Professor Quarraisha Abdool Karim had a garden at her previous Durban home. Now living in a flat, she uses what little spare time she has to nurture greenery in pots. Two ginger plants that have grown to maturity and a vibrant pumpkin patch have restored her ego, she says.
It is strange to think that a woman of her accomplishments would need ego-boosting. Quarraisha (to differentiate her from her fellow professor and husband of the same surname) is one half — some, including her husband, say the smarter half — of SA’s royal couple of epidemiology.
She recently added another accomplishment to her long list of accolades when UN secretary-general António Guterres asked her to co-chair a 10-member UN group in support of the technology facilitation mechanism instituted to help achieve the world sustainable development goals (SDGs) laid down in Beijing 26 years ago.
Quarraisha says the group, which will advise on ways of harnessing science, technology and innovation to accelerate progress on the SDGs, has a “huge responsibility” as it will work to bring the private sector, civil society and academia together to better communities across the globe.
Given that she has a track record, knowledge and expertise that extend well beyond the science lab, this task might not be as daunting for her as it sounds.
Quarraisha, 61, is a National Research Foundation A1-rated scientist, an infectious diseases epidemiologist and associate scientific director of the Centre for the Aids Programme of Research in SA (Caprisa), based in Durban.
Her research over the past 30 years has focused on preventing HIV infection in adolescent girls and young women. This includes conducting clinical trials from the early phases through to the implementation of new discoveries.
Her landmark study, the tenofovir gel Caprisa 004 trial, demonstrated for the first time that a vaginal gel containing an antiretroviral (ARV) can prevent HIV infection. The study was highlighted by the journal Science as one of the top 10 scientific breakthroughs in 2010.
If Quarraisha had to bring along to our interview all the awards and certificates bestowed on her by universities, science academies and societies, and all the pieces she has published in more than 200 peer-reviewed journals and books, she would have to make several trips to haul all this material into the Caprisa boardroom, where we meet.
No one needs proof of her achievements, however. It is there in her commanding presence and in the ease and familiarity with which she talks about science and innovation. It is surprising, therefore, to hear that there have been times when her ideas were dismissed in various gatherings simply because she is a woman.
I sit many times in meetings where there are more men present than women, and the men are also older by a decade or more. I am always respectful, but then I will say something and it’s not listened to or it’s even ignored — but a guy next to me or across the table says the exact same thing and suddenly it’s like it was his idea
— Prof Quarraisha Abdool Karim
“I sit many times in meetings where there are more men present than women, and the men are also older by a decade or more. I am always respectful, but then I will say something and it’s not listened to or it’s even ignored — but a guy next to me or across the table says the exact same thing and suddenly it’s like it was his idea.”
This has made her tougher, she says. “I find I have to become a lot sterner to be taken seriously because I am a woman. But I believe that if we work together we can achieve so much more.”
Quarraisha’s husband, professor Salim Abdool Karim, known as Slim, was the first chair of the government’s Covid ministerial advisory committee. They have known each other for almost 40 years and worked together for nearly 32 of those. Salim is quick to praise his wife. “Quarraisha is a wonderfully warm, caring and selfless person who is a remarkable scientist. She is perfect in every way — as a wife, mother, role model and humanist,” he says.
The two superbrains met at the then University of Natal’s medical school in 1986. Quarraisha arrived as a young postgraduate researcher when Salim was doing his speciality training in medical virology.
“Right from the beginning it was clear that we shared much more than our common interest in medical research,” says Salim. “We shared a deep commitment to social justice. As anti-apartheid activists we shared our passion for freedom and a shared vision of a society where people’s state of health is not based on their race or class.”
They married in January 1988 and went to Columbia University in the US to study public health and epidemiology. “We undertook our first joint research study upon our return in 1989 and have continued our joint research right up to this day,” says Salim.
“I am particularly proud of Quarraisha’s contributions to the prevention of HIV in women, which have been ground-breaking. One moment stands out — Quarraisha’s presentation of the tenofovir gel study’s results at the 18th International Aids Conference in Vienna, Austria, on July 20 [2010] which received a standing ovation, a first for such a scientific meeting.”
Despite the standing she now has, Quarraisha admits that she had to put in an immense amount of effort to make an impact as a woman in a traditionally male-dominated scientific world.
