Silver Award for advances in the prevention of HIV perinatal transmission

Apr 17 2007

The Children's Hospital of Philadelphia presented J. Brooks Jackson, M.D., MBA, of Johns Hopkins University with the Herman and Gertrude Silver Award for his internationally prominent work in preventing the transmission of HIV from infected mothers to their newborn babies.

In conjunction with the Silver Award, Dr. Jackson delivered a sponsored lecture at Children's Hospital on “Advances in the Prevention of HIV Perinatal Transmission.”

The Silver Award and Lecture honors individuals who have made significant contributions in the field of pediatric HIV and AIDS. Herman and Gertrude Silver endowed the lecture fund as a lasting memorial to their children, who were treated at Children's Hospital. Since the first Silver Lecture in 1990, the Fund has recognized physicians and researchers from leading academic institutions, the National Institutes of Health and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Dr. Jackson is the Baxley Professor and director of Pathology at Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, where he also is pathologist-in-chief. He is the principal investigator of the International Maternal Pediatric Adolescent AIDS Clinical Trials Network of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, part of the National Institutes of Health. Dr. Jackson earned his M.D. and M.B.A. degrees from Dartmouth University.

Dr. Jackson serves on the executive board of MU-JHU Care in Kampala, Uganda, a joint program of Johns Hopkins University and two Ugandan institutions, Makerere University and Mulago Hospital. He has helped lead medical efforts against HIV in Uganda for nearly 20 years, with a special focus on preventing and treating HIV infection in children born to HIV-infected mothers. In 1999, he reported major public health advances in preventing mother-to-child HIV transmission in a landmark clinical study using the drug neveripine.

In his Silver Lecture, Dr. Jackson summarized worldwide trends in preventing perinatal HIV transmission. Antiviral drugs have achieved “tremendous success” in combating pediatric HIV in developed countries, but only moderate success in developing countries, because of economic and social constraints. He continues to collaborate with other researchers and public health experts in seeking more effective treatment regimens for millions of children and parents in the developing world.

About The Children's Hospital of Philadelphia: The Children's Hospital of Philadelphia was founded in 1855 as the nation's first pediatric hospital. Through its long-standing commitment to providing exceptional patient care, training new generations of pediatric healthcare professionals and pioneering major research initiatives, Children's Hospital has fostered many discoveries that have benefited children worldwide. Its pediatric research program is among the largest in the country, ranking third in National Institutes of Health funding. In addition, its unique family-centered care and public service programs have brought the 430-bed hospital recognition as a leading advocate for children and adolescents. For more information, visit

http://www.chop.edu.