She became a professor at Duke University School of Medicine and known internationally for her work in pediatric HIV prevention.
[3] Years into the AIDS epidemic there had not been any medication to treat HIV infection, but when zidovudine was approved, "Wilfert theorized that by reducing the viral load of infected mothers, she could diminish the amount of virus their babies were exposed to, thereby reducing HIV transmission from mother to baby.
"[1] In April 1991 the Pediatric AIDS Clinical Trials Group (ACTG) of the US NIAID and the National Institute of Health and Medical Research (INSERM) and the National Agency of Research on AIDS (ANRS), France started the clinical trial of zidovudine (AZT) in HIV-infected pregnant women otherwise known as "ACTG protocol 076".
[1] In 1996, she retired from Duke University and became scientific director of the Elizabeth Glaser Pediatric AIDS Foundation to prevent mother-to-child transmission of HIV in low-income countries Thailand, South Africa, Kenya, Cameroon, and Uganda.
[2] She was an "avid gardener, seamstress, photographer and admirer of visual artists, her favorite being Georgia O'Keeffe.