BARDEGUEZ WINS NEW JERSEY PRIDE AWARD

It is nothing less than tragic when a newborn is infected with HIV. The virus is normally passed to children from infected mothers at a rate of about twenty-five percent. Arlene Bardeguez, MD, associate professor of obstetrics and gynecology at UMDNJ-New Jersey Medical School (NJMS), has been working to decrease that rate.

When she came to UMDNJ in 1987, Bardeguez was interested in working with women with high-risk pregnancies due to a variety of causes, ranging from drug use to diabetes. As the AIDS population grew, she dealt with more and more HIV-infected pregnant women. In 1999, Bardeguez became a co-investigator at NJMS for the first national clinical trial to test the effects of AZT on the transmission rate of HIV from mother to child. The rate dropped to between 4 and 8 percent with the new drug therapy, and a course of AZT became standard treatment for pregnant women infected with HIV.

For this work, along with other clinical research, teaching and practicing, Bardeguez, who is also the obstetrical investigator for the Pediatric AIDS Clinical Trial Unit at NJMS, was awarded the 1999 New Jersey Pride Award for Health. The judges commented that Bardeguez is “on the front lines of a very serious issue. Trying to help people with HIV is surely among the most important things we can do. Her efforts could save many from this terrible virus.”

The Pride Awards were established 15 years ago by New Jersey Monthly to recognize those who help to improve the quality of life in New Jersey.