Are Preventive and Therapeutic HIV Vaccines on the Horizon?

The Capital Area Vaccine Effort (CAVE) and Us Helping Us, People into Living, Inc. (UHU) invite you to our HIV Vaccine Awareness Day (HVAD) Forum: Are Preventive and Therapeutic HIV Vaccines on the Horizon? The forum takes place on Friday, May 16, 2008 at 6:00 PM, at the Academy for Educational Development (AED), Greeley Hall, 1875 Connecticut Ave., NW. Reception to follow. Please RSVP to: Sterling Washington, (202) 446-1100 x1123 swashington@uhupil.org.

HIV Vaccine Awareness Day: May 18th, 2008

About HIV Vaccine Awareness Day Scientists have been searching for a vaccine to prevent HIV infection since the virus was first identified in 1983. Each clinical trial brings us one step closer to finding an effective vaccine. More than 25,000 HIV-negative individuals have participated in both government- and privately sponsored HIV vaccine trials. May 18, 2008 marks the eleventh annual HIV Vaccine Awareness Day. It is a day to educate our communities about the efforts to find a preventive HIV vaccine and to recognize and thank the thousands of volunteers, health professionals and scientists who are conducting and participating in HIV vaccine research.

Investigación de Vacunas del VIH / HIV Vaccine Research

Investigación de Vacunas del VIH Una observación en la investigación de vacunas del VIH en Perú y el área metropolitana de Washington, DC Voceros Ofrecidos: -Pedro Goicochea, Impacta Perú (www.impactaperu.org) -Dr. Barney Graham, Centro De Investigación de Vacunas, NIAID, NIH (www.vrc.nih.gov) -Jeff Stanton, Academia Para el Desarrollo Educativo (www.aed.org) Acompañenos para una Observación a fondo acerca de la investigación de la vacuna del VIH. Jeff Stanton de la Academia para el Desarrollo Educativo proporcionará una descripción de la implicación en la comunidad en la investigación del VIH. Pedro Goicochea compartirá su experiencia con la investigación de la vacuna del VIH en Lima, Perú. El Dr. Barney Graham compartirá su experiencia trabajando con nuestra comunidad local. Refrigerios ligeros serán proveidos. La información será presentada en español directamente por los presentadores, o con la ayuda de traductores. Este acontecimiento honra el Día Nacional del Conocimiento del HIV/AIDS Latino, que ocurre el 15 de Octubre. Para aprender más sobre El Día Nacional del Conocimiento del HIV/AIDS Latino, por favor visite la pagina electronica del web: www.nlaad.org. Octubre 15, 2:30PM DC CARE Consortium 1156 15th Street, NW, Suite 500, Washington DC DC CARE está situado lo más cerca posible a la parada del metro de McPherson Square. Patrocinadores: DC CARE Consortium, Capital Area Vaccine Effort, Vaccine Research Center, Vineeta Foundation. HIV Vaccine Research A look at HIV Vaccine Research in Peru and the DC Metropolitan Area Featured Speakers: -Pedro Goicochea, Impacta Peru (www.impactaperu.org) -Dr. Barney Graham, Vaccine Research Center, NIH, NIAID (www.vrc.nih.gov) -Jeff Stanton, Academy for Educational Development (www.aed.org) Join us for an in-depth look at HIV Vaccine Research. Jeff Stanton from the Academy for Educational Development will provide an overview of community involvement in HIV Vaccine Research. Pedro Goicochea will share his experience with HIV Vaccine Research in Lima, Peru. Dr. Barney Graham will share his experience working in our local community. Light refreshments will be provided. Information will be presented in spanish either directly from the presenters, or with the assistance of translators. This event honors National Latino HIV/AIDS Awareness Day, which takes place October 15th. To learn more about National Latino HIV/AIDS Awareness Day, please visit: www.nlaad.org. October 15th, 2:30 PM DC CARE Consortium 1156 15th Street NW, Suite 500, Washington DC DC CARE is located closest to the McPerson Metro Stop. Sponsors: DC CARE Consortium, Capital Area Vaccine Effort, Vaccine Research Center, Vineeta Foundation.

