People in global health news

Kallings, founding president of IAS, is mourned

Dr. Lars Olof Kallings, a pioneer of the global response to HIV, passed away on June 17th. Kallings founded the International AIDS Society in 1988 and served in key roles at WHO. His career included leadership in infectious disease control and advisory roles for global AIDS initiatives.

Blue Diamond Society's Dhakal receives human rights award

Manisha Dhakal, executive director of Blue Diamond Society, Nepal’s first and largest LGBT rights organization, was awarded the Elizabeth Taylor Human Rights Biennial award at the 2024 International Aids Society meeting. The Blue Diamond Society has partnered on several Fogarty grants to reduce HIV stigma in Nepal.

Taylor named ASTMH president

Dr. Terrie E. Taylor, of the University of Michigan and longtime Fogarty Global Infectious Disease grant recipient, was named president-elect of the American Society of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene. Taylor has studied Malaria for over 30 years and founded the Blantyre Malaria Project in Malawi.

Former Fogarty Fellow elected to NAS

Dr. June Kwon-Chung was elected to the National Academy of Sciences in April 2024 for her discoveries about both benign and disease-causing fungi. Kwon-Chung began her NIH career as a Fogarty International Fellow in 1966 and has studied disease-causing fungi at the NIH intramural program for over 50 years.

IAS names new leadership team

The International AIDS Society (IAS) recently named Beatriz Grinsztejn from Brazil as IAS President and Kenneth Ngure from Kenya as President-Elect. Grinsztejn, a leading infectious disease physician-researcher, co-founded FIOCRUZ HIV/AIDS Service, and has served as Director of the HIV/AIDS Clinical Research Unit at FIOCRUZ for 25 years.

Ngure, a former Fogarty trainee from Kenya, has over 25 years of public health leadership experience gained in diverse research settings in many regions of Africa. He is co-lead on a randomized trial that evaluates how HIV self-testing might support PrEP delivery among men and women in Kenya.