Ebola Virus co-discoverer, AIDS pioneer to be honored

WASHINGTON-  Dr. Peter Piot 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 over 50 years, DIA has served as a global platform for more than 30,000 health care product development professionals, researchers, regulators, clinicians, academics and patient advocates to collaborate to improve health globally through the advancement of lifesaving medicines and technologies.

As the premier professional community for the health care product development ecosystem, DIA (the Drug Information Association) provides global players a neutral and transparent forum for the exchange of ideas and collaboration.

By offering access to tools, resources, and networking opportunities, DIA provides its members and international participants objective opportunities for extending debate and discussion to advance scientific and medical innovation.

DIA is an independent, global nonprofit organization based in Washington, DC, USA, with regional offices representing the Americas (Horsham, PA, USA); Europe, Africa and the Middle East (Basel, Switzerland); and Asia (Beijing, China; Mumbai, India; and, Tokyo, Japan).