CAVE Meeting October 9th, 2007

Please join us for the next meeting of the Capital Area Vaccine Effort (CAVE). We will meet on October 9th at the offices of Us Helping Us at 6:30 PM. Us Helping Us is located at 3636 Georgia Avenue NW, very close to the Georgia Ave Petworth Station Metro Stop. If you'd like to check out the minutes from our September meeting, click here. There's a lot going on with CAVE right now. For one, we're partnering with The Center for their October 1st Presentation on HIV Vaccine Research. We're also going to be participating in AIDS Walk Washington as part of the DC Fights Back AIDS Walk Team. We also need to follow up with the HIV/AIDS Administration on HIV testing issues for HIV vaccine trial participants. We sent a letter to Dr. Pane and got a response, but we haven't yet got a meeting set up to discuss the issue with the appropriate folks at the HIV/AIDS Administration. Finally, CAVE is looking at expanding our mission statement beyone HIV Vaccine Research to all Prevention research in the district. This would give us the ability to work on other prevention-research topics like Microbicides, Pre-Exposure Prophylaxis, Circumcision, other prevention research. This is a great time to get involved in CAVE - please join us for the next meeting.

September 11th CAVE Meeting at Us Helping Us

Please join us for the next meeting of the Capital Area Vaccine Effort (CAVE). We will meet on September 11th at the offices of Us Helping Us at 6:30 PM. Us Helping Us is located at 3636 Georgia Avenue NW, very close to the Georgia Ave Petworth Station Metro Stop. CAVE is the community advisory board for both the Vaccine Research Center and the U.S. Military HIV Research Program.

Vaccine Research Center Begins Phase I Trial in DC

The latest edition of the IAVI Report includes an article about the Vaccine Research Center, which is located on the Bethesda Campus of the National Institutes of Health: The Vaccine Research Center (VRC) at the US National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases in partnership with the US company GenVec recently began a Phase I clinical trial to evaluate the safety and immunogenicity of a novel adenovirus serotype 35 (Ad35)-based AIDS vaccine candidate in 15 volunteers. Adenovirus can cause some forms of the common cold and there are several serotypes circulating worldwide. Another adenovirus serotype, known as Ad5, is already being used as a vector in other AIDS vaccine candidates to deliver pieces of HIV to the immune system (see September 2004 Primer on Understanding Viral Vectors). Ad5-based vaccine candidates are now being tested in a series of Phase II trials by the VRC and in two large Phase IIb trials by the US company Merck. However one possible drawback to candidates that use Ad5 as a vector is the high prevalence of the virus in certain parts of the world. People who have been previously exposed to Ad5 may have pre-existing immunity towards the viral vector, and that could hinder their immune responses to the AIDS vaccine candidate. The potential advantage of using Ad35 is that it has a much lower prevalence globally. This two-part trial is the first to test another serotype of adenovirus in clinical trials. The first part will evaluate the safety of an intramuscular injection of the vaccine candidate at three different doses. Once the safety data is reviewed researchers will evaluate the safety and immunogenicity of the candidate when administered in combination with the VRC's Ad5 candidate. The Ad35 vaccine candidate was developed by the VRC and GenVec.

Be the Generation

The Vaccine Research Center is currently looking for healthy, HIV negative individuals to volunteer for local HIV vaccine research studies. If you've ever thought about volunteering for an HIV Vaccine Trial, now is a great time. Call 1-866-833-LIFE (5433) or e-mail VRCforlife@mail.nih.gov to find out more. And check out the great video above, which was includes footage from our own local HIV Vaccine Awareness Day events, and the work of Us Helping Us.

Today's HIV Vaccine Awareness Day Luncheon

Today's HIV Vaccine Awarness Day Lunch held at the Academy for Educational Development was a big success thanks to the efforts of the many people who contributed, including volunteers from City Year DC's project Hope Team. The lunch featured presentations by Brenda Larkin from the Vaccine Research Center, and Sterling Washington from Us Helping Us. To see pictures from this event, click here.

