His groundbreaking research on HIV made science speaker Edsel Salvaña famous, and his insight is even more relevant today. Named a TED Fellow in 2017 for his prowess as a public speaker, Edsel Salvaña now lends his wisdom to the fight against a new pandemic.

Prior to the Covid-19 pandemic, no disease captured the sustained attention of the world’s epidemiologists like AIDS. When Dr. Edsel Salvaña discovered that an outbreak of AIDS in his native Philippines was down to a new, deadlier strain of HIV, he successfully sounded an alarm that helped every country on earth revise its infectious-disease protocols and safeguard its citizens.

Dr. Salvaña now directs the Institute of Molecular Biology and Biotechnology at Manila’s National Institutes of Health. His innovative approach to gene sequencing  has granted him unparalleled insights into the viral diversity of HIV. That is to say, this perspective allows Dr. Salvaña’s team to study how HIV develops resistance to drugs. The Philippines is enduring a new AIDS epidemic, and Dr. Salvaña has been instrumental in leading the country’s response. Additionally, he trains doctors in the identification and treatment of infections diseases and supervises the care of thousands of HIV patients at the Philippine General Hospital.

Dr. Salvaña has earned global recognition for his pioneering research and advocacy of science-based treatment and public education. JCI International named him one of the Ten Outstanding Young Persons of the World. He also won the Young Physician Leader Award from the Interacademy Medical Panel of the World Academy of Sciences.