Professor Quarraisha Abdool Karim: Pro Vice-Chancellor for Health Sciences at the University of KwaZulu-Natal; President of The World Academy of Sciences (TWAS); Co-founder CAPRISA – Pioneer

This week on Womanity, Dr Amaleya Goneos-Malka speaks with Professor Quarraisha Abdool Karim, one of the world’s foremost infectious disease epidemiologists, whose pioneering work has transformed HIV prevention for women and shaped global public health. She is the Co-founder and Associate Scientific Director of CAPRISA, Professor of Clinical Epidemiology at Columbia University in New York, and Pro Vice-Chancellor for Health Sciences at the University of KwaZulu-Natal. She also serves as President of The World Academy of Sciences (TWAS) and is the UNAIDS Special Ambassador for Adolescents and HIV.

From growing up during apartheid to becoming a globally respected scientist, Professor Abdool Karim shares part of her journey that led her to dedicate more than four decades to tackling one of the world’s greatest health challenges – HIV. Along the way, she reflects on the role of curiosity, social justice, perseverance and collaboration in driving scientific breakthroughs that have saved countless lives.

Changing the Global Understanding of HIV

One of the defining moments of her career came when her early research uncovered a striking reality: young women in Southern Africa were becoming infected with HIV years earlier and at significantly higher rates than men. At a time when the global HIV conversation focused largely on men-to-men infection, blood transfusion and injectable drug users, her findings challenged conventional thinking and placed women’s vulnerability firmly on the international agenda.

Professor Abdool Karim explains how gender inequality, biological factors and social circumstances combine to create unique risks for women, highlighting why addressing HIV requires far more than medical interventions alone. For example, non-consensual sex, unprotected intercourse and although a woman may be monogamous, if her partner has multiple partners, this negatively impacts on her safety and prevention of sexually transmitted disease.

Creating Prevention Tools Women Could Control

Recognising that existing HIV prevention methods relied heavily on male cooperation, Professor Abdool Karim and her colleagues embarked on an 18-year scientific journey to develop prevention methods women could use independently.

That persistence ultimately led to a landmark breakthrough: proving that antiretroviral medication could prevent HIV infection before exposure, paving the way for today’s pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP). She also discusses the exciting promise of long-acting HIV prevention injections that could dramatically improve protection for women and other high-risk groups around the world.

Science Alone Isn’t Enough

While celebrating remarkable scientific advances, Professor Abdool Karim emphasises that discoveries only matter if they reach the people who need them most. She reflects on the importance of activism, global partnerships and sustained investment to ensure that innovation translates into real-world impact at scale.

With ambitious global HIV targets still within reach, she warns that declining funding and complacency threaten decades of progress.

Building Africa’s Next Generation of Scientists

Beyond her own research achievements, Professor Abdool Karim considers her greatest legacy to be the thousands of researchers she has mentored throughout Africa. She shares why creating opportunities for women in science has a multiplier effect, which not only strengthens research capacity but also positively transforms families, communities and future generations.

Her advice to young women is both practical and inspiring: believe that you belong, pursue your passion fearlessly, and never allow others to define your potential.

Authentic Leadership with Integrity

Drawing on decades of leadership across international scientific organisations, Professor Abdool Karim offers her insights into authentic leadership. She argues that leadership is less about authority and more about stewardship, of being guided by integrity, humility, listening deeply, and creating opportunities for others to thrive.

For her, great leaders amplify the voices of those who are often unheard while building environments where collaboration and ethical decision-making flourish.

The Power of Curiosity and Community

Professor Abdool Karim reflects warmly on the family, teachers and mentors who nurtured her natural curiosity from childhood. She recalls a family memory of discovering electricity by putting her fingers into a wall socket and the excitement this sparked, which led her to attend school a year earlier. She credits these early influences, together with the unwavering partnership of her husband and the support of family and colleagues, for enabling her to balance an extraordinary career with a rich personal life.

She also highlights the importance of resilience and finding lessons even in criticism, determining that some people exhibit behaviours that are examples not to follow, remaining patient through setbacks, and always staying focused on the larger purpose.

A Vision for Humanity’s Future

Looking ahead, Professor Abdool Karim shares her optimism about the possibilities offered by artificial intelligence, scientific innovation and global collaboration. At the same time, she cautions that these advances must serve all of humanity, reducing inequalities rather than widening them.

Her vision extends far beyond today’s challenges, calling for a future where science contributes not only to better health, but also to sustainable development, economic opportunity and planetary wellbeing.

Professor Abdool Karim closes the show with memorable words of wisdom: “Never underestimate the power of being underestimated.”