Dr. Myron Cohen, M.D.

Dr. Myron Cohen, Qura Board of Directors member, is the Yeargan-Bate Eminent Professor of Medicine, Microbiology and Immunology and Epidemiology at UNC and the Director of the Institute for Global Health and Infectious Diseases. In 2007 he was appointed Associate Vice Chancellor for Health Affairs and has served as the Director of the UNC Division of Infectious Diseases since 1988.

Dr. Cohen received his BS degree, Magna Cum Laude, from the University of Illinois, Champaign-Urbana. He received an MD degree from Rush Medical College, Chicago Illinois. He completed training in internal medicine at the University of Michigan, and training in infectious diseases at Yale University.

Dr. Cohen’s research focuses on the transmission and prevention of HIV, with emphasis on the role played by STD co-infections. The majority of Dr Cohen’s research has been conducted in resource-constrained countries, especially in the African country of Malawi and in the People’s Republic of China. Dr. Cohen is the architect and principal investigator of the multinational HIV Prevention Trials Network (HPTN) 052 study, which demonstrated that antiretroviral treatment of people with HIV infection prevents the sexual transmission of the virus. The HPTN 052 study has led to worldwide changes in the treatment and prevention of HIV infection and was recognized by Science Magazine as the “Breakthrough of the Year” in 2011.

Dr. Cohen has received the Distinguished Career Award for lifetime achievement in STD/HIV research from the American Sexually Transmitted Diseases Association and the Smadel Award from the Infectious Disease Society of America. Dr. Cohen received the O. Max Gardner from the University of North Carolina System, and the Award for Science from the State of North Carolina, the highest honor in the state. Dr. Cohen is a member of the American Society for Clinical Investigation, the American Association of Physicians and the Institute of Medicine. He is a Fellow of the American Society of Microbiology and the Infectious Disease Society of America.

Dr. Kimberly Smith 

As the head of research and development for ViiV Healthcare, Dr. Kimberly Smith MD, MPH oversees the clinical development of our pipeline assets in support of our overall company strategy to deliver meaningful advances in treatment and care for people living with HIV.

Dr. Smith is a graduate of the University of Michigan School of Medicine and also holds a MPH degree from the University of Michigan School of Public Health. She completed her internship, residency, and Infectious Disease fellowship at Rush University Medical Centre in Chicago. Following her training she joined the faculty of the Section of Infectious Disease at Rush University Medical Center in Chicago.

Prior to joining ViiV Healthcare in late 2013, Dr. Smith served as the Principle Investigator of the Rush University Medical Center Clinical Research Site of the AIDS Clinical Trials Group (ACTG). Dr. Smith also served as the chair of the ACTG Underrepresented Populations committee and chair of multiple ACTG clinical trials. She has been a member of NIH study sections, the HIVMA Board of Directors, the CDC Board of Scientific Counselors and numerous advisory committees. Dr. Smith has published over 100 articles, abstracts and manuscripts and she co-edited one of the few books, HIV/AIDS in U.S. Communities of Color, which addressed the HIV epidemic among minorities in the US.

In addition to her research activities Dr. Smith has been an active HIV clinician, clinical educator, community leader and advocate. She has lectured at countless local national and international conferences including the Conference on Retroviruses and Opportunistic Infections (CROI), the International AIDS Conference, The International Conference on Antimicrobial Agents and Chemotherapy, and Infectious Disease Society of America.