Today's ACTION Lunch

Today I hosted another ACTION Lunch. This month's topic was 'Community Involvement in HIV/AIDS Research'. We had an excellent panel of four folks who discussed from a personal perspective why they got involved in HIV/AIDS research community advisory boards, their experiences and challenges, and the changes they've seen over the years.

There were folks here from: The Adult AIDS Clinical Trials Group (ACTG), the International Network for Strategic Initiatives in Global HIV Trials (INSIGHT), and the Vaccine Research Center.

It is my hope that some of the 20+ folks who attended today are inspired to join a local community advisory board. If you'd like to find out more about local Community Advisory Boards drop me a line and let's talk about it.

And please join us next month for a presentation by Christine Grady on the Ethics of Clinical Research. Understanding the basic principles of what makes HIV/AIDS research ethical is a key part of being an effective Community Advisory Board Member.

Christine Grady currently heads the section on human subject research in the NIH Department of Clinical Bioethics. We could not possibly have a better speaker on this topic. She will take us through the history of clinical studies in the United States (including Tuskegee, Willowbrook, etc ..) and the evolution of research ethics (and protections for volunteers) over the years.

Download the flyer for this event here, and please print out copies of the flyer and share it with others who may be interested.