Since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, Carlos del Rio has appeared on hundreds of TV and radio shows and been quoted widely in the media. This has sometimes led to death threats, but del Rio thinks it is critical to speak about the virus and to promote public health.
“We have an obligation as physicians and epidemiologists, as public health experts, to really try to get information out there,” he said.
Before COVID-19, del Rio’s focus for decades was HIV/AIDS and other sexually transmitted diseases. A global health and infectious disease expert, he is Distinguished Professor of Medicine at Emory University School of Medicine, professor of global health and epidemiology at the Rollins School of Public Health, executive associate dean for Emory at Grady, and principal investigator and codirector of the Emory Center for AIDS Research. He has authored or coauthored chapters in 30 books and more than 350 scientific papers. Del Rio’s long list of honors includes the Ohtli Award, one of the highest honors given by the government of Mexico, where he was born to a family that originally came from Cuba.
In his family, just about every previous generation included physicians and pharmacists, he said. Del Rio became an American citizen in 2007 because he wanted to be able to vote. “My dad taught me about the importance of being involved in the political process and public service,” he said. “Like my dad, I love both Mexico and the United States and am deeply involved in both. I sincerely wish there was better understanding and cooperation across our countries.”
