The national AIDS Clinical Trials Group expanded its annual recognition program in 2020 with two new awards named for University of North Carolina faculty members who died in 2019: Charles van der Horst, MD, an infectious diseases physician and researcher, and Kevin Robertson, PhD, a professor of neurology and director of UNC’s AIDS Neurological Center.
ACTG presented David Wohl, MD, a UNC infectious diseases physician and researcher, with its first Charles van der Horst Humanitarian Award. “This award recognizes an ACTG member who exemplifies the ideals that informed Charlie’s life as an unwavering social justice advocate who dedicated his career to promoting universal access to HIV research, treatment and care regardless of setting, wealth or privilege,” said Joseph Eron, MD, vice chair of the ACTG and chief of UNC’s Division of Infectious Diseases, in presenting the award to Wohl. Van der Horst died in June 2019 during an endurance swimming event in New York’s Hudson River.
Learn more from the UNC Institute for Global Health and Infectious Diseases.