Donna Futterman, MD

Posted December 2010

2010 Laubenstein Brochure Futterman

The Linda Laubenstein awardee for 2010, Dr. Donna Futterman, has been a leader in the treatment of adolescents with HIV since 1989, and currently serves as the Director of the Adolescent AIDS Program, Children’s Hospital at Montefiore Medical Center. Dr. Futterman is also Professor of Clinical Pediatrics at Albert Einstein College of Medicine in the Bronx. As she has since the beginning, Dr. Futterman continues to address the challenges that still exist in the care and treatment of young people with HIV. Dr. Futterman has been committed to social justice issues since before she entered medicine, and her advocacy skills have served her well in promoting the importance of providing clinically excellent comprehensive care for young HIV-infected patients.

Throughout her career, Dr. Futterman has been a national leader in adolescent HIV issues, serving on many policy panels and committees. She has also been involved in international work in South Africa, focusing on youth and newly diagnosed pregnant women. In addition to numerous articles and textbook chapters, Dr. Futterman is the author of Lesbian and Gay Youth: Care and Counseling. Yet she has remained committed to meeting the needs of young HIV patients in the Bronx. Dr. Futterman has long recognized that innovative, targeted strategies are needed to reach and empower at-risk youth.

Dr. Futterman has served on several New York State HIV clinical guidelines committees, working in the 1990s with the late Keith Krasinski. Most recently, she has been the peer reviewer for the NYS guideline addressing the specific treatment issues that are needed to provide ambulatory care for HIV-infected adolescents, applying her clinical expertise to guide others who will care for young patients.

As was this award’s namesake, Linda Laubenstein, Dr. Donna Futterman is not only an excellent clinician, but also provides the committed leadership necessary to address complacency regarding the HIV epidemic and remains an advocate for adolescents and vulnerable populations.