Wafaa El-Sadr

Wafaa El-Sadr, MD, MPH, MPA is Co-Principal Investigator of the HIV Prevention Trials Network (HPTN) along with Myron S. Cohen, MD. Dr. El-Sadr is an HIV research pioneer renowned for her groundbreaking work in the prevention and treatment of HIV/AIDS and tuberculosis and her tireless commitment to underserved populations both in the U.S. and around the world.

In March 2013, The Huffington Post named Dr. El-Sadr one of the "50 Women Who Shaped America's Health." Recipient of the 2011 Infectious Diseases Society of America (IDSA) Citation Award, and a 2008 MacArthur Foundation "Genius Award" Fellow, Dr. Wafaa El-Sadr has been tackling the HIV epidemic from the very beginning. Coming from a family of doctors in Cairo, Egypt Dr. El Sadr was naturally drawn to medicine and to public health in particular. When she first arrived in the U.S. in 1976 she was a young infectious disease specialist just as the first AIDS cases were identified in San Francisco and New York.

Along with her duties as a member of the Executive Committee at the HPTN, Dr. El-Sadr is a Professor of Epidemiology and Medicine at Columbia University Mailman School of Public Health and College of Physicians and Surgeons. She is a leading academic who was among the first to incorporate treatment and research at the same site, push for community partnership in clinical trials, and integrate care for HIV and TB.

Dr. El-Sadr also established and directs ICAP, a large center at the Mailman School of Public Health that supports HIV and related programs in global health in 20 countries in sub Saharan Africa and Central Asia. Dr. El-Sadr first joined the HPTN in 2006. Before becoming Co-Principal Investigator of the Network she chaired the Domestic Prevention Working Group. She currently chairs HPTN 065, which is evaluating a multi-dimensional approach to prevention in communities in the U.S focusing on expanding HIV testing, linking those who are HIV-infected to care and ensuring that those who need treatment receive it.