It is with the heaviest of hearts that we share the news of the passing of Dr. James Hakim from complications of COVID-19. We have a lost a brilliant HIV scientist, a mentor to so many, and a dear friend.
Dr. Hakim was an outstanding researcher who was passionate about eradication of HIV/AIDS through HIV prevention and treatment research. Through the DART study, he was instrumental in the introduction of ART in low resource settings, that is now highly attributable to long term HIV control in Zimbabwe and the region. He contributed immensely in the HPTN leadership as Executive Committee Member and local Principal Investigator for the highly successful HPTN 052 study.
Among other prestigious contributions, he was an active member of the WHO HIV ARV committee, Regional Council Member for IAS, scientific programme committee member for CROI, Glasgow HIV Therapy and the International AIDS Society. Dr. Hakim was the recipient of the 2019 Ward Cates Spirit Award from the HPTN for his invaluable contributions to the Network.
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