Biography

Dr. Maxwell currently serves as the Co-Director of Clinical Trials and the Clinical Trials Unit at Howard University College of Medicine in Washington D.C, and formerly served as the Associate Dean for Research for 12 years. She is also a Professor of Medicine in Infectious Diseases as well as the Principal Investigator of several prestigious projects. They include: The Center for Infectious Disease Management and Research’s, Ryan White EIS program, and as Co-PI for the PEPFAR funded HBCU Clinical Practice Transformation Project in Zambia. 

Dr. Maxwell was selected by Sharon Pratt-Kelly, former Mayor of Washington, D.C. to co-chair the Transitional Task Force on AIDS services, and was also appointed to the Healthcare Reform Task Force chaired by former First Lady, Hillary Rodman Clinton. As well was appointed by Dr. Donna Shalala, then Secretary of Health and Human Services, and served on the Office of AIDS Research Advisory Council of the National Institutes of Health. Additionally, from 1994-97, she served as a Special Assistant to the Commissioner of Food and Drugs, Dr. David Kessler. Dr. Maxwell served as a health legislative assistant for Senator Tom Harkin (D. Iowa). She was inducted into the Washington D.C. Hall of Fame and is currently serving as a member of the Scientific Advisory Board, of the US President’s Emergency Plan for Aids Relief (PEPFAR), as well as a member of the External Advisory Board for the CITI program.

Dr. Maxwell obtained a Bachelor of Science in Nursing from Hunter College and her medical degree from Columbia University College of Physicians and Surgeons, both in New York City. She completed her residency training in Internal Medicine at Howard University Hospital and a Fellowship in Parasitology at the National Institutes of Health, Laboratory of Parasitic Diseases. Her research interests then involved the investigation of the immune response of humans to the hookworm parasite. Dr. Maxwell is a Professor of Medicine and in the Department of Medicine Division of Infectious Diseases. She is board certified in Internal Medicine and Infectious Diseases, is a Fellow of the American College of Physicians and the Infectious Diseases Society of America, as well as a member of several boards and scientific associations.  To date she has conducted international medical site visits or served as a lecturer in Cuba, Haiti, Panama, Dubai UAE, Uganda, Zambia, Senegal, Beijing, India and Brazil.