Prof. Linda-Gail Bekker is new President-Elect of the International AIDS Society
The International AIDS Society (IAS) has announced Dr. Chris Beyrer as its new President for the next two years and Dr Linda-Gail Bekker, MBChB, DTMH, FCP (SA), PhD as the new President-Elect.
Linda-Gail Bekker is Deputy Director and Professor of Medicine at the Desmond Tutu HIV Centre, University of Cape Town, and Chief Operating Officer of the Desmond Tutu HIV Foundation.
Linda-Gail Bekker is a physician scientist with a keen interest in HIV, tuberculosis and related diseases. Her research interests include programmatic and Health service research around antiretroviral roll-out and TB integration, prevention of HIV in women, youth and men who have sex with men.
She has contributed to a number of publications on topics relevant to the South African HIV and TB epidemics. In her role in the Foundation, she is passionate about community development and engagement and actively explores new and innovative ways to tackle the challenge that is HIV.
Her most recent community projects have included community based HIV treatment, peer led community education, mobile health services (Tutu testers) to the most needy populations, a comprehensive youth centre providing recreation, education and SRH services to youth from periurban settings and dedicated adolescent HIV care services.
Dr. Bekker has served as advisor to the US President’s Emergency Plan For AIDS Relief (PEPFAR) Program. Her interest in prevention sciences, the testing of biomedical technologies including HIV vaccines, Pre-Exposure Prophylaxis (PrEP) and microbicides has given her international renown in these fields.
More recently, the Centre, under her leadership has developed expertise in a number of key populations including pregnant women, adolescents, men who have sex with men and other more difficult to reach and engage populations.
Download official IAS Press Release here
