David Mansdoerfer, special assistant to UNT Health Science Center President Dr. Michael R. Williams, has received a national honor for his leadership on the Presidential Advisory Council on HIV/AIDS.
Prior to joining UNTHSC in September, Mansdoerfer served as Deputy Assistant Secretary for Health for the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS). He was presented the award at the 66th Presidential Advisory Council on HIV/AIDS Meeting on Feb. 10 in Washington D.C.
The award credited Mansdoerfer for persistence and dedication in helping to create the Ending the HIV Epidemic: A Plan for America (EHE) initiative. The plan, which was announced by President Trump during the 2019 State of the Union, utilizes powerful prevention and treatment tools, as well newer tools to pinpoint where HIV infections are spreading most rapidly.
The plan’s goal is to reduce new infections by 75 percent in five years and by 90 percent in 10 years, preventing more than 250,000 HIV infections.
Mansdoerfer called the Presidential Advisory Council on HIV/AIDS a crucial component of the Ending HIV plan.
“Under the leadership of President Trump, Secretary Alex Azar, Admiral Brett Giroir, Dr. Tammy Beckham and co-chairs, Carl Schmidt and Dr. John Wiesman, we have the opportunity to make significant progress in combatting this epidemic,” Mansdoerfer said in a UNTHSC news release.
At HHS, Mansdoerfer had operational responsibility for the Office of the Assistant Secretary for Health, including the offices of HIV and Infectious Disease, Human Research Protection, Minority Health, Women’s Health and Disease Prevention and Health Promotion.
Since joining UNTHSC, he has focused on building strategic partnerships and increasing support and visibility for the university.