HVTN site activities for HIV Vaccine Awareness Day
SEATTLE - Domestic and international sites of the HIV Vaccine Trials Network will celebrate the 5th Annual HIV Vaccine Awareness Day by engaging the public in a discussion on HIV vaccine research and trial participation. Here is a list of activities, events and contact information:
Baltimore, MD. The HVTN has two distinct trial sites in Baltimore.
One site, a collaboration of the Institute for Human Virology (IHV) and the University of Maryland, will bring 50 students from five Baltimore high schools to meet with Dr. Robert Gallo, the scientist credited with co-discovering HIV. The day will consist of educational rap music, lab tours and educational workshops followed by lunch in the courtyard.
The evening event will bring together approximately 200 community leaders and members, trial participants and public health officials. Congressman Elijah Cummings and Dr. Jay Chunn of Morgan State University will both speak, with Congressman Cummings delivering the keynote address. There will also be testimony from trial volunteers from the site. In addition, there will be a large group from the African American Church. The event will be held at The House of Prayer for All People.
For more information, contact Sandra Wearins at 410-706-1290 and wearins@umbi.umd.edu or Gwen Newman at 410-706-4616 and
newmang@umbi.umd.edu.
At the Johns Hopkins University trial site, the Community Advisory Board is sponsoring a community forum from 10 am to 2 pm on May 17 at the Church of the Redeemed of the Lord in East Baltimore. The forum will include a panel discussion on the past, present and future of HIV vaccine research followed by breakout groups addressing HIV basics, vaccine basics, the role of communities in HIV vaccine trials and opportunities for volunteering. Dr. Lonise Bias, mother of the late University of Maryland basketball star Len Bias, will be the keynote speaker at the event. The Community Advisory Board will also present a plaque to thank past, present and future trial volunteers.
For more information, contact Theron Scott at 410-614-6619 and thscott@jhsph.edu.
Birmingham, AL. The trial site at the University of Alabama at Birmingham will distribute posters and thank you letters to its trial volunteers in addition to participating in an HIV vaccine awareness program on a popular local radio station.
For more information, contact Leslie Cooper at 205-975-2839 and lcooper@uab.edu.
Boston, MA. As part of a greater HIV vaccine awareness campaign, the Boston site, a collaboration of Harvard Medical School, Brigham & Women’s Hospital and Fenway Community Health, will host a community forum featuring a number of investigators and Pat Thomas, author of Big Shot: Passion, Politics and the Struggle for an AIDS Vaccine. Also participating in the event will be Abner Mason, chief secretary to Massachusetts Gov. Jane Swift and a member of President Bush’s Presidential Advisory Council on HIV and AIDS.
For more information, contact Ben Perkins at 617-927-6085 and bperkins@fenwayhealth.org.
Gaborone, Botswana. The site, housed at Princess Marina Hospital, is working with Joy Phumaphi, Minister of Health of Botswana, on a radio address to the nation regarding HIV vaccine research and trials, which will take place on the morning of May 18. The site is will also host a cocktail reception introducing its Community Advisory Board on May 18. The site’s principal investigator, Dr. Tonya Villafana, will give remarks.
For more information, contact Rupert Hambira at 267-393-1137 and rhambira@bhp.org.bw.
Lima, Peru. The Lima site, which runs in cooperation with an NGO called Impacta, is targeting local universities with an awareness campaign, offering lecturers and discussion group leaders in addition to posters, pins and bookmarks highlighting the issue.
For more information, contact Cezar Bazan at 511-242-3085 ext. 108 and cbazan@impacta.org.
Nashville, TN. The Nashville site, located at the Vanderbilt University Medical Center, is bringing noted AIDS activist and author Valerie Reeder-Bey to town to meet with community groups and distribute to children her book Annisha’s Story: My Grandma Has AIDS, which helps kids learn to deal with HIV+ loved ones. The Vanderbilt events start at 9:30 am with a celebration at Dragon Park (24th and Blakemore) where MIX 92.9 FM radio personality Maria Ritter will emcee an event to thank trial volunteers and hear Ms. Reeder-Bey’s story. The afternoon event will take place at the John Henry Hale Community Center at 2 pm, where the Blazing 106.7 FM van and various community groups will gather to discuss HIV issues.
For more information, contact Susan Montgomery at Susan.Montgomery@Vanderbilt.edu and 615-322-0873.
New York City, NY. The New York site, a partnership of Columbia University and the New York Blood Center, will have a photo shoot on May 16 in order to create a “Meet the Volunteers” educational brochure. The site is also engaged in a media and advertising campaign leading to a citywide conference on HIV vaccines on June 18 and 19.
For more information, please contact Denise Goodman at denise_Goodman@nybc.org and 212-388-0008 or Beryl Koblin at 212-570-3105 and bkoblin@nybc.org.
Port-Au-Prince, Haiti. The Centres GHESKIO, which runs the Haiti site, will be hosting a celebration of its volunteers, including a theatrical production dramatizing HIV vaccine research and the trial participation process.
For more information, contact Mireille Peck at 509-222-0031 and mireillespeck@yahoo.com.
Providence, RI. The Providence site is managed by Brown University and Miriam Hospital and will host a variety of events for HIV Vaccine Awareness Day, including a presentation to the hospital’s public health partners on May 14, a night of gay bingo at the Riviera Bingo Hall on May 16 and a luncheon with area churches on May 17.
For more information, contact Stephanie Howie at 401-793-4714 and Showie@lifespan.org or Eric White at 401-444-7480 and ewhite1@lifespan.org.
Rochester, NY. The Rochester site, located at the University of Rochester Medical Center, is working with local media to highlight the search for an HIV vaccine and explain the trial process. The site has also teamed up with multiple local merchants and business organizations, including a local Starbucks, to distribute redeemable coupons to trial volunteers in appreciation for their involvement.
For more information, contact Patrick Fisher at 585-275-0459 and Patrick_Fisher@URMC.Rochester.edu or Karin Gaffney at 585-275-1311 and karin_gaffney@urmc.rochester.edu.
San Francisco, CA. The San Francisco site, coordinated though the San Francisco Department of Public Health, is sponsoring an oral and photographic history of 6-8 trial participants, which will open May 17 at the San Francisco Lesbian Gay Bisexual Transsexual Center. After the opening, Dr. Lawrence Peiperl, co-principal investigator for the site, will participate in a discussion on the state of research.
For more information, contact Meredith Broome at 415-554-4297 and Meredith.Broome@sfdph.org or Eileen Shields at 415-554-2507.
Seattle, WA. The Seattle trial site, a partnership of the University of Washington and the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center, is thanking past and current trial participants through a variety of advertisements in local newspapers.
For more information, contact Dennis Torres at 206-521-5812 and ditorres@u.washington.edu.
South Africa. The South Africa program, a collaboration of the Medical Research Council and the South African AIDS Vaccine Initiative, will be hosting a meeting of community and public health leaders, including the premier of KwaZulu-Natal province, on May 24.
For more information, contact Pumi Yeni at 27-31-203-4828 and pyeni@mrc.ac.za.
St. Louis, MO. The St. Louis trial site, housed at the St. Louis University School of Medicine, is organizing a “recruit-a-friend” celebration at a local nightclub, including speakers and music. Four hundred-fifty trial participants have been invited. Attendees will hear brief presentations about the trials currently in progress and research in the pipeline. They will also be introduced to members of the Community Advisory Board.
For more information, contact Tim Lynch at 314-268-5448 and lynchtj@SLU.edu or Joe Muehlenkamp at 314-977-8015 and muehlenk@SLU.edu.
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