Professor Quarraisha Abdool Karim is an infectious disease epidemiologist whose primary research focuses on understanding the evolving HIV epidemic in South Africa and preventing HIV in women.

She is the Scientific Director of CAPRISA and Pro-Vice Chancellor for African Health at the University of KwaZulu-Natal in South Africa, and a Professor in Clinical Epidemiology at the Mailman School of Public Health, Columbia University, USA. She is a Fellow of The World Academy of Science; African Academy of Science; Academy of Science of South Africa, Royal Society of South Africa, and elected Member of the US National Academy of Medicine.

She was awarded the inaugural VinFuture Special Prize for Innovators from Developing Countries, in recognition of her ground-breaking research on HIV prevention.