Dr. Stefano Bertozzi to Head HIV Team - Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation

SEATTLE -- Dr. Stefano Bertozzi will join the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation’s Global Health Program as HIV director on August 31. Dr. Bertozzi will lead a team that manages the foundation’s portfolio of grants in HIV vaccine development, biomedical prevention research, diagnostics, development and resistance monitoring, and strategies for introduction and scaling-up of interventions.

“Stefano brings a wealth of experience to his new role,” said Dr. Tachi Yamada, president of the Global Health Program at the foundation. “His intimate knowledge of the medicine, science, economics and policy of HIV will help make this important portfolio have the most impact.”

Dr. Bertozzi worked with the foundation in his previous roles at UNAIDS, the World Health Organization (WHO) and the World Bank. For the last 11 years, he has been with the National Institute of Public Health (INSP) in Mexico. As the director of its Center for Evaluation Research & Surveys, he leads economics and statistics teams that conduct impact evaluations of large health and social programs in Mexico, and elsewhere in Africa, Asia and Latin America. He also heads the INSP's AIDS/Sexually Transmitted Infections research group, is a member of the Global Fund's Technical Evaluation Reference Group and UNAIDS’ Economics Reference Group, and chairs the Steering Committee of aids2031.

“Stefano succeeded me when I stepped down as director of WHO’s Global Programme on AIDS,” said Dr. Michael Merson, director of the Global Health Institute at Duke University. “His broad interests and experience span disciplines and regions of the world. He will be a tremendous asset to the foundation.”

Dr. Bertozzi’s research has covered a diverse range of projects in health economics and policy, focusing on the economic aspects of HIV/AIDS and on the health impact of large social programs.

He received his BS in Biology and PhD in Health Policy and Management from MIT, his MD from University of California, San Diego, and residency training in internal medicine at University of California, San Francisco. Dr. Bertozzi has lived in and/or worked with developing countries in Africa, Asia, and Latin America since 1988, and speaks English, French, Spanish, and Italian.

Making Progress Against HIV/AIDS

The Gates Foundation has invested nearly $1.5 billion in the struggle against HIV/AIDS. The foundation supports a comprehensive response to the epidemic and is strongly committed to HIV/AIDS prevention, treatment, and research for the long-term.

Investments in HIV/AIDS are saving lives and making a positive difference. Initiatives like the Global Fund and the President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR) are expanding access to treatment and prevention for those in greatest need. National AIDS programs are showing important signs of progress.