foundation has provided more than $5.2 million in grants to 13 award recipients from nine countries. While awardees use the grants to complete their own innovative projects, at the same time they mentor and train other promising clinicians, researchers, and healthcare workers. In so doing, they help prepare the next generation of local scientists, researchers, and public health professionals to make an enduring impact on this health crisis.
We have formed partnerships with extraordinary individuals who are making a difference in locations such as India, Kenya, South Africa, and Uganda. With the ILA, the Foundation is creating a new cadre of leaders who are at the forefront of generating local solutions for the global HIV/AIDS problem, especially as it impacts children.
Dr. Jeffrey Safrit is the Foundation’s Director of Clinical & Basic Research in Los Angeles.