Anna Wald is an American epidemiologist and clinical virology researcher. She is the Head of the Division of Allergy and Infectious Diseases at the
University of Washington School of Medicine
The University of Washington School of Medicine is the medical school of the University of Washington, a public research university in Seattle, Washington. According to ''U.S. News & World Report''s 2022 Best Graduate School rankings, University ...
(UWSOM).
Education
Wald attended
Wesleyan University
Wesleyan University ( ) is a Private university, private liberal arts college, liberal arts university in Middletown, Connecticut, United States. It was founded in 1831 as a Men's colleges in the United States, men's college under the Methodi ...
for her
Bachelor of Arts
A Bachelor of Arts (abbreviated B.A., BA, A.B. or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is the holder of a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the liberal arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts deg ...
degree, where she was encouraged by a professor to apply to medical school. Wald agreed and graduated from
Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai
The Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai (ISMMS or Mount Sinai), formerly the Mount Sinai School of Medicine, is a private medical school in New York City, New York, United States. The school is the academic teaching arm of the Mount Sina ...
with her MD degree in 1985. During her doctoral residency, she worked in inner-city hospitals and AIDS clinics. She moved to Seattle in 1989 and was hired by doctors
Ann Collier and
Lawrence Corey
Lawrence may refer to:
Education Colleges and universities
* Lawrence Technological University, a university in Southfield, Michigan, United States
* Lawrence University, a liberal arts university in Appleton, Wisconsin, United States
Preparator ...
to work in the AIDS Clinical Trials Unit at the
University of Washington School of Medicine
The University of Washington School of Medicine is the medical school of the University of Washington, a public research university in Seattle, Washington. According to ''U.S. News & World Report''s 2022 Best Graduate School rankings, University ...
(UWSOM).
Career
Wald joined the faculty in the Division of Allergy and Infectious Diseases at UWSOM with a joint appointment in the Department of Epidemiology in 1995.
While serving as the director of the UWSOM's Virology Research Clinic, she conducted studies on the epidemic of
genital herpes
Genital herpes is a herpes infection of the genitals caused by the herpes simplex virus (HSV). Most people either have no or mild symptoms and thus do not know they are infected. When symptoms do occur, they typically include small blisters ...
. One of the studies she led was focused on how health care professionals can assist those with herpes by focusing on how people feel and the stigma surrounding the disease. In 2000, she received the Philip and Helen Fialkow Scholars Award given to junior faculty who made "outstanding achievements in medicine, research, teaching, clinical work, and academic citizenship." At the turn of the 21st century, Wald continued to lead studies on genital herpes, one of which found that condom use would prevent HSV infection. In order to reach this conclusion, Wald and colleagues studied more than 500 couples who had previously found the Herpes simplex virus vaccine did not work. Together, they found that the people who used condoms more than half the time were less likely to become infected with HSV-2. In 2003, Wald co-led a study with Corey and
Zane Brown which confirmed that Caesarian sections during childbirth prevent transmission of herpes simplex. She also co-authored a study with an international team of researchers who found that taking a single daily dose of valacyclovir could reduce the transmission of genital herpes to uninfected partners. Wald began writing for the ''NEJM Journal Watch Women's Health'' as an associate editor in 2005. As a result of her research, Wald received the UWSOM's 2006 Award for Excellence in Mentoring Women and Minorities.
Wald was promoted to the ranks of
Full Professor
Professor (commonly abbreviated as Prof.) is an academic rank at universities and other post-secondary education and research institutions in most countries. Literally, ''professor'' derives from Latin as a 'person who professes'. Professors ...
by 2007
and co-published a study titled ''Genital herpes'' with
Rachna Gupta
Rachna or Rachana means a literary or other work in Sanskrit.
Rachna may also refer to:
*Rachana (film), a 1983 Indian Malayalam-language film by Mohan
*''Rachana'', a village in the district of Batroun, North Lebanon
* ''Rachana'' (butterfly), ...
and
Terri Warren
Terri is an alternative spelling of Terry. It is a feminine given name and is also a diminutive for Teresa.
Notable people with the name include:
*Terri Allard (born 1962), American country/folk singer/songwriter
* Terri S. Armstrong, American s ...
in ''
The Lancet
''The Lancet'' is a weekly peer-reviewed general medical journal, founded in England in 1823. It is one of the world's highest-impact academic journals and also one of the oldest medical journals still in publication.
The journal publishes ...
.'' By 2013, Wald began leading clinical studies of GEN-003, an investigational, protein subunit vaccine that had the possibility to treat genital herpes. She later concluded that the antiviral pritelivir may be a treatment for patients with genital herpes. As a result of her research, Wald was the recipient of the 2014 Award for Scientific Advancement given by the Association for Women in Science (AWIS)
and the 2015 Achievement Award from the American Sexually Transmitted Diseases Association.
On October 27, 2017, Wald was appointed Head of UWSOM's Division of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, replacing
Wes Van Voorhis.
In this role, she co-received an $11 million grant for a study titled ''Syphilis Vaccine to Protect Against Local and Disseminated Treponema pallidum Infection.'' She also received the 2019 Saul Horowitz, Jr. Memorial Award from her alma mater, the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai. During the
2019 coronavirus pandemic, Wald and
Helen Y. Chu co-led international studies of remdesivir on its effects in severely ill patients.
References
External links
{{DEFAULTSORT:Wald, Anna
Living people
Year of birth missing (living people)
American women epidemiologists
American epidemiologists
Wesleyan University alumni
Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai alumni
University of Washington alumni
University of Washington faculty
21st-century American women scientists
American women academics