HIV/AIDS doctor who co-founded Fenway Institute honored in Boston's 'Portraits of Pride'
BOSTON - Dr. Ken Mayer is one of the most influential voices in infectious disease that you likely have never heard of.
Mayer moved to Boston in 1977 for an internship with Beth Israel Hospital. In 1980, he joined Fenway Health with the goal of creating a community-based research division that focused on LGBTQ health-related issues.
"I set that up in early 1980 and within a year the AIDS epidemic hit," said Dr. Mayer. "And the rest is history."
"It felt like a warzone," said Mayer. "People who were in the middle of it felt like they were in a fight. There were people dropping right and left. You didn't know who was going to get sick."
Mayer recalled the early months of the epidemic when little was known about HIV/AIDS.
"Fenway's switch board would get calls, because it was perceived as a gay clinic. 'Can I bathe my partner?' 'I just shared a glass with someone. Can I get sick?' There was a real need to start studying transmission issues and that is among the first work we started doing at Fenway."
Over the next 14 years, Mayer would work to understand, define, and ultimately work toward a cure. His work included collecting the first sample of HIV to send to the National Institute of Health for studying. That was before the virus was even named. Mayer would co-author the first public text on HIV that warned of its transmission and ways to prevent spread.
Mayer remains the medical research director at Fenway Health. This year, he is recognized for his work as one of the "Portraits of Pride" honorees. His portrait will be displayed at Boston City Hall Plaza for the entire month of June.
"It's a great honor to be recognized by the community," said Mayer. "Some of the other people are among my heroes and heroines so it's really good company to be in."