A Conversation with Camilla S. Graham, MD, MPH

Issue: September 2014

In this issue, HCV Next asks five questions of Camilla S. Graham, MD, MPH, assistant professor of medicine at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center and Harvard Medical School.

Camilla S. Graham

Graham received her undergraduate degree from Smith College in 1987. She then completed her MD at the Medical College of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia in 1994, and later earned her MPH in Clinical Effectiveness at the Harvard School of Public Health. Her internship and residency were both completed at Boston Medical Center, and her fellowship in infectious disease was completed at the Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center. Today, she is certified in infectious diseases by the American Board of Internal Medicine.

Graham is the associate editor of the Viral Hepatitis Section of the Clinical Infectious Diseases journal. She has worked with the Infectious Diseases Society of America to develop a hepatitis C virus module for infectious disease certification. Other current projects include building the viral hepatitis program in the division of infectious disease at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center; working with the Project ECHO HCV telemedicine program to increase the number of clinicians who can treat patients with HCV; and developing electronic medical decision support within the CareGroup System, which aims to increase the number of people who undergo HCV antibody testing.

What are your hobbies outside of practicing medicine?

Spending time with my wife and 17-year-old son is my favorite activity. Dinners on the deck, watching movies (right now, we are going through the whole James Bond series in sequence), travel and chatting about current events occupy much of my time outside of work.

Who has had the greatest influence on your career?

I have been lucky to have many amazing mentors, but Margaret Koziel, MD, transformed how I viewed HCV and its impact on people with HIV coinfection. When I was a fellow, she taught me HCV immunology, how to write a grant, the art of networking and practicing patience with committee work, and how to develop a career that includes research, clinical care and education.

What was the defining moment that led you to your field?

In the mid-1980s, I lost several friends to AIDS. The poor treatment they received from society and the medical field before they died seared into me. I joined the HIV activist group, AIDS Coalition to Unleash Power (ACT UP), to try to help get drugs to people who needed them. This led to a simple philosophy that has guided my career: how to get treatment to people in need, especially underserved populations.

What area of research in hepatitis most interests you right now and why?

I am interested in finding the simplest path to implementing key medical interventions, such as testing baby boomers for HCV and providing medical education at the point of care, when it is most needed and most relevant.

Have you ever been fortunate enough to witness or to been part of medical history in the making? If so, please explain.

I joined the Boston arm of ACT UP in January 1988, soon after the organization started. People remember the protests — and there were many — but what I remember were the negotiations with academic centers, pharmaceutical companies and government agencies that led to profound changes in how people living with HIV were cared for. It was only when negotiations broke down that we stormed buildings. Everything I have done since then has been mild in comparison. Also, I joined Vertex Pharmaceuticals in 2007 because I thought it would give me a larger arena to talk about the importance of diagnosing and treating HCV. I took over as vice president and head of global medical affairs 6 weeks before the launch of telaprevir (Incivek), one of the first direct-acting antiviral drugs to treat HCV. I expected to learn about drug development, but I also learned about policy, payers and reimbursement, and how to decrease stigma against people living with HCV through baby boomer testing.