Eminent University of KwaZulu-Natal professors Salim and Quarraisha Abdool Karim have received an award in Vietnam for their groundbreaking research on HIV prevention in South Africa.
They received the not-for-profit VinFuture Foundation’s special prize for innovators in developing countries.
The Foundation’s grand prize was awarded to three scientists behind the mRNA technology for COVID-19 vaccinations at a function in Hanoi.
Professor Salim Abdool Karim has also been at the forefront of the response to the COVID pandemic in South Africa and Africa.
Professor Salim Abdool Karim is the director of the Durban-based Centre for the AIDS Programme of Research in South Africa, while his wife Quarriasha is a co-founder of the global research organisation.
Congratulations Salim & Quarraisha Abdool Karim on being awarded an inaugural VinFuture Special Prize at a ceremony held today in Hanoi, Vietnam for their seminal research in HIV @NRF_News @MRCza @CAPRISAOfficial @vinfutureprize pic.twitter.com/QupkdU4XP0
— CAPRISA (@CAPRISAOfficial) January 20, 2022
The chairperson of CAPRISA’s board, Bongiwe Ntuli says the couple has tirelessly championed the importance of science in defining the response to HIV and COVID 19.
After receiving the prize Abdool Karims says the prize is a beacon of recognition for the many scientists in the developing world who toil away each day that scientific excellence is achievable in the midst of adversity.
The Abdool Karims have studied HIV over the past 33 years.
Salim and Quarraisha Abdool Karim scoop another international award https://t.co/erItoNJm99
— Salim & Quarraisha Abdool Karim (@ProfAbdoolKarim) January 24, 2022