“I had to work a lot harder. I think that is the same for all women scientists. It’s like we still have to prove that we can be scientists. And I take on a lot more because I don’t want the next generation to go through the same thing.”
Her husband is not the only man in her cheering squad. Many others have seen her extraordinary capabilities and been a positive influence in her life. She gives much credit to her mentors — retired academic and activist professor Jerry Coovadia and professor Jack Moodley, as well as her father, who worked as a small-scale gardener in Tongaat on the KwaZulu-Natal north coast.
These memories might have something to do with the vibrant green space on Quarraisha’s balcony. Gardening is in her blood, but so is public health. “My parents were small-scale gardeners,” she says. “My grandfather was an accountant and was in charge of the malaria committee in Tongaat. I always say that public health was in my DNA. And Slim’s dad used to pack shirts. To be able to dream to get to where we are today took sacrifices and dedication.”
These are values they have passed on to their children — two daughters and a son.
“Our children have been raised in a gender-neutral and gender-sensitive way,” says Quarraisha. “And I always think: ‘I have two daughters’, whenever I do something, ‘am I opening the way for them and others or am I creating obstacles?’”
The thousands of young women who cite her as a role model should set her mind at rest on this subject, but Quarraisha is modest about being an idol to many.
“Role models are important, and I am honoured if I am one. Sometimes Slim and I will be doing some normal family thing, like go to the supermarket, and someone might stop me in the aisle and introduce me to their children. I don’t see myself as a big celebrity, but I feel that it is good if I can be some kind of role model that people can identify with.”
Role models are important, and I am honoured if I am one. Sometimes Slim and I will be doing some normal family thing, like go to the supermarket, and someone might stop me in the aisle and introduce me to their children. I don’t see myself as a big celebrity, but I feel that it is good if I can be some kind of role model that people can identify with
— Prof Quarraisha Abdool Karim
This year, Quarraisha was awarded the Christophe Mérieux Prize in the field of infectious diseases in developing countries in recognition of her pioneering research work resulting from the use of ARVs to prevent the sexual transmission of HIV infection in women. In her citation, professor Pascale Cossart recognised Quarraisha as “only the sixth woman scientist to receive the biggest prize of the French Academy of Sciences”.
Another speaker, professor Françoise Barré-Sinoussi called her “one of the examples of successful women scientists in the world, with an immense international reputation in women’s health”. She takes all this in her stride, and between saving countless lives she plans to carry on nurturing those pot plants so dear to her heart.
A distinguished career
● Quarraisha Abdool Karim, PhD, associate scientific director of Caprisa, is an infectious diseases epidemiologist whose main research interests are in understanding: the evolving HIV epidemic in SA; factors influencing acquisition of HIV infection in adolescent girls; and sustainable strategies to introduce antiretroviral therapy in resource-constrained settings.
● She holds professorships in clinical epidemiology at the Mailman School of Public Health, Columbia University, US, and in public health at the Nelson R Mandela School of Medicine, University of KwaZulu-Natal.
● She is also a visiting scientist at the Massachusetts General Hospital and visiting lecturer at Harvard University. Since 1998 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, which has trained more than 600 scientists in Southern Africa.
● She was the principal investigator of the landmark Caprisa 004 tenofovir gel trial which provided proof of concept for microbicides, highlighted by Science magazine as one of the top 10 scientific breakthroughs in 2010.
● Professor Abdool Karim is currently chair of the South African National Aids Council Prevention Technical Task Team, a member of the UNAids scientific expert panel and scientific adviser to the executive director of UNAids. She is an advisory board member of the Higher Education and Training HIV/Aids Programme, scientific advisory board member of the US President’s Emergency Plan for Aids Relief(Pepfar), chair of the Pepfar adolescent girls and young women expert working group, a member of the HIV centre strategic advisory committee and the NIH OAR microbicides planning group. She is vice president(Southern African region) of the African Academy of Sciences.
● She has been awarded the TWAS-Lenovo science prize, the SA Medical Research Council scientific merit award, the Science-for-Society gold medal ASSAF Award, the Order of Mapungubwe: Bronze, and the African Union Kwame Nkrumah science award.
- Source: Columbia.edu
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