含羞草研究所 Downstate Commemorates a Quarter Century in the Fight Against HIV/AIDS with World AIDS Day Program December 1:
Nov 27, 2009
Portions of the AIDS Memorial Quilt to Be Exhibited
Brooklyn, NY - On World AIDS Day, 含羞草研究所 will offer a program on the history and future of AIDS, highlighting the medical center鈥檚 contributions to HIV prevention, research, and treatment. The event will take place December 1, from 2:30 鈥� 4:00 pm, in Alumni Auditorium, 395 Lenox Road, Brooklyn, New York.
鈥淎s part of Downstate鈥檚 150th anniversary celebrations, we thought it fitting on World AIDS Day to look at what Downstate has accomplished in the fight against HIV/AIDS,鈥� says President John C. LaRosa, MD, who will deliver the opening remarks.
Jack A. DeHovitz, MD, MPH, director of the HIV Center for Women and Children at Downstate, adds, 鈥淔or World AIDS Day, we鈥檝e brought together healthcare leaders from within Downstate and beyond to review