Coco's blog

For all you burgeoning HIV research advocates in the DC area- next Friday, April 30th, there will be a congressional briefing sponsored by some organizing committee members of the Catalyst Forum (amfAR, AVAC, TAG, etc.)

HIV and AIDS research supported by NIH has saved and improved the lives of millions and holds great promise for significantly reducing HIV infection rates and providing more effective treatments for those living with HIV/AIDS. Yet years of erratic funding levels for NIH have undermined our nation’s leadership in health research and our scientists’ ability to take advantage of the expand-ing opportunities to advance healthcare. Speakers will address the need for more investment in AIDS research- as well as advancements made in the last few years and what is in the pipeline for the future.  Attend if you can and make your presence known and voices heard!

AIDS Research At NIH: New Opportunities to Change the Course of the Epidemic

______________________________________________________

Friday, April 30, 2010
12:00 p.m. to 1:30 p.m.
at the
Rayburn House Office Building
Room B-338/339
South Capitol Street and Independence Avenue, S.W.
Washington, D.C.

Lunch will be provided.
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Featuring

Anthony Fauci, M.D.
Director, National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, NIH

Jack Whitescarver, Ph.D.
Director, Office of AIDS Research, Associate Director for AIDS Research, NIH

Wafaa El-Sadr, M.D., M.P.H.
Director, International Center for AIDS Care and Treatment Programs
Professor of Clinical Medicine and Epidemiology, Mailman School of Public Health
Columbia University

Ada Adimora, M.D., M.P.H.
Associate Professor of Medicine, School of Medicine
Clinical Associate Professor of Epidemiology, School of Public Health, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill

______________________________________________________

RSVP

Please RSVP by clicking here: rsvp.policyoffice@amfar.org
or by calling (202) 331-8600

Last month, Treatment Action Group (TAG) in collaboration with amfAR published a policy brief titled "A Sound Investment: The Multiplier Effect of AIDS Research” to make the case to White House officials and congressional allies to push for more long term robust funding for AIDS research. For those of you who haven't yet read the brief-it is linked above and well worth checking out.

The brief includes really fascinating information including a timeline of major accomplishments in AIDS research over the last 29 years as well as some examples of how AIDS research funded by the National Institutes of Health (NIH) has benefited those living with other life-threatening diseases such as Cancer, Hepatitis B & C, heart disease and Alzheimer’s to name a few. The brief also talks about important scientific opportunities on the horizon for AIDS research and the consequences of our government's failure to consistently and adequately invest in AIDS and health research.

Copies of the brief will be available tomorrow (Wed, April 21, 2010) from 1:15 - 2:30 pm at the Skills Building Workshop titled "Where Does Research Happen & How is it Regulated and Funded?" Hope to see you there!

We're pleased to announce that 150 scholarships have been awarded nationally along with 20 to local applicants (more scholarship winner demographics included in the graphic below). Thank you to everyone who took time to apply, we received over 1,000 submissions in three weeks and regret that we could not accommodate more people; we appreciate your interest and will do our best to maximize the availability of information from the conference via this website. For those who won't be attending the Catalyst Forum, webcasts and powerpoint presentations from several sessions will be posted online during the conference, so be sure to check them out then.

Scholarship winner demographic breakdown

Welcome to the Catalyst Forum blog, an independent community resource from the cosponsors of the 2010 HIV Research Catalyst Forum. In the lead up to the conference this blog will serve as a resource for community members to post on relevant information and topics that we will delve into further during the Catalyst Forum. If you're interested in contributing to this blog or have any questions or comments please email Coco.Jervis@treatmentactiongroup.org.

As many of you know, one of the world’s premiere HIV research meetings - the Conference on Retroviruses and Opportunistic Infections (CROI) just wrapped in San Francisco. For those for you who weren’t able to attend I highly recommend checking out CROI's Website and scrolling through some of the fascinating webcasts and podcasts from the conference. There you will find one of the Catalyst Forum’s most prominent steering committee members, Lyndee Dee, a former NATAF participant and long time activist with AIDS Action Baltimore and the AIDS Treatment Activists Coalition giving a fascinating and rousing speech about Community Involvement in AIDS Research: Past, Present, and Future. Dee’s speech is a must listen to for anyone attending the Catalyst Forum- so be sure to check it out and tell us what you think.