Today is HIV Vaccine Awareness Day

Today as most of you know is HIV Vaccine Awareness Day, an important opportunity to focus on the search for an HIV Vaccine and the trial participants and researchers who are making it happen. I don't know how the HIV/AIDS epidemic will end. And to be honest, sometimes I'm so wrapped up in the day-to-day struggle that even imagining the day when we can say there are no new HIV infections worldwide is virtually impossible. But today is the day we do dare to imagine exactly that. When that day comes we will have many people to thank including over 1,000 HIV negative volunteers our community who have stepped up to the plate and volunteered in studies to find a preventive HIV Vaccine. To our volunteers, let me say right now: THANK YOU. At the DC HIV/AIDS Reception tonight we will be honoring one organization and one individual who have contributed greatly to this effort. The organization is the amazing 19th Street Baptist Church, who have been partners in this effort for many, many years. Thge individual we are honoring is former CAVE chair Scott Simpson. To our honorees, let me say right now: THANK YOU. I hope you can join us at the wine & cheese reception tonight and find out how you can get involved in this effort. Here are some of the other things going on today: * Staff and volunteers from Us Helping Us are distributing information on HIV Vaccine Research to their partnering barbershops and beauty shops along Georgia Ave., N.W.; the Georgia Ave.-Petworth Metro station; and clubs patronized by Black gay men. * Our DC HIV Vaccine Awareness Day Lunch is taking place at 1:00 at the Academy for Educational Development. (sorry, no more RSVPs can be accepted). * Our HIV Vaccine Awareness Day Reception is going on tonight at the Academy for Educational devleopment: RSVP Here * Folks from IAVI just finished up a briefing on the Hill. click here to read the release. (I couldn't go, but I was just told Mitchell Warren kicked ass at this event) * Finally, the Bill and Melinda gates foundation just announced they will be contributing 9.7 million dollars for pediatric HIV Vaccine Research. I hope to report back on today's events tonight or over the weekend.

CAVE Meeting Minutes Now Online

Please join us for the next meeting of the The meeting from the May 8th Capital Area Vaccine Effort (CAVE) meeting are now online on the CAVE website. You can click here to download the minutes. The next CAVE event will of course be HIV Vaccine Awareness Day coming up on May 18th. We are near-capacity for the Lunch Presentation, but there is still plenty of room available at the Wine & Cheese Reception, so be sure to RSVP and join us if you haven't already.

CAVE Meeting May 8th

Please join us for the next meeting of the Capital Area Vaccine Effort (CAVE) on May 8th at 6:30 PM. We'll be meeting at the DC CARE Consortium, 1156 15th Street NW, Suite 500. CAVE is the community advisory board for both the Vaccine Research Center and the U.S. Military HIV Research Program. At this meeting we'll be finalizing plans for AIDS Vaccine Awareness Day, and planning upcoming events like our involvement in the DC AIDS Walk. It's not necessary to RSVP for this meeting, but if you'd like you can RSVP here.

ACTION Lunch: The State of HIV Vaccine Research

Last Thursday was the monthly ACTION (AIDS Clinical Trials Information and Orientation Network Lunch). Dr. Barney Graham, from the Vaccine Research Center, gave a great over of the state of HIV Vaccine Development. I've included a few pictures above. It was a great way to lead up to HIV Vaccine Awareness Day, coming up on May 18th. I hope you'll join us for HIV Vaccine Awareness Day this year. To find out more, click here. And please join us for ACTION lunch next month. Dr. Fred Gordin will be giving a presentation entitled: "When is it SMART to Start HIV Treatment?". To find out more about this event, click here.

HIV Vaccine Awareness Day 2007: Global Health. Local Action.

