Prof. Quarraisha Abdool Karim is an infectious diseases epidemiologist and Associate Scientific Director of CAPRISA. She is Professor in Clinical Epidemiology, Columbia University, New York and Pro-Vice Chancellor for African Health, University of KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa. Prof Abdool Karim is the UNAIDS Special Ambassador for Adolescents and HIV and co-chairs the UNAIDS Advisory Group to the Executive Director. Her research over the past 32 years has focused on the evolving HIV epidemic and HIV infection in young women. Abdool Karim has over 200 peer reviewed publications; edited several books and contributed to several book chapters. She has played a central role in building the science base in southern Africa through the Columbia University – Southern African Fogarty AIDS International Training and Research Programme. She holds Fellowships at the: The World Academy of Science, Royal Society of South Africa, Academy of Science of South Africa and the African Academy of Science and is a member of the USA National Academy of Medicine. Prof Abdool Karim’s scientific contributions has been recognised by more than 30 local and international prestigious awards. She received the African Union’s Kwame Nkrumah Prize for Science and Technology and the TWAS-Lenovo Prize from The World Academy of Sciences (TWAS); the ASSAf Science-for-Society Gold Medal; the South African Medical Research Council Gold Medal; the 2016 L’Oréal-UNESCO Women in Science award for Africa and the Arab States; the Lifetime Achievement Award from the Institute of Human Virology in the US; the 2018 Ward Cates Spirit Award, 2020 Chistophe Merieux Award for Infectious Diseases Research and is the co-recipient of the 2020 John Dirks-Canadian Gairdner Global Public Health Laureate Award. She received an honorary degree (Honoris Causa) from the University of Johannesburg for her contributions to HIV/AIDS prevention research and the African Leadership Award in the scientific category from the Movement of Senegal Companies. Prof Abdool Karim is a member of the UNAIDS 2025 target setting and resource mobilization Steering Committee; the Alliance for Sexual and Reproductive Health; and Scientific Advisory Board of the United States President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR). She is a Living Legend for the City of Durban – an honour bestowed by the city for citizens who have made an exemplary contribution to increase the profile of the city nationally and internationally. She is Executive Group Member of the WHO Solidarity Covid-19 Trial for Therapeutics and the WHO Covid-19 Solidarity Trial for Vaccines.