Video: Federal Employee of the Year

As the number of children with AIDS increased dramatically in the United States and around the world during the late 1980s, the depressing fact was that little could be done to prevent infants from getting HIV, the virus that causes the terrible disease.

Fast forward more than two decades to November 2011 when Secretary of State Hillary Clinton pronounced that creating an AIDS-free generation worldwide, one in which no children are born with the HIV infection, is not only possible, but a U.S. policy priority.

Among those who played a pivotal role in curtailing the deadly epidemic among children is Dr. Lynne Mofenson, a physician at the National Institutes of Health (NIH) who helped design and conduct a seminal pediatric AIDS clinical trial, and has since dedicated her career to conducting additional research and influencing national policy in the field.

For her pioneering work, Mofenson was recognized as the 2012 Federal Employee of the Year and winner of the Career Achievement Service to America Medal . Thanks to Mofenson’s work, the rate of pediatric HIV has plummeted around the world.

Watch how Mofenson’s work transformed the fight against pediatric HIV and saved countless lives around the globe:

2012 Federal Employee of the Year - Lynne Mofenson from Partnership for Public Service on Vimeo .

Read more about Mofenson’s work in the story we featured last month here .

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Presented to outstanding public servants by the nonprofit Partnership for Public Service, and sponsored in part by Bloomberg, Booz Allen Hamilton, The Boston Consulting Group, Chevron and United Technologies Corporation, the prestigious Samuel J. Heyman Service to America Medals awards are offered in nine categories. To nominate a federal employee for a 2013 medal go to servicetoamericamedals.org .