UNAIDS is saddened by the news of the sudden death of David Cooper on 18 March. He was a pioneering HIV researcher, immunologist and professor at Australia’s University of New South Wales and in 1986 became the first Director of the National Centre of HIV Epidemiology and Clinical Research, now known as the Kirby Institute.
Mr Cooper diagnosed the first documented case of HIV in Australia in the mid-1980s, and in 1991 was named Chair of the WHO Global Programme on AIDS’ Committee on Clinical Research and Drug Development.
He was a past President of the International AIDS Society and worked with colleagues to found the HIV Netherlands Australia Thailand Research Collaboration, known as HIV-NAT, in Bangkok, Thailand.
“The world has lost a bold and compassionate leader in the response to HIV,” said Michel Sidibé, UNAIDS Executive Director. “David Cooper firmly believed in health as a fundamental human right. Without the groundbreaking research and advances in treatment that he helped to make a reality, many more lives would have been lost to AIDS. Our thoughts during this difficult time are with his family, colleagues and the many people his life and work touched.”
