“I Was Doing It for My Patients”: Dr. Charlie van der Horst on His Life Fighting for Justice

Posted Jun 23, 2019
The Triangle’s health advocacy community lost one of its most outspoken voices with the death of Dr. Charlie van der Horst during a swimming race in the Hudson River. The world-renowned AIDS researcher and professor emeritus of medicine and infectious diseases at UNC was not content to fight for his patients in the exam room or from the lab bench. (Indy Week)

Related: Campus Connections

UNC professor, Nobel laureate Aziz Sancar inspires the next generation
A decade after earning the Nobel Prize in chemistry, UNC School of Medicine professor Dr. Aziz Sancar shows no signs of hanging up his lab...
Sun May 3, 2026

Meet the Carolina Class of 2026
More than 7,100 Tar Heels, including undergraduate, graduate and professional students, will have their Carolina degrees conferred at Spring Commencement on May 9. More than...
Sat May 2, 2026

When a Cold War trip to the USSR turned into a bizarre basketball game for UNC faculty and students
50 yrs ago, one of the most bizarre & hilariously mismatched basketball games in UNC history took place – and almost no one knows about...
Wed Apr 29, 2026

‘A space to breathe:’ The Coker Arboretum’s enduring legacy
There once was just one tree in the space that is now the Coker Arboretum. More than 120 years later, that overcup oak still stands...
Mon Apr 27, 2026