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AIDS Science Day Draws a Crowd for Review of Current HIV/AIDS Research

Nearly 300 people gathered at the Omni New Haven on April 22 to listen to experts describe current research on a variety of HIV/AIDS-related topics ranging from the possible emergence of an HIV supervirus to various aspects of the link between HIV/AIDS risk and drug use. The event was AIDS Science Day, sponsored by Yale's Center for Interdisciplinary Research on AIDS (CIRA), which, in its sixth year, highlighted the HIV/AIDS research being conducted at Yale, CIRA's two collaborating institutions, the Hispanic Health Council and The Institute for Community Research, and within the community.

A day-long series of panels addressed a broad range of issues in the global HIV/AIDS pandemic. Research done in local communities was presented, as was research done in a variety of countries, including China, Nicaragua, India, Kenya, Russia, and South Africa.

In addition to panels, the event featured a poster session, booths staffed by representatives of community HIV/AIDS organizations, and the traveling photo exhibit “Giving Women Power Over AIDS.”

Dr. George Ayala, Director of the Institute for Gay Men's Health, delivering the keynote address, entitled "Holding Open Space: Re-tooling and Re-imagining HIV Prevention Research for Gay and Bisexual Men," at AIDS Science Day.

The day's final event was a keynote address entitled “Holding Open Space: Re-tooling and Re-imagining HIV Prevention Research for Gay and Bisexual Men,” given by George Ayala, Psy.D., Director of the Institute for Gay Men's Health, a partnership between Gay Men's Health Crisis in New York City and AIDS Project Los Angeles. Dr. Ayala was introduced by Michael H. Merson, M.D., Anna M.R. Lauder Professor of Public Health and Director of CIRA.

Primary EPH faculty members who presented their research at AIDS Science Day panels included Nadia Abdala, Ph.D., D.V.M., Associate Research Scientist in the Division of Epidemiology of Microbial Diseases (EMD), Kim Blankenship, Ph.D., Associate Research Scientist in the Division of Chronic Disease Epidemiology (CDE), Robert Dubrow, Ph.D., M.D., Associate Clinical Professor in CDE, Lauretta Grau, Ph.D., Associate Research Scientist in EMD, Nora Groce, Ph.D., Associate Professor of Public Health in the Division of Global Health, Robert Heimer, Ph.D., Associate Professor of Epidemiology in EMD, Jeannette Ickovics, Ph.D., Associate Professor of Epidemiology in CDE and Director of the Social and Behavioral Sciences Program, Trace Kershaw, Ph.D., Assistant Professor of Epidemiology in CDE, and Kaveh Khoshnood, Ph.D., M.P.H., Assistant Professor of Epidemiology in EMD. A number of EPH research associates and students also presented posters and were members of the research teams whose work was presented.

–Story by Christy Gordon