June 28, 2019

Dr. Jillian Pintye named WGHA 2019 Pioneer Rising Leader

Congratulations to Dr. Jillian Pintye (Acting Assistant Professor, Global Health), who is the Washington Global Health Alliance’s (WGHA) 2019 Global Health Pioneers Rising Leader!

Dr. Pintye is focused on preventing HIV in pregnant women, who often don’t know their HIV risk and who may be more susceptible to getting infected during pregnancy. Dr. Pintye led groundbreaking research to show that PrEP, an HIV prevention medicine, is safe to use during pregnancy. She didn’t stop with epidemiologic analyses, though. Equipped with the research, Dr. Pintye then partnered with Dr. John Kinuthia and his team in Kenya to develop and implement an innovative PrEP program in nearly 40 clinics. The program builds on existing clinics, reaches existing patients, and to date has screened more than 20,000 women, with close to 4,000 of them initiating PrEP.

“I am deeply honored and humbled to receive this award from WGHA,” said Dr. Pintye. “It is a privilege and joy to work within University of Washington [UW], the Department of Global Health [DGH], and Global WACh’s dedicated community of scientists that strive to improve the lives of women, adolescents, and children by advancing HIV prevention and care. I am grateful for the mission, values, and collaborations of UW, DGH, Global WACh, and our partners in Kenya.”

Read more about Dr. Pintye and the other winners of the WGHA Pioneers of Global Health Awards here.