David D. Ho, M.D. is the founding Scientific Director and Chief Executive Officer of the Aaron Diamond AIDS Research Center, a world-renowned biomedical research institute.
Dr. Ho received his degrees from California Institute of Technology (1974) and Harvard Medical School (1978). Subsequently, he did his clinical training in internal medicine and infectious diseases at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center/UCLA School of Medicine (1978-1982) and Massachusetts General Hospital/Harvard Medical School (1982-1985), respectively.
Dr. David Ho has been at the forefront of AIDS research for 27 years, publishing over 350 papers. His elegant studies, beginning in 1994, unveiled the dynamic nature of HIV replication in vivo and revolutionized our basic understanding of this horrific disease (Nature 1995; Science 1996). This knowledge led Dr. Ho to champion combination antiretroviral therapy (N. Engl. J. Med. 1995; Science 1996) that resulted in unprecedented control of HIV in patients (Nature 1997). AIDS mortality in richer nations has declined 6-fold since 1996, and a massive international effort is now underway to bring such life-saving treatment to millions in the developing world. Dr. Ho has been the major driving force behind this medical breakthrough.
Dr. Ho was named Time Magazine’s Man of the Year in 1996, and was the recipient of a Presidential Medal in 2001.
