In Conversation with Professor Chloe Orkin
Prof. Chloe Orkin is a Consultant Physician at the Barts Health NHS Trust, running HIV clinics and a HIV/HCV research unit. She is also a clinical professor of HIV at Queen Mary, clinical lead for COVID-19 research at Barts Health, current chair of the British HIV Association, and Athena SWAN Chair for the SMD at Queen Mary, and the Vice President of the Medical Women’s Federation.
Tell us a bit about your journey into this field; how did you become interested in HIV/AIDS and what was it you wanted to change in the field?
I became involved in HIV for two main reasons. Firstly, because I have always found microorganisms fascinating; I was the top student in virology and microbiology at my medical school in Johannesburg. Secondly, a very close friend of mine had HIV as did many of our circle of friends. I wanted to help him and others and it seemed the perfect career for me.
We’ve read about your campaigns, such as U=U and Going Viral. Could you tell us a bit more about them, and what challenges you encountered in executing them?
In ‘GOING VIRAL’ I led 9 hospitals in testing for HIV and viral hepatitis in emergency departments. This is important because people were presenting late due to late/missed diagnosis and this high-profile testing week campaign was a way of highlighting the importance of making these lifesaving diagnoses [earlier].
U=U is an international campaign which was not spearheaded by me, but as Chair of the British HIV Association, I supported and strengthened the ‘Undetectable=Untransmittable' message by being the first medical society chair to use the words ‘zero risk’. Others had called the risk ‘negligible’, which is very hard for patients to believe or make sense of. Zero risk is clear and believable and can reassure people that they cannot pass on HIV.
What does a regular day in your life look like? How do you balance your clinical and research responsibilities?
At the moment it looks like chaos! I am leading on delivery of the COVID vaccine clinical trials for Barts Health NHS Trust and QMUL. I also do HIV clinics and still have active HIV trials and research papers and presentations to write and give…. As well as my gender and equality work which takes time too.
As the incoming president of the Medical Women’s Federation, what did your journey there look like, and what is your vision for the role?
I was elected VP in 2019. I plan to work to understand and improve the seriously detrimental effects that COVID-19 pandemic has had on women’s careers and to engage and involve the junior members of the organisation.
As clinical lead for COVID research, how did it feel to work in a time pressured environment, and under scrutiny from the public and university?
There is a lot of pressure from all sides. The best thing I can do is to try to remind myself of the importance and value of the contribution I am trying to make, and to try to work as hard as I can to give my best, even on the most difficult days.
What advice would you give to current and future medical students who want to make a public health difference and develop a diverse career like yourself?
Be true to your interests and follow a speciality/path that feels like something you (and not your parents!) genuinely want to do. Be prepared to fail and pick yourself up again. Find your people and develop your friendships at medical school and during your training, they will sustain you for life. Take opportunities to work abroad and broaden your perspective, and take up enrichment activities. Realise that at times things will be very hard but you are becoming one of the most incredible things anyone can become. A Doctor.
U=U, as Prof. Orkin says, stands for ‘Undetectable=Untransmittable’, referring to the fact that having an undetectable viral load means that a person cannot transmit HIV to another individual. This campaign serves to reduce the fear and stigma surrounding individuals with HIV, and shows people that there is an effective treatment, if not cure. The U=U consensus statement was launched by the Prevention Access Campaign in 2016 and was endorsed by the BHIVA in 2017.
The Medical Women’s Federation is the ‘largest and most influential body of women doctors in the UK’. Founded in 1917, it has been active since then in helping advance the careers of women doctors in the UK, fighting discrimination, and campaigning for important causes such as abolition of female genital mutilation, ensuring family friendly employment and proper treatment of women suffering from sexual abuse or domestic violence.
