In Memoriam: Dr. Hermann Mendez (1949–2025)

By Office of the President | Apr 8, 2025

Pioneer in Pediatric HIV/AIDS Care, Beloved Mentor and Colleague

We mourn the passing of Dr. Hermann Mendez, M.D., a trailblazing pediatrician whose work at SUNY Downstate shaped the care of children and families affected by HIV/AIDS in Brooklyn and across the nation.

Dr. Mendez was the first pediatrician in Brooklyn—and among the first in the U.S.—to identify perinatal HIV transmission in infants. His early recognition of the epidemic’s impact on families led him to co-found the Brooklyn Pediatric AIDS Network (BPAN) in 1989, a visionary model for coordinated care that continues today as the HEAT PATH Network.

Born in Guatemala and raised in El Salvador, Dr. Mendez trained at the University of El Salvador before coming to Downstate in 1980, where he completed his pediatric residency, became chief resident, and later pursued infectious disease fellowship training. For more than four decades, he remained deeply committed to the children and families of Brooklyn—establishing critical services, mentoring a generation of clinicians, and advancing lifesaving HIV research.

His work in NIH-funded studies, including Women and Infants Transmission Study (WITS), Pediatric HIV/AIDS Cohort Study (PHACS), and Surveillance Monitoring for ART Toxicities (SMARTT) protocol, brought new treatments and understanding to the field, helping transform pediatric HIV from a fatal illness to a chronic, manageable condition.

Dr. Mendez’s legacy lives on in the long-term survivors he helped save, the systems he helped build, and the countless students, residents, and colleagues he mentored. We honor his life, leadership, and the compassion that defined his every step.