John B. Jemmott III and Loretta Sweet Jemmott

Who they are:

Two of the America's leading researchers in HIV/AIDS prevention. He's a psychologist at the University of Pennsylvania's Annenberg School for Communication. She has her doctorate in nursing and is a professor at Penn Nursing. They're married, with two grade-school daughters.

What they do in Africa:

Together, the Jemmotts do groundbreaking HIV/AIDS prevention work with sixth-graders in Mdantsane Township, South Africa.

They listen to the children's ideas about sex and health, then design classwork and exercises to help change beliefs and behaviors that could promote the spread of HIV/AIDS when they're older.

In one exercise, children dress up cardboard dolls then talk about how people might perceive a girl who's dressed a certain way. The big take-home message is aimed at boys: When a girl wears a pretty blouse, it's just a blouse — not a come-on.

Why it matters:

Because there's an epidemic going on. In Eastern Cape Province, where Mdantsane Township is located, 28 percent of the women who visit prenatal clinics test positive for HIV, John Jemmott says. "That you could be in a place where one of four women of childbearing age has HIV is remarkable."

Their hope is that helping children to rethink their feelings and assumptions about sex will help them abstain longer, have fewer partners and use condoms — all of which could make their generation the one that turns the HIV/AIDS epidemic around.

Uncle Sam's on their side.

The Jemmotts are very rigorous with their science and have seen real results. Because of their track record, they get big bucks from U.S. health authorities. The prestigious National Institutes of Health (NIH) gave them $3.3 million for their AIDS-prevention work with the South African schoolchildren and is about to re-up with an additional $2 million to keep the study going for three more years. The NIH is also pitching in $4 million for a new HIV/AIDS prevention effort among South African men.

Africa cred:

In the past five years, the two Jemmotts have made a combined 35 roundtrips to Africa, juggling their travel schedules to keep life sane for their daughters. "I go for quick runs," Loretta Jemmott says. "He stays for an extended period."

In Philly:

John Jemmott is a runner. Watch for him on Kelly Drive and at the Broad Street Run, which is one of his favorite races. Loretta Jemmott takes the slower lane on the River Drive pathways. "I used to be a runner until I messed up my knee, so now I'm a walker," she says.

Footsteps toward the future.

In Mdantsane Township, the Jemmotts make it their priority to make local community leaders full partners in HIV/AIDS prevention. "When we finish our funding, they can do the important work themselves," Loretta Jemmott says. "They can pick it up, with pride, and run with it." *

—Becky Batcha