St. Christopher’s Hospital for Children Physician Receives 2014 Red Ribbon Award

Philadelphia, PA, November 19, 2014 --(PR.com)-- Roberta Laguerre-Frederique, MD, clinical director, section of immunology; attending immunologist at St. Christopher’s Hospital for Children, will be honored with the 2014 Red Ribbon Award for Outstanding Researcher from the University of Pennsylvania’s Center for AIDS Research Community Advisory Board (CFAR CAB). The award will be presented on Dec. 1, 2014, in conjunction with World AIDS Day, at City Hall’s Convention Hall in Philadelphia from 9:30 a.m. to 12 p.m.
The Annual Red Ribbon Award was created to honor those who have made significant contributions in the fight against HIV/AIDS in the Philadelphia community. This is the first time that Dr. Laguerre-Frederique is receiving this award.

“I’m very humbled to be receiving this award,” says Dr. Laguerre-Frederique. “The immunology team and Dorothy Mann Center at St. Chris, led by Dr. Janet Chen, have done great work in terms of pediatric HIV research and initiatives and I’m proud to be a part of this team.”

According to Dr. Laguerre-Frederique, the team within the Dorothy Mann Center has been a leader in pediatric and adolescent HIV/AIDS research.

“The Center has been around for decades and we have been working within the St. Chris community and surrounding areas to make HIV testing more routine within our hospital,” says Dr. Laguerre-Frederique. “Through various grants, research, and education, we have successfully implemented HIV testing at St. Chris. Any patient who comes to St. Chris between the ages of 13-15, regardless of HIV risk, receives an HIV test.”

Dr. Laguerre-Frederique has also participated in lectures and training events to encourage other hospitals and community centers to adopt routine HIV testing as part of routine well adolescent care.

Board-certified in pediatrics, Dr. Laguerre-Frederique received her medical degree from State University of New York at Health Science Center at Brooklyn in New York. She completed a residency at Albert Einstein Medical Center in Philadelphia. Dr. Laguerre-Frederique has been with St. Christopher’s since 2004.

“The Red Ribbon award is a great example of the wonderful work that Dr. Laguerre-Frederique and everyone at the Dorothy Mann Center do each day,” says Carolyn Jackson, chief executive officer at St. Christopher’s. “The work that she has done to make HIV testing for adolescents routine, and the knowledge she has imparted on the surrounding medical community regarding HIV is admirable and we’re proud to have her as a member of our team.”

Dr. Laguerre-Frederique adds that receiving this award is inspiring and she hopes to continue to provide education to her colleagues so that HIV testing will be routine for every adolescent walking into a hospital or physician’s office in Philadelphia.