Associate professor of microbiology and immunology, Medical School

Fuller is widely recognized for her scholarship in the fields of virology and public health. Most notably, Fuller has made important contributions related to HIV/AIDS transmission and pathogenesis in communities of color in Africa. She has spent more than a decade conducting global health implementation science research, which seeks to develop and rigorously document effective approaches to sharing biomedical science advances in infectious diseases with the broader community. Fuller helped to develop an innovative, science-based health education model called the Trusted Messenger Science-Based Intervention. This work disseminates the latest information about HIV/AIDS through networks of religious clergy and faith leaders to increase understanding of science relating to the diseases. A member of the U-M faculty since 1988, Fuller also has provided relevant information about SARS-CoV-2 transmission and vaccines to communities of color in the United States. During the 2020 global spread of SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19, the Trusted Messengers approach was an effective resource for transferring science-based information to the general community. For this work, Fuller was asked to serve on the FDA Advisory Panel for the evaluation of the COVID-19 Vaccine Candidates for Emergency Use Authorization.

The 2022 awardee information (above) was provided by the Office of University Development, as published in a University Record article.