Lifetime achievement award for Curran

Dean James W. Curran received a lifetime achievement award for his work in HIV/AIDS from the Fulton County Board of Health. The award was presented during #StopHIVATL’s World AIDS Day breakfast at The Carter Center on November 30.

“I feel fortunate to receive a lifetime achievement award while I’m still alive,” said Curran during his acceptance speech. He ended his talk echoing Winston Churchill, challenging the crowd to, “Never give up, never give up, never, never, never, never give up in the fight against AIDS.”

Curran’s involvement with AIDS work can be traced back to 1981 when he was asked by the CDC to lead a task force that would investigate what was behind the mysterious new disease now recognized as AIDS. He went on to lead the agency’s HIV/AIDS Division, and while at the CDC, he attained the rank of assistant surgeon general.