Tribute to Professor James Hakim

James will be greatly missed by his colleagues at the UCL Institute of Clinical Trials and Methodology (ICTM), the Faculty of Population Health Sciences and around the world.

James trained at Makerere University, Uganda (MBChB), University of Nairobi, Kenya (MMed-internal medicine) and centres in Europe.  He was a Fellow of the Royal Colleges of Physicians of London and Edinburgh. James was Professor of Medicine (formerly Chair of Medicine) at the University of Zimbabwe College of Health Sciences. In 2001 he created and was Director of the University of Zimbabwe Clinical Research Centre which has collaborated extensively with colleagues in the MRC Clinical Trials Unit which is hosted by ICTM.

Over the past two decades, James has been at the forefront of clinical research in Africa. He was the Principal Investigator of a PEPFAR and NIH funded programme (2010-2016) the goal of which was to improve medical education and research capacity to cope with the heavy burden of all diseases, especially HIV/AIDS in Africa. Countless physicians and scientists in Africa are indebted to him for his support and mentorship. As a leading African scientist Professor Hakim was always in huge demand as a plenary speaker at major international conferences, as a member of think tanks, WHO guideline committees and grant-giving bodies. He was Co-Chair of the major International AIDS Society meeting: AIDS 2018.

James was a leading figure in the DART trial hosted at the MRC Clinical Trials Unit, which was instrumental in the introduction of antiretroviral therapy in Africa. At the time, DART was the largest clinical trial ever carried out in Africa. Since then, he has collaborated with the ICTM on studies including Lablite and REALITY and importantly has played a major role in developing a team of paediatric trialists addressing important questions on treatment for children with HIV, TB and other infections.

In recognition of these enormous achievements and many others, UCL was delighted to award James an Honorary Doctorate in Science in 2016. The picture shows James (2nd left) on the occasion of the award with colleagues (L to R): Emeritus Professor Sir Ian Weller (Institute of Global Health), Professor Di Gibb (ICTM) and Professor Frances Cowan (formerly UCL, now Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine). He will be very sadly missed.