Dorchester’s Dr. Cassandra Pierre of Dorchester was honored with Fenway Health’s annual Bayard Rustin Award for Courage on April 12. Pierre is an assistant professor of medicine at Boston University Chobanian & Avedisian School of Medicine and is an infectious disease physician and epidemiologist at Boston Medical Center. She also serves as medical director of BMC’s public health programs, which provide resources for human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), hepatitis C virus, and sexually transmitted infection prevention.
Pierre’s research is focused on preventing infection in vulnerable populations, including the implementation of low-cost infection control interventions to reduce bacteremia among neonates in low-income settings. Her clinical interests include HIV management in subpopulations like pregnant women.
Founded by community members in 1990 and proudly established by the AIDS Action Committee —now a division of Fenway Health— the Bayard Rustin award is given each year at a community breakfast. It is named for the civil rights leader who was the chief organizer of the 1963 March on Washington DC.
