Join the Royal Society on 29 May 2025 for the Michael Faraday Prize Lecture given by 2024 winner Professor Salim Abdool Karim.
The role of science in its relentless search for the truth is a key pillar in society that protects and promotes democracy, transparency and rationality as the basis of actions of the state.
In his Michael Faraday Prize Lecture, Professor Abdool Karim will analyse the threats to science globally, with a focus on the USA, where he argues disinformation has become institutionalised in the corridors of power. As those in power use the levers of the state to accumulate wealth and yet more power, truth becomes a major obstacle and science, as the rational approach to seeking the truth, becomes the casualty and as custodians of science universities come under attack. In this situation, effective science communication is more important than ever.
The Michael Faraday Prize and Lecture 2024 is awarded to Professor Salim Safurdeen Abdool Karim FRS for his scientific leadership, policy advice, epidemiological analyses, and articulate public education, while actively countering disinformation in Africa, particularly South Africa, during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Salim S. Abdool Karim, a South African epidemiologist, has made seminal contributions to HIV prevention and treatment globally. His clinical research showed that antiretrovirals prevent sexually transmitted HIV infection and genital herpes in women. He is an inventor on patents used in HIV vaccine candidates and antibody-based passive immunisation strategies. His TB-HIV treatment studies have shaped international guidelines on the clinical management of co-infected patients.
The Royal Society Michael Faraday Prize and Lecture is awarded annually to the scientist or engineer whose expertise in communicating scientific ideas in lay terms is exemplary. The award is named after Michael Faraday FRS, the influential inventor and electrical pioneer who was prominent in the public communication of science and founded the Christmas lectures at the Royal Institution. The medal is of silver gilt, is awarded annually and is accompanied by a gift of £2,500.
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Photo by The Royal Society
