Business Events Sydney’s (BESydney) Ambassador, Scientia Professor David Cooper AO, was one of 12 medical pioneers featured in a series of podcasts to celebrate the 100th birthday of the Medical Journal of Australia.
Professor Cooper is the Director of the National Centre in HIV Epidemiology and Clinical Research, now known as the Kirby Institute for infection and immunity in society, at the University of New South Wales (UNSW).
BESydney congratulates Professor Cooper on this highly-regarded industry recognition that hails him a ‘medical luminary’.
In 2007, Professor Cooper led the bid for the fourth International AIDS Society Conference on HIV Pathogenesis, Treatment and Prevention on behalf of the Australasian Society for HIV Medicine. Working alongside BESydney, Professor Cooper won the conference for Sydney, which attracted 6,700 of the world’s eminent scientists and researchers in the field of HIV and AIDS.
The impressive attendance and high profile of the 2007 conference was a catalyst for attracting over 200 scientists to a high-level Bioscience Outreach Symposium, held at NSW Parliament House after the conference. The ripple effect continued into 2008 with the announcement that the UNSW was awarded the largest Australian grant in its history, receiving $17.7 million in funding to advance understanding of HIV and Hepatitis C.
Professor Cooper sat down with Cate Swannell from the Medical Journal of Australia to reflect on the history of the HIV/AIDS pandemic and look at current trends, including a worrisome increase in the rate of infection in Australia. They discussed the future of HIV, including treatment options and research into preventative vaccines and a cure.
You can hear more on this story in the podcast on Kirby Institute’s website.
Read more about Professor Cooper’s achievements in 10 innovations that changed our world.
