Peter Piot, MD, PhD recognized for decades of pioneering research

Peter Piot, MD, PhD, will be honored with a Global Inspire Award at DIA’s upcoming Annual Meeting. DIA’s Global Inspire Award program recognizes the organization’s outstanding volunteers for their leadership, level of excellence, and commitment to service on a global scale.

Piot will receive the President’s Award for Outstanding Contribution to Global Health that recognizes those who have made significant and innovative contributions to advancing global health.  

“DIA is proud to honor Dr. Piot with our Global Inspire Award in recognition of his dedicated efforts to control  two of the world’s most devastating epidemics—Ebola and HIV/AIDS,” said Barbara Lopez Kunz, DIA global chief executive. “For nearly four decades, his research and leadership on Ebola and AIDS laid the groundwork for advancements in medicine, epidemiology, virology and prevention, while he also played a major role in mobilizing the world to respond to AIDS, undoubtedly saving thousands of lives.   He is truly one of the world’s global and public health leaders.  We thank him for his efforts to improve global health.”

Piot is a Belgian clinical microbiologist who co-discovered the Ebola virus in 1976. He played a leading role in the global response to the most recent epidemic in 2014. Similarly, Piot pioneered decades-long AIDS-related research, mainly in Africa, and was the founding Executive Director of UNAIDS. Since the 1980s, Dr. Piot participated in a series of collaborative projects, including Project SIDA in Kinshasa, Zaire, providing the foundation of science's understanding of HIV infection in Africa, including the clinical manifestations, determinants of heterosexual transmission of HIV, the genetic diversity of HIV, and the effectiveness of preventive interventions. Piot is currently the Director of the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine, a world-leading center for research and graduate education in public and global health.

DIA’s annual Inspire Awards nominees must have a record of outstanding commitment to raising the level of health and wellbeing worldwide. For more information about DIA’s Inspire Award program, click here.

Registration is open to attend DIA’s 2015 51st Annual Meeting in Washington, D.C. June 14-18. Follow DIA’s Twitter feed (@DrugInfoAssn) and #DIA2015 for news about DIA 2015 51st Annual Meeting.