UW Global Health Director Dr. King Holmes Named Distinguished Professor Emeritus

54 years in medicine and public health, including 13 years of leadership in the UW Department of Global Health, has brought profound impacts on infectious diseases worldwide and solidified UW’s work in research, collaborative partnerships, mentorship of global health leaders, and grant funding.

Dr. King Holmes, Director of Research and Faculty Development and inaugural Chair of the UW Department of Global Health, has been named Distinguished Professor Emeritus.

Help, Don’t Eat: King Holmes Awarded the Distinguished Leadership in Global Health Award at CUGH 2019

Years ago, global health expert King Holmes was called in to help connect the disparate divisions of a large, unnamed organization. On his first day, he went to talk with a division leader and saw the following on an office white board:

Eat them or be eaten.

He thought a moment. Then he picked up an eraser and cleaned the board. In place of the carnivorous phrase, he wrote: 

Help them and grow stronger together. 

King K. Holmes Endowed Professorship in STD and AIDS

Named after King Holmes, PhD, MD, Professor of Medicine and Global Health, and founding chair of the Department of Global Health, the King K. Holmes Endowed Professorship in STD and AIDS is a rotating award designed to recognize and support a faculty member with exceptional capability and promise, and a clear commitment to STD/HIV research and training. Starting next year, the professorship will be awarded for a period of three years, renewable once.