HIV/AIDS advocate Mark A. Colomb, PhD, died March 24 at his home in Mississippi, The Clarion-Ledger reports. He was 45 years old. Colomb served as director of the Mississippi Urban Research Center (MURC) where he garnered more than $9 million in grants used to establish Jackson State University as a leader in HIV/AIDS prevention training. Under his leadership, MURC also became a founding member of National Black HIV/AIDS Awareness Day. After retirement from Jackson State University, Colomb went on to found My Brother’s Keeper, a nonprofit organization with a focus on the health of minorities. He also was a founding member of the National Black Gay Men’s Advocacy Coalition. In lieu of flowers, donations can be made to the Mississippi Kidney Foundation and My Brother’s Keeper. 

To read the Clarion-Ledger article, click here.

To read a tribute by the Black AIDS Institute, click here.