Merson Honors Dutch Colleague's Legacy and Helps World Mourn His Death

Merson interviewed by local news media

Published July 22, 2014, last updated on April 6, 2020

We often hear about Duke faculty quoted in the media offering analysis of world events.

But in the days following the downing of Malaysia Flight MH 17 over Ukraine, Duke Global Health's Dr. Michael Merson found himself fielding dozens of media calls of a more personal nature, joining with his colleagues in expressing sorrow at the loss of physician-scientist Dr. Joep Lange and reports of up to roughly 100 other HIV/AIDS researchers.

The loss of Lange, Merson said, will be felt by the global movement fighting the HIV/AIDS epidemic. He told Forbes that Lange’s global efforts to improve access to antiretroviral drugs were built on his early scientific and medical training at the outset of the AIDS pandemic.

“As soon as we heard of the news that Joep was on the plane, we felt we should respond,” said Merson, who as director of the World Health Organization’s Global AIDS Program recruited Lange as chief of clinical research and drug development, a position the Dutch researcher held until 1995. “He is a longtime colleague and friend of mine, and he’s been a close collaborator of the Duke Global Health Institute since its inception and particularly within the past year when we have been planning together a new joint initiative on health and technology based at his institution in Amsterdam.”

In an appearance Friday on WRAL, Merson remembered Lange as "a special friend and a special man."

Merson also spoke with other news outlets like ABC News, the BBC, CBC and CNN. “It seemed natural for us to share what he’s meant to us at Duke and to the larger HIV/AIDS community of researchers and activists, as well as to me personally,” he said.

In an interview with The Wall Street Journal, Merson recalled a man driven by a variety of interests, which included running the New York and Berlin marathons.

"He had books everywhere -- there was almost nowhere to sit," Merson recalled of a visit to Lange's home in Amsterdam about six months ago. "He was constantly writing, constantly reading."

Lange was distinguished, above all, for his unflagging and outspoken efforts to defeat AIDS, Merson told the Journal.

“Over the span of 36 hours, I spoke to reporters from close to a dozen international, national and local news organizations,” Merson said. “It was a hectic time for us, but also one that gave us the opportunity to honor Joep’s legacy. For that, I’m grateful.”  

Also see: Merson on Joep Lange: The World Has 'Lost a Strong Advocate for Global Health'