Koen Van Rompay (2007-present)

Born in 1965, Koen is a Full Research Virologist at UCD. He received his DVM (Doctor in Veterinary Medicine) degree in 1989 from the University of Gent (Belgium). Thanks to a fellowship from the Belgian American Educational Foundation, Koen came then to UCD and received a PhD in Comparative Pathology in 1994. For the past 20 years, Koen has been working as a HIV/AIDS researcher at the California National Primate Research Center (UCD), with focus on pediatric AIDS and HIV drugs. He is a member of several committees that supervise human clinical trials on HIV drugs. His honors include the 1989 Emile Columbien Prize, and the 2006 Alumnus of the Year Award from the University of Antwerp, Belgium.

 During his spare time, Koen manages Sahaya International, a 501(c)3 nonprofit organization which is 100% volunteer-based, and of which he is the founder and the secretary/treasurer. Sahaya International (www.sahaya.org) supports programs in several developing countries with focus on women and children. The main programs are in India (including construction of schools, orphan sponsorship programs, HIV programs, women self-help groups), and Kenya (HIV peer education for deaf youth; orphan and school programs). Support for Sahaya’s activities comes from the general public (including many Davis residents) and grant agencies (including World Bank and Elton John AIDS Foundation).

Koen grew up near Antwerp Belgium, has 2 sisters and 1 brother. As a child his passion was always animals. Before he started Sahaya, he was a fervent ceramicist. Through the orphan sponsorship program of Sahaya International, he has 14 children in India.