Victoria A. Cargill 19(?)(?)–

Physician, AIDS researcher

At a Glance…

Sources

In 1998 Dr. Victoria A. Cargill was appointed as director of minority research and director of clinical studies at the Office of AIDS Research (OAR) in the National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, Maryland. She has spent much of her career as a physician and a researcher on the disease, and has made it her personal charge to educate at-risk groups about prevention and treatment methods.

Cargill’s introduction to medicine began at a young age. Her father was a licensed practical nurse and paramedic in New York City, and she was intrigued by his many stories about his work. When her family moved to an 84-acre farm, she became interested in the health and care of the farm animals. A profile of Cargill on the National Institutes of Health, Office of Scientific Education website described Cargill’s first patient, a rooster with a broken leg. Cargill set the rooster’s leg with tongue depressors in an effort to heal the break. As her animal patients on the farm increased in number, so did her fondness for science and medicine. After a high school biology class introduced her to the subject of genetics, Cargill became focused on the subject, and it seemed inevitable that she would become a physician.

After graduating from high school, Cargill attended Mt. Holyoke College in South Hadley, Massachusetts, earning a bachelor’s degree in biological science with the honor of magna cum laude. She earned her M.D. degree from Boston University School of Medicine, and while in medical school she became involved in community outreach programs for sickle cell patients and homeless alcoholic men. During her medical school tenure she received both the Bertha Curtis Award for clinical excellence and the Solomon Carter Fuller Award for compassion in medicine.

Cargill completed her medical residency at Brigham and Women’s Hospital in Boston, and did two years of community service at the Brookside Park Family Life Center in Jamaica Plain, Massachusetts. She then returned to academia, where she entered the Andrew Mellon Fellowship in Clinical Epidemiology program at the University of Pennsylvania, earning a master of science degree in clinical epidemiology. At the conclusion of the program she was hired by Case Western Reserve University in Cleveland, Ohio, as an assistant professor of Medicine, and later was promoted to the rank of full professor, the first African-American woman at Case Western to obtain that rank.

Despite the many demands on her time, Cargill became involved in other ventures. She founded a program in the Greater Cleveland area called Stopping AIDS Is My Mission (SAMM), and served as the organization’s executive director. SAMM’s message about AIDS prevention and treatment was aimed at young people, particularly those at the middle and high school levels, and Cargill’s project was able to reach more than 80,000 teens in the Cleveland area. While working with the SAMM program, Cargill traveled to schools to speak, educating young people about the dangers of AIDS. Today SAMM continues to thrive and has become part of the AIDS Training and Education Center network.

In 1998 Cargill accepted a position with the Office of AIDS Research (OAR), a division of the National

At a Glance…

Born Victoria A. Cargill; daughter of a paramedic and licensed practical nurse; married; two children. Education: Mt. Holyoke College, BA; Boston University School of Medicine, MD; University of Pennsylvania, certificate in epidemiology; MS, clinical epidemiology.

Career: Case Western Reserve University, Cleveland, Ohio, assistant professor of Medicine, 1980s, professor of Medicine, 1990s, adjunct professor of Medicine, 1990s-; Stopping AIDS Is My Mission (SAMM), founder and executive director, 1980s–; Office of AIDS Research (OAR), director of minority research, director of clinical research, 1998–; Dept. Health and Human Services, Washington, DC, acting director, office of HIV/AIDS, 1990s–.

Selected memberships: American Public Health Association; International AIDS Society—USA; National Institutes of Health, AIDS Research Prevention Sciences, past member, advisory panel.

Selected awards: Bertha Curtis Award; Solomon Carter Fuller Award; Cleveland Chapter, Council of Negro Business and Professional Women, Women of the Year award; African-American Women’s Community Award, Cleveland, Ohio; assistant secretary for Health, Department of Health and Human Services, citation for Outstanding Team Performance.

Addresses: Office —c/o National Institutes of Health (NIH), 9000 Rockville Pike, Bethesda, MD 20892.

Institutes of Health (NIH) in Bethesda, Maryland, becoming the agency’s director of minority research and director of clinical studies. According to the Office of AIDS Research (NIH) website, OAR “is responsible for the scientific, budgetary, legislative, and policy elements of the NIH AIDS research program.” In this capacity, Cargill has focused on the impact of HIV and AIDS on minorities. Her position has allowed her to form professional liaisons with other federal agencies, as well as with community organizations that have similar interests.

Cargill has authored and co-written numerous research reports, studies, and abstracts. Her research has included such topics as those of condom use among poor inner-city women, and the path that the HIV virus follows in order to infect a single cell. She has also been committed to educating the medical community and the public about AIDS therapy, including antiretroviral therapy, or HAART—a drug cocktail that can suppress the replication of HIV-infected cells in the body.

While the fight against AIDS is an ongoing battle, it appears that Cargill’s efforts have not been in vain. An article published in the American Journal of Public Health reported that Cargill and her colleagues studied HIV prevention in low-income housing developments. They found that with intervention, the percentage of women who had unprotected sex decreased nearly 13 percent over the course of two months and the percentage of women who used condoms increased by 17 percent. Though the research targeted only one community, it proved that intervention was in fact effective, a small but significant victory in an area of great need.

In an interview reported on the website for The Body: An AIDS and HIV Information Resource, Cargill reported that for women, there is a great need for prevention education and dialogue about the increased risk of cancers, like cervical cancer, in HIV-infected women: “A broader societal view dictates that we consider the economic futures of the women who are becoming infected. Until we offer greater incentives and opportunities for economic growth, the complex forces of racism, poverty and social alienation will continue to affect women and serve as fuel for the HIV epidemic, robbing these women of their very lives.”

Cargill continues to conduct research and participate in educational forums. Her efforts with the NIH continue, with her appointment as acting director of the Office of HIV/AIDS Policy for the Department of Health and Human Services in Washington, D.C. Although her work through the NIH constitutes her most recognized efforts, Cargill continues to treat HIV-infected patients in the Washington, D.C., area, where the numbers of HIV and AIDS cases are as high as those in some African countries. Cargill has maintained her teaching position with Case Western as an adjunct professor of Medicine, and is the mother of two children.

Sources

Periodicals

American Journal of Public Health, January 2000. Ebony, October 2003.

On-line

“About OAR,” Office of AIDS Research, National Institutes of Health, www.nih/gov/od/oar/about/about_oar.htm#nathst (December 28, 2003).

“Doctor’s Opinion, Dr. Victoria Cargill,” The Body: An AIDS and HIV Information Resource, www.thebody.com/features/women/doc3.html (December 20, 2003).

“Haart 101: What you Need to Know; Why It’s Important!” National Minority AIDS Council, www.nmac.org/publications/transcripts/cargillNov18chat.htm (December 28, 2003).

“Victoria Cargill,” National Institutes of Health, Office of Science Education, www.science.education.nih.gov/spkbureau.nsf/speakersmenu?openform (December 20, 2003).

—Shellie M. Saunders