James E. K. Hildreth
James Earl King Hildreth (born December 27, 1956) is an American immunologist and academic administrator. Hildreth serves as the 12th president and chief executive officer of Meharry Medical College. Hildreth is credited with groundbreaking work around AIDS and HIV and was the first African American to hold a full tenured professorship in basic research at Johns Hopkins School of Medicine. Edward D. Miller calls Hildreth "one of the most influential HIV researchers in the world." Early life and education. James Earl Hildreth was born to Lucy and R.J. Hildreth on December 27, 1956, in Camden, Arkansas . The death of his father in 1968 of renal cancer inspired Hildreth to pursue a career in medicine. Hildreth read that students who graduated from Harvard University had high acceptance rates into medical schools, so he decided to attend Harvard. He graduated top of his class from Camden High School and was accepted into Harvard. At Harvard, he studied chemistry while working as a carpenter to pay for school. In October 1978 he applied to be a Rhodes Scholar. He was accepted into the program. He was the first African American Rhodes scholar from Arkansas. He graduated from Harvard with  a degree in chemistry in 1979, magna cum laude. Later that year, as a Rhodes scholar, he started attending Oxford University. He earned his PhD in immunology in 1982 and in 1987 he earned his medical degree at Johns Hopkins School of Medicine. Career. After graduating from Johns Hopkins, Hildreth started teaching there and earned tenure, making him the first African American to earn full-time tenure in basic sciences at the university. He eventually became associate dean at the School of Medicine. In 2005, he started working at Meharry Medical College. He was inducted into the Arkansas Black Hall  of Fame in 2009. In 2011, he became dean of the UC Davis College of Biological Sciences. The following year, 2012, he was awarded the Frederick C. Greenwood Award for his work and research around HIV/AIDS and African Americans. That same year he was also awarded the Johns Hopkins University Alumni Association's Knowledge for the World Award. In 2015, he returned to Meharry Medical College as the president and chief executive officer. Research. Hildreth has been researching HIV/AIDS since the AIDS epidemic started in the early 1980s. His research focuses on preventing the spread of HIV. In  1986, he began working on research to create a vaginal cream that blocks HIV infections, testing it in Zambia and South Africa in the 2000s. Hildreth has also worked in the Southern United States, where the majority of new HIV infected people are African Americans. His work has included working with local churches to educate Black communities about HIV. Personal life. Hildreth lives in Nashville, Tennessee. He married Phyllis King in 1980. They have two children.