Quarraisha Abdool Karim is something of a rock star in the world of HIV and Aids research. Abdool Karim was instrumental in setting up an HIV/Aids clinic in Vulindlela, outside Pietermaritzburg, 14 years ago at the invitation of the then local chief to stop "people from dying of HIV".The former maths and science teacher has been awarded an A-rating from the National Research Foundation for her pioneering HIV-prevention research.NRF acting chief executive Beverley Damonse said A-rated scientists are "researchers who are unequivocally recognised by their peers as leading international scholars in their field. Professor Abdool Karim's research is outstanding and she is among the finest scientists in our country."In October this year she is being inducted into the US National Academy of Medicine, considered one of the highest honours in the field of health and medicine.Abdool Karim, who with her husband, Salim, head up the Centre for the Aids Programme of Research in South Africa (Caprisa) is an honorary professor in public health at the Nelson R Mandela School of Medicine at the University of KwaZulu-Natal, as well as a professor of clinical epidemiology at Columbia University New York. She has worked tirelessly in the field of Aids research for the past 25 years.Her greatest breakthrough came when her team showed that antiretoviral drugs, applied as a microbicide gel, help women to prevent HIV and herpes infection...