CAVE Meeting September 9th

Please join us for the next meeting of the Capital Area Vaccine Effort(CAVE)on Wednesday September 9th at 7:00 PM. We'll be meeting at the DC Center, 1111 14th Street NW, Suite 350.

CAVE is the community advisory board for the Vaccine Research Center. Capital Area Vaccine Effort is a volunteer panel of individuals from the general public and from the diverse communities affected by AIDS. CAVE is organized to assist and advise AIDS vaccine trials in the metropolitan DC area by:

• Assessing the concerns and serving as an advocate for AIDS vaccine participants and the general public.
• Acting as a liaison & ombudsman between AID vaccine researchers and those interested in AIDS vaccine research.
• Reflecting affected populations in its own composition.
As appropriate, encouraging participation in AIDS Vaccine Trials, and acting as community educators on AIDS vaccine research
Assessing ethical and social implications & impact of the AIDS Vaccine Trials

For more information, visit www.aidsvaccine.org or visit the new CAVE Facebook Group.

The DC Center Announces First HIV/AIDS Grant

The Board of Directors of the Metro DC Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual, and Transgender (GLBT) Community Center (The DC Center) are pleased to announce their first HIV/AIDS grant.

The National HIV Vaccine Research and Education Initiative Grant is designed to create a supportive local environment for HIV vaccine research by educating key communities about this research in areas where HIV vaccine clinical trials are ongoing or planned. The DC Center is one of several organizations that will be funded under this grant.

David Mariner, Executive Director of the DC Center stated: “This grant provides a unique opportunity to educate the GLBT community about the importance of HIV Vaccine research. We’ll be coordinating activities of this grant closely with our HIV Working Group.”

The DC Center will continue to work with the local community advisory board for HIV Vaccine Research, the Capital Area Vaccine Effort, and the Vaccine Research Center at the NIH. This partnership first began when The DC Center organized an educational event on vaccine research on October 1st, 2007 at Dakota Cowgirl/Titan Bar. More recently, the groups collaborated on a community update on HIV prevention research, under the direction of The DC Center’s Crystal Meth Working Group, which was held at the HRC Equality Center on May 14th of this year.

About The DC Center HIV Working Group

Following a December 4th Town Hall on HIV/AIDS, The DC Center launched their HIV Working Group in January of 2009. The HIV Working Group meets the fourth Wednesday of every month at the DC Center, and meetings are open to the public. The group, chaired by Daniel O’Neill, currently distributes over 2,000 safer sex kits each week. More information about the safer-sex kit campaign is available at the website www.dctoolkit.org.

About The DC Center

The DC Center’s mission is to celebrate, strengthen, and support community among the GLBT residents and organizations of Metropolitan Washington, DC. Programs of The DC Center include: Career Development, The David Bohnett CyberCenter, CenterArts, DC Crystal Meth Working Group, DC for Marriage, Elder Think Tank, GLOV – Gays and Lesbians Opposing Violence (a Task Force of The DC Center), HIV Working Group, OutWrite Author Series, and the Tobacco Working Group. The DC Center issues a weekly newsletter of GLBT community events and information. For more information and to sign up for our newsletter, please visit www.TheDCCenter.org.

A Community Update on HIV Prevention Research

Could a pill a day protect you from HIV? Could a gel, liquid, or foam prevent vaginal or rectal HIV transmission? Will we one day have a safe, effective HIV Vaccine?

Join us for a discussion on HIV prevention research taking place around the world and right here in Washington DC. We’ll discuss vaccine research, microbicide research, and pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) research. We’ll also talk about crystal meth and other substance use among trial participants, the connection between substance use and high risk sexual behavior, and how researchers incorporate harm reduction counseling into clinical trials for at-risk individuals.

Thursday May 14th at 7:00 PM at the Human Rights Campaign Equality Center, 1640 Rhode Island Ave NW.

To see the facebook event page, click here.

Sponsors: The DC Center - DC Crystal Meth Working Group - NIAID NIH Vaccine Research Center - Capital Area Vaccine Effort - Department of Health - District of Columbia - This program is funded in part by the Government of the District of Columbia

Vaccine Research Center Launches Mobile Clinic

The Clinical Trials Core of the Vaccine Research Center (VRC) at the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases invites you to join us for the VRC Mobile Clinic Launch Reception.

The Vaccine Research Center's work includes preventive and therapeutic HIV vaccine research. The new mobile clinic will make it easier for folks in the District to be screened for, and participate in HIV vaccine research studies.

The event will be held Friday June 6, 2008 at 11am on the NIH Campus. Exact location will be adjacent to Bldg 40, the Vaccine Research Center. Please RSVP by emailing vaccines@nih.gov or calling 1-866-833-LIFE (5433)

Two Local Articles on HIV Vaccine Research

There are two great local articles about HIV vaccine research, be sure to check them out. First, Metro Weekly has an article about Monday Night's presentation on HIV Vaccine Research organized by The Center. If you missed the event, it was a great night of fun and discussion at one my favorite local hangouts, the Ramrod.

One of the hot topics of the night was the recent closure of a Merck vaccine study, known as the Step Study. While the failure of this study is disappointing, it is important to remember was just one of many approaches to HIV Vaccine Research currently being researched.

Which brings me to the Washington Blade Article on the Step Study. The article quotes one of many researchers involved in the study, Dr. Mark Mulligan from Atlanta's Hope Center:

“While disappointment was my main reaction, the next step is, OK, this is science and we’ve gotten a clear and strong answer what direction not to take,” Mulligan added. “We knew it might work, that it might not work. And we learn from that experience, so in that sense, it has been successful. Now we can throw our energy and efforts into other candidate vaccines.”

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.