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Deborah Persaud, MD, is Professor of Pediatrics and Director of the Division of Pediatric Infectious Diseases at Johns Hopkins Children’s Center, with joint appointments in International Health and Molecular Microbiology & Immunology at the Bloomberg School of Public Health. She is internationally recognized for her pioneering research on HIV reservoirs and cure therapeutics in children, including the landmark report of the “Mississippi baby.” Dr. Persaud serves as Scientific Chair of the IMPAACT HIV Cure Committee and Contact PI of the Pediatric Adolescent Virus Elimination (PAVE) Collaboratory. Her contributions have earned recognition from Nature and Time as a global leader in pediatric HIV research.
Deborah Persaud, MD
Asato Kitamura, born in 1996 in Ishikawa, Japan, grew up surrounded by creativity, influenced by the women in his family. He studied fashion in Tokyo, then honed his skills in London and Paris before relocating to New York in 2020, where he worked with leading fashion houses like 3.1 Phillip Lim and MELITTA BAUMEISTER. In 2022, after earning his MFA from Parsons, he launched his brand ASATO, rooted in emotional depth, imperfection, and psychological healing through fashion. Deeply influenced by Japanese spiritual philosophy and aesthetics, his work seeks to create garments that resonate not only with the body but with the soul. To him, fashion is an art form that can embrace people both physically and emotionally—offering dignity to the negative and beauty to what is often hidden.
Asato Kitamura
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