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Emilio A. Emini, Ph.D., director of the HIV program, leads the team focused on accelerating the reduction in the incidence of HIV infection, in high-burden geographies/populations of Southern and Eastern Africa, with the goal of achieving sustained epidemic control.

Prior to his current role, Emilio served as senior vice president of Vaccine Research and Development at Pfizer Inc., a position into which he transitioned subsequent to Pfizer's acquisition of Wyeth Pharmaceuticals in late 2009. At Wyeth, he led the R&D program that resulted in licensure of Prevenar 13, Pfizer’s vaccine for the prevention of pneumococcal disease.

Emilio joined the pharmaceutical industry in 1983 at the Merck Research Laboratories where he led the biological research that resulted in the development of one of the first highly active antiretroviral therapies for the treatment of HIV infection. As head of vaccine research at Merck beginning in 1996, he led a number of vaccine research programs, including those that resulted in the licensure of the human papillomavirus and human rotavirus vaccines. Prior to joining Wyeth, Emilio also served as senior vice president of Vaccine Development at the International AIDS Vaccine Initiative.

Emilio is an adjunct professor of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine. In 2006, he was awarded the Distinguished Alumnus Award from the Cornell University Graduate School of Medical Sciences. He is a fellow of the American Academy of Microbiology, a fellow of the International Society for Vaccines, a fellow of the College of Physicians of Philadelphia, and a former trustee of the National Foundation for Infectious Diseases. Emilio also served as a member of the National Preparedness & Response Science Board, an advisory committee to the U.S. Secretary of Health and Human Services. He received his Ph.D. in Microbiology, Genetics and Biochemistry from the Cornell University Graduate School of Medical Sciences.