In this tribute to pioneering ID physician and researcher Adaora Adimora, MD, MPH, FIDSA, who died Jan. 1, 2024, two members of IDSA’s George W. Counts Interest Group, Michelle Floris-Moore, MD, MS, FIDSA, and Celia J. Maxwell, MD, FACP, FIDSA, reflect on her life and legacy. Dr. Adimora was a founding member of the group.
Ada, as we all affectionately called her, was poised and elegant with an unparalleled work ethic. She was a friend, colleague and collaborator, a disrupter of the status quo and a champion for good. She was also known to demand excellence, not suffering fools lightly. She had high expectations not only of those in her orbit but also of herself. But she was also much more than that. She was a woman deeply in love with her husband, as recounted by her friend Dennis Brooks, MD, who hosted an engagement celebration for the couple and recalled how Ada’s smile on that day was like “sunshine.” She was a mother to two magnificent young adults, Bria and Alegro, and a loving spouse. In many instances, she embodied equanimity under personal duress, especially with the loss of her late husband, Paul. She was an unflinching advocate for women, particularly women of color, and people with HIV infection.
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