HIVMA Recognizes Excellence in HIV Education, Research With 2019 Awards
Recognizing preeminent contributions to the field of HIV medicine in clinical education and research, the HIV Medicine Association will present its 2019 Awards for Excellence to Dr. Carlos del Rio, FIDSA on Oct. 2, and Dr. Andrea L. Ciaranello, MPH, FIDSA on Oct. 3, during IDWeek 2019.
The HIVMA Clinical Educator Award was presented to Dr. del Rio, in recognition of his accomplishments as a clinician and advocate as well as his leadership in addressing access barriers across the HIV care continuum, which have improved outcomes for patients and advanced clinician training throughout the U.S. and abroad.
Dr. del Rio is a professor of medicine in the Emory University School of Medicine, professor and chair of the Hubert Department of Global Health in the Rollins School of Public Health at Emory University, a member of the core faculty and board of directors of the International Antiviral Society-USA, and for 17 years has served as the principal investigator of Emory’s AIDS International Training and Research Program developing public health and HIV training opportunities for clinicians from the Republic of Georgia, Mexico, Vietnam, Ethiopia, Rwanda, and Zambia. Dr. del Rio is a leading authority on challenges across the HIV care continuum and on providing care to vulnerable populations, and as a member of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Panel for Antiretroviral Guidelines for Adults and Adolescents Living with HIV, his input and advocacy have influenced care nationwide. An early adopter of social media who has lectured on its educational uses, he uses the platforms to share newly presented or published findings and disseminate information on public health issues and developments.
He is a past chair and member of the HIVMA Board of Directors, a past member of the IDSA Board of Directors and a past member of the IDSA Education Committee. Dr. del Rio received a medical degree from Universidad La Salle in Mexico City and completed his residency, chief residency, and ID fellowship training at Emory University.
The HIVMA Research Award will be presented to Andrea L. Ciaranello, MD, MPH, FIDSA, a physician-scientist, for pioneering research identifying effective approaches to care for women and children with HIV. An associate professor of medicine at Harvard Medical School and an infectious diseases physician at Massachusetts General Hospital, Dr. Ciaranello leads the Maternal-Child Health research program within the hospital’s Cost-Effectiveness of Preventing AIDS Complications modeling group. She has developed computer simulation models to address clinical and policy questions in the care of women with HIV and their children and researched cost-effective approaches to perinatal infection, care for HIV-exposed and HIV-infected children, and treatment and prevention among adolescents living with HIV or at higher risks of infection. Her work has influenced care and treatment guidelines nationally and internationally.
Dr. Ciaranello is co-chair of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Panel on Treatment of Pregnant Women with HIV Infection and Prevention of Perinatal Transmission, and lead author for recommendations on preferred antiretroviral regimens during pregnancy. She is a member of the UNAIDS Technical Reference Group for Pediatric HIV Modeling and Estimates and the founding director of the Perinatal Infectious Disease Clinic at Massachusetts General Hospital, where she provides care for patients with HIV and other infections during pregnancy.
Dr. Ciaranello earned her medical degree from Yale University School of Medicine, and completed a residency and chief residency in internal medicine at the University of California, Davis, and clinical and research fellowship training in infectious diseases at Brigham and Women’s Hospital and Massachusetts General Hospital. She received a master of public health from the Harvard School of Public Health.