About HIV Vaccine Awareness Day Scientists have been searching for a vaccine to prevent HIV infection since the virus was first identified in 1983. Each clinical trial brings us one step closer to finding an effective vaccine. More than 25,000 HIV-negative individuals have participated in both government- and privately sponsored HIV vaccine trials. May 18, 2007 marks the tenth annual HIV Vaccine Awareness Day. It is a day to educate our communities about the efforts to find a preventive HIV vaccine and to recognize and thank the thousands of volunteers, health professionals and scientists who are conducting and participating in HIV vaccine research. Events HIV Vaccine Awareness Day Lunch: Global Health and the Search for an HIV Vaccine: Join us as we discuss local HIV vaccine research efforts and the role this work plays in the larger global health movement. Friday May 18th, 1:00 PM, Vista Room, Academy for Educational Development. 1825 Connecticut Ave., NW. (Dupont Circle Metro Stop on the Red Line) To RSVP for this event: click here. HIV Vaccine Awareness Day Reception: The annual HIV Vaccine Awareness Day reception honors all of our local HIV vaccine trial participants and those working locally to find an HIV Vaccine. Friday May 18th, 6:30 PM, Greeley Hall, Academy for Educational Development. 1825 Connecticut Ave, NW. (Dupont Circle Metro Stop on the Red Line) To RSVP for this event click here. HIV Vaccine Awareness Day Flyer To download the 2007 HIV Vaccine Awareness Day Flyer as a PDF file, click here. How You Can Get Involved For additional information on how you can help be a part of planning or supporting HIV Vaccine Awareness Day, download this document. If your organization would like to become a sponsor of HIV Vaccine Awareness Day, or you would like to support HIV Vaccine Awareness Day by donating a silent auction item, please contact: david@aidsvaccine.org.

DC HIV/AIDS Research Community Advisory Boards Post Open Letter

Three Washington DC Community Advisory Boards for HIV/AIDS Research have written a joint letter addressing sex and gender data collection in HIV/AIDS research. The letter is being posted online for one month so that interested CABS and community members can sign-on. All sign-ons must be received by May 11th. The letter will then be submitted to the Cross-CAB Working Group for NIH NIAID Division of AIDS (DAIDS) funded HIV/AIDS Research. The three CABs are: The Capital Area Vaccine Effort which serves as the community CAB for the NIH Vaccine Research Center, The Georgetown University Medical Center CAB which is part of the AIDS Clinical Trials Group, and the Washington VA Medical Center CAB, which is part of the International Network for Strategic Initiatives in Global HIV Trials. Most researchers have come to realize that the term 'sex' refers to birth sex or biological sex; and that the term 'gender' refers to someone's gender identity. This was discussed in detail at the Forum for Collaborative HIV/AIDS Research meeting on Sex and Gender, which I attended back in 2003. I guess I thought that since the meeting was co-sponsored by the CDC and the NIH that we would all be on the same page going forward. Sadly, their continues to be significant discrepancies across networks in how data on sex and gender is collected. All we are really asking is for DAIDS to get their act together and collect data on sex and gender in a consistent and appropriate manner. This is the right thing to do for everyone, but it is particularly important for the transgender community. You can find out more by clicking here. I hope that you will join us by signing on to the letter either as an individual or as an organization.

Capital Area Vaccine Effort Meeting April 10th

Please join us for the next meeting of the Capital Area Vaccine Effort(CAVE)on April 10th at 6:30 PM. We'll be meeting at the DC CARE Consortium, 1156 15th Street NW, Suite 500. CAVE is the community advisory board for the Vaccine Research Center, and at this meeting we're going to be looking at a new VRC research protocol (yeah, we were going to do this last month, but weren't able to). We'll also be discussing plans for AIDS Vaccine Awareness Day. It's not necessary to RSVP for this meeting, but if you'd like you can RSVP here.

HIV Testing & Vaccine Research: Letter to Dr. Gregg Pane

Earlier this week I posted on the issues around HIV vaccine study volunteers and HIV testing in the district. To update everyone, members of the Capital Area Vaccine Effort (CAVE) have submitted this letter to Dr. Gregg Pane at the Department of Health. I'm pretty confident that the necessary information can be easily integrated into current training for folks who so HIV testing in the district. I'll keep you posted. In the meantime, read more about this issue and other information about HIV Vaccine Research at the CAVE website: www.aidsvaccine.org.

