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Renowned HIV/AIDS Researcher Dies While Swimming At Beach

Leon County Judge John Cooper on June 30, 2022, in a screen grab from The Florida Channel.
International AIDS Society
/
The Florida Channel
Mark Wainberg

Police say a 71-year-old Canadian HIV/AIDS researcher died while swimming off a Florida beach with his family.

Bal Harbor police Capt. Mike De La Rosa tells the Miami Herald that Dr. Mark Wainberg was in the water Tuesday afternoon when his son lost sight of him.

De La Rosa says the son spotted him and began swimming back to shore with him. CPR was started and Miami-Dade County Fire Rescue crews took Wainberg to a hospital, where he was declared dead.

Red flags were flying Tuesday due to a National Weather Service report of strong currents.

The Herald reports Wainberg was on the first team to discover the anti-viral drug Lamivudine to treat HIV/AIDS in 1989.

He was inducted into the Canadian Medical Hall of Fame in 2015.