Emory
Center for AIDS Research (CFAR) Investigators Join Global Gathering
at XIV International AIDS Conference
BARCELONAA
group of more than 20 scientists and clinicians from the Emory Center
for AIDS Research (CFAR) will join 15,000 delegates from around the
world at the XIV International AIDS Conference in Barcelona, Spain from
July 7 through 12. The conference which occurs every other year, includes
leading scientists and clinicians, health care workers, public health
agencies, people living with AIDS, politicians, and the media.
The conference is organized
by the International AIDS Society (IAS) and the Fundacio Barcelona SIDA
2002. It is co-sponsored by the Joint United Nations Project for HIV/AIDS
(UNAIDS), the International Community of Women Living with HIV/AIDS
(ICW), the Global Network of People Living with HIV/AIDS, the International
Council of AIDS Service Organizations (ICASO) and Red 2002 (a Spanish-based
network of government organizations.
James W. Curran, MD, MPH,
director of the Emory CFAR and dean of the Rollins School of Public
Health of Emory University, will speak on Thursday, July 11 at 12:30
p.m., on "Reflections on AIDS: 1981-2031." Harriet Robinson, Ph.D.,
chief of the Division of Microbiology and Immunology at Yerkes National
Primate Research Center and Asa Griggs Candler professor of microbiology
and immunology at Emory University School of Medicine, will participate
in a symposium on HIV vaccine research on Wednesday, July 10 at 2:00
p.m.
During the conference, Emory
CFAR investigators from the Rollins School of Public Health, the Emory
Vaccine Research Center, the Yerkes National Primate Research Center,
the Atlanta VA Medical Center, and Emory University School of Medicine
will present findings from research they are conducting on clinical
and prevention science with a variety of topics including gender comparisons
of toxicity to AIDS drugs; the persistence of Pneumocystis pneumonia
among patients at Grady Memorial Hospital, HIV/AIDS in prisons; HIV
risk reduction among female drug abusers; the HIV prevention practices
of HIV care providers, the benefits of social capital in reducing HIV
and other sexually transmitted diseases; the influence of morphine on
AIDS progression in an animal model; and the effect of mental health
disorders and substance abuse on AIDS complications.
"This international AIDS
gathering is a crucial part of our efforts to arrest this ongoing and
progressive epidemic," said Dean Curran. "The consequences of HIV and
AIDS are evident in every nation throughout the world, and either directly
or indirectly affect every individual. Collaboration among scientists,
governments, and those living with AIDS is essential to our success."
The Emory CFAR is an NIH-funded
effort that bring together AIDS investigators throughout Emory to facilitate
interdisciplinary and translational research on AIDS. In addition, it
facilitates collaborations among academic, public health, government
and private AIDS researchers and clinicians throughout metro Atlanta.
CFAR-affiliated programs include basic and translational programs in
HIV vaccine research and human immunology conducted at the Emory Vaccine
Research Center and at the newly opened Hope Clinic, a community site
in Decatur, Georgia, that runs clinical trials of experimental AIDS
vaccines. CFAR also facilitates drug development research and inpatient
and outpatient treatment protocol investigations within the Emory School
of Medicine Infectious Disease Division and Emory Healthcare, as well
as at the Grady Infectious Diseases Program and the Georgia Research
Center for AIDS and HIV Infection at the Atlanta VA Medical Center.
Other CFAR programs include public health prevention and risk-reduction
programs, and HIV/AIDS prevention cost-benefit analysis research through
Emory's Rollins School of Public Health and global AIDS training programs
in affiliation with the Emory International AIDS Training and Research
Program (AITRP) directed by Dr. Carlos del Rio.
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