HIV Testing & HIV Vaccine Research

The renewed focus on HIV Testing in the District is a good thing. After all, national data suggests 1 of every 4 people who are HIV positive don't know their status. And the sooner people know their status and get into treatment, the more likely a good outcome is. It becomes a problem, however, when the people doing HIV testing aren't aware of the specific issues relevant to HIV vaccine research trial participants. A recent incident at the University of Chicago illustrates just how bad things can get when those giving HIV tests don't have the facts on HIV vaccine research (click here to download the PDF on the Chicago example). Long story short, this individual was pressured to take an HIV test despite the fact that she told her doctor she was in a trial and didn't want one (this particular Doctor refused to give out birth-control without an HIV test). She then was told she was HIV positive even though she wasn't (it was a false-positive which can sometimes happen with trial volunteers). Getting this information caused her much unneccessary stress and also jeopardized the study by exposing which arm of the study she was in. Finally, after researchers contacted her medical provider to clear things up, she had difficulty getting the inaccurate HIV diagnosis removed from her medical records. This is an unneccesary and unacceptable outcome that we clearly want to avoid in the District of Columbia. I am one of literally hundreds of current and former HIV vaccine trial participants in our area. It's crucial that those doing testing are informed about us. There's a lot of stuff I'd like folks doing testing to know, but if I had to boil it down to a few key points, here they are: HIV Testing Counselors should be made aware that participation in an HIV vaccine trial can potentially alter the outcome of an ELISA and/or Western Blot HIV test. Current HIV vaccine trial participants should not be tested for HIV at local clinics, but should always be referred to their trial site for HIV testing. Former trial participants should continue to get tested at their research site until advised by researchers to do otherwise. Further it is important to emphasize that you cannot make any assumptions about someone's HIV status based on the fact that they are currently in a trial. For a more indepth look at what local HIV/AIDS organizations should know about HIV Vaccine research, please review this document: 'HIV/AIDS Service Organizations & HIV Prevention Vaccine Research'. This document was written a few years back by myself and other members of the Capital Area Vaccine Effort. I updated the document and we reviewed it at the CAVE meeting last night. It's also available on the CAVE website. Click here to download 'HIV/AIDS Service Organizations & HIV Prevention Vaccine Research'. Please be sure to print it out and share it with folks who do counseling and testing in the District. CAVE will also be writing a letter to DOH to encourage this information be included and emphasized in training programs those conducting HIV tests.

CAVE Meeting Tuesday March 13th

Please join us for the next meeting of the Capital Area Vaccine Effort(CAVE)on March 13th at 6:30 PM. We'll be meeting at the DC CARE Consortium, 1156 15th Street NW, Suite 500. CAVE is the community advisory board for the Vaccine Research Center, and at this meeting we're going to be looking at a new VRC research protocol. We'll also be discussing plans for AIDS Vaccine Awareness Day.

April ACTION Lunch: The State of HIV Vaccine Development with Dr. Barney Graham

Join us April 12th at 1:00 PM for the monthly ACTION lunch presentation at the DC CARE Consortium, 1156 15th Street, Suite 500, Washington DC. DC CARE is located at the corner of 15th and M Streets, and is closest to the McPherson Metro Stop. Where are we in the search for a safe, effective HIV Vaccine? Dr. Barney Graham (pictured left) will discuss the current state of HIV Vaccine research, focusing on the work done locally at the NIH Vaccine Research Center. Read more about Dr. Graham and the work of the VRC right here. To RSVP for this event, click here.

DC HIV/AIDS Groups: Apply for this Money!

DC HIV/AIDS Organizations have an incredible opportunity to apply for funds to do awareness around HIV Vaccine Research in DC. Organizations can apply for up to $35,000 per year for a period of two years and four months (March 1, 2007 through June 30, 2009). The NIH/NIAID/DAIDS initiative is being made available through a subcontract with AED. Here's the thing. The bulk of this grant involves doing events for AIDS Vaccine Awareness Day. Here in DC, the VRC and Capital Area Vaccine Effort. are already making plans for AIDS Vaccine Awareness Day (read more about our plans here). The Capital Area Vaccine Effort can't apply for this money because they are not a 501C-3, but we'll be more than happy to work with whatever DC organization gets this grant. Heck, I can even meet with you and help you write the grant. Just apply for the money. The deadline is coming up February 16th, and despite my best efforts, I haven't been able to get any local AIDS Service organizations to submit a proposal yet. If you're interested, please contact me ASAP. Read the full RFP right here.

CAVE Meeting on February 13th

Please join us for the next meeting of the Capital Area Vaccine Effort(CAVE)on February 13th at 6:30 PM. We'll be meeting at the DC CARE Consortium, 1156 15th Street NW, Suite 500. CAVE is the community advisory board for the Vaccine Research Center, and at this meeting we're going to be looking at a new VRC research protocol. We'll also be discussing plans for AIDS Vaccine Awareness Day.