Episode 88 - Advancing Care for Women and Children with HIV with Dr Elaine Abrams (September 22, 2026)

In episode 88 of Going anti-Viral, Dr Elaine Abrams joins host Dr Michael Saag to discuss her career of research into vertical transmission of HIV and care for pregnant women, children, adolescents, and families. Dr Abrams is a Professor of Epidemiology and Pediatrics at Columbia University Medical Center and Senior Director of Research at ICAP at Columbia University in New York. An internationally recognized pediatrician, epidemiologist, and global health leader, she has more than 35 years of experience as a clinician, researcher, and public health practitioner in the prevention and treatment of HIV infection and associated infectious diseases. Dr Abrams and Dr Saag discuss the history and progress of preventing vertical HIV transmission and the impact of early studies like PACTG 076. They also discuss Dr Abrams’s early work in Africa on HIV transmission and review the current understanding of breastfeeding and HIV transmission. They address the impact of the dismantling of USAID on global HIV prevention efforts and provide an outlook to the future for HIV elimination and global efforts.