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We at the Population Council wish David Phillips and Robin Maguire a happy and gratifying retirement. It is well earned and well deserved. In their careers at the Council, they have contributed significantly to microbicide research and product development and to the reproductive health and HIV and AIDS fields.

David Phillips, Ph.D., joined the Population Council in 1973 as a scientist at the Council’s Center for Biomedical Research in New York. There he conducted fundamental research on sperm and fertilization. As early as the 1980s, when the HIV pandemic was first recognized and before the concept of microbicides existed, Phillips cultivated an interest in HIV prevention. With a grant from the National Institutes of Health, he applied his knowledge of the reproductive tract and made a groundbreaking discovery that HIV can infect the cells that line the vagina and the cervix.

Among his many other accomplishments, Phillips identified candidate compounds for vaginal microbicides, including carrageenan, the active ingredient in the Council’s first-generation microbicide candidate Carraguard®. Carraguard was the first candidate microbicide to complete a Phase 3 clinical trial with no safety concerns as used, a milestone in HIV-prevention research. Though Carraguard was not shown to be effective in the trial, its safety, acceptability, and stability hold promise for next-generation microbicides that may use Carraguard as a vehicle for other ingredients active against HIV and other sexually transmitted infections. More recently, Phillips and his laboratory staff began the development and testing of vaginal rings as a microbicide delivery system. Phillips had also been a leader in evaluating the safety of rectal lubricants and was the first to demonstrate that rectal application of nonoxynol-9 increases the risk of herpes simplex virus infection.

Throughout the years, Phillips directed a thriving laboratory that, in addition to the accomplishments noted above, investigated in vitro and animal systems to improve microbicides assays. He published dozens of scientific articles and served as a mentor to the next generation of biomedical researchers dedicated to his vision of an effective, female-controlled method of HIV prevention. “David's legacy in science is stellar, as both a spermatologist and virologist,” said Sheldon Segal, Population Council Distinguished Scientist.

Robin Maguire joined the Population Council in 1994. After a succession of promotions, she was appointed project manager of the Council’s microbicides program, and ultimately, director of microbicides product development. In many ways, Maguire’s work began where Phillips’s ended, translating laboratory discoveries into products by shepherding them through the development pipeline. Maguire was instrumental in the nonclinical testing and development of Carraguard, collaborating with Council colleagues on studies of its pharmacological effects, toxicology, and chemistry. She also oversaw preparation of the product for its clinical trials and managed production and regulatory procedures. In particular, the Population Council benefited from her strong relationships with the US Food and Drug Administration, foreign regulatory agencies, industrial partners, and contract laboratories.

Maguire’s knowledge of and leadership in the microbicides field is evidenced by her early involvement in the Alliance for Microbicide Development and her participation since their inception in the biennial international microbicides conferences. She was invited to join the Quick Working Group upon its founding in 2004. The group brings together top investigators in the microbicides field to share knowledge, experience, data, and ideas.

The Population Council and the microbicides community will sorely miss the deep commitment, leadership, intelligence, and collegiality that David Phillips and Robin Maguire brought to the battle against the pandemic. Their contributions will clearly continue to benefit the field, and ultimately, those in need of effective HIV protection around the world. We applaud their remarkable achievements and wish them the best in the future.

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