Media contacts:
Holly Korschun, 404/727-3990, hkorsch@emory.edu
Kathi Ovnic, 404/727-9371, covnic@emory.edu
Janet Christenbury, 404/727-8599, jmchris@emory.edu
July 5, 2002


 



Emory Center for AIDS Research (CFAR) Investigators Join Global Gathering at XIV International AIDS Conference



BARCELONA—A 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.

Return to July Index





For more general information on The Robert W. Woodruff Health Sciences Center
call Health Sciences Communication's Office at 404-727-5686,
or send e-mail to hsnews@emory.edu





Copyright © Emory University, 2001. All Rights Reserved.