IDSA Foundation honors George Counts

Dr. George Counts first came to the University of Washington as a fellow in 1965. He served as chief of infectious diseases at Harborview and as head of the Fred Hutch microbiology program and laboratory. He was promoted to full professor in 1985 and was the first Black professor in the Department of Medicine. 

Beginning in 1989 at the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, Counts directed the team that provided the logistical support for clinical trials to evaluate potentially effective drugs against HIV.

During the early-1990s, he organized a small interest group of minority ID medical school faculty, ID practitioners, public health colleagues and ID fellows to form a network dedicated to information sharing and professional development. The George W. Counts Interest Group is comprised of Black/African American infectious diseases physicians who are committed to advancing health and systemic equity. It remains a crucial networking consortium within the Infectious Diseases Society of America (IDSA) today.

Between 1999 and 2002, he served as coordinator for the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s National Plan to Eliminate Syphilis in the United States. In this position, he played a significant role in reducing the rates of congenital and adult syphilis.

In 2002, he returned to the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Center in Seattle as a Senior Advisor with the HIV Vaccine Trials Unit.

Honoring his legacy

The IDSA Foundation recently named the George W. Counts, MD, FIDSA, Executive Conference room in honor of one of the country’s leading physicians, researchers, teachers, mentors and leaders. The conference space will honor Dr. Counts and his substantial accomplishments advancing the care of patients, especially those of color, as well as mentoring many infectious diseases physicians in their early career who were underrepresented.