President and CEO of Meharry Medical College, Tennessee Annual ConferenceJames E.K. Hildreth, Ph.D., M.D., serves as the 12th president and chief executive officer of Meharry Medical College. Hildreth is internationally recognized for his work in HIV and AIDS research over the last three decades. He has also led efforts to engage churches and faith leaders in the fight against AIDS. Hildreth was the first African-American to earn full professorship with tenure in the basic sciences at Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine. He later served as director of the National Institutes of Health-funded Center for AIDS Health Disparities Research at Meharry Medical College and dean of the College of Biological Sciences at University of California, Davis. An American Rhodes Scholar, Hildreth earned his undergraduate degree in chemistry from Harvard University. He completed his Doctor of Philosophy in immunology at Oxford University in England and M.D. at Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine. Hildreth is a member of the agency’s Global Education and Ministry Committee.