October 25, 2011

Julie Overbaugh, PhD, has dedicated most of her career to HIV prevention and AIDS research, with a focus on understanding the biology of HIV transmission −particularly transmission to women and infants. For her unique contributions in increasing understanding of transmission and pathogenesis, her leadership in treatment and prevention strategies for infected women in the developing world, her pioneering research collaborative in Kenya and her noteworthy mentoring activities, Overbaugh was selected from a national pool of candidates to present the 2011 Marion Spencer Fay Award Lecture at 4:15 p.m. on October 27 at Drexel University College of Medicine's Geary Auditorium (245 N. 15th St., Philadelphia).

Overbaugh is a member and associate program head at the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center in Seattle and has served as chair of the NIH grant review panel on the molecular biology of HIV-1. She has also served as editor for Journal of Virology and as a member of the Office of AIDS Research advisory committee among other positions. She was awarded two NIH MERIT grants for her studies of high-risk women and an Elizabeth Glazer Scientist award for her pediatric studies. She has received several awards for mentoring, including the 2007 University of Washington School of Medicine award for mentoring minority and women faculty, and the 2008 Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center McDougall Mentoring Award for her efforts in mentoring students and fellows.

Overbaugh's lecture, "Taking the Leap: A Basic Scientist's Journey into Interdisciplinary, International HIV Research," is co-sponsored by the Drexel University School of Public Health. CME credit is available.

The Marion Spencer Fay Award, established in 1963 by the National Board for Women in Medicine, is presented annually by Drexel University College of Medicine's Institute for Women's Health and Leadership to an outstanding woman physician and/or scientist who has made an exceptionally significant contribution to health care. The award includes a $10,000 honorarium to support the recipient's work.

For more information or to attend the lecture, contact the Institute for Women's Health and Leadership at jbarber@drexelmed.edu or 215-991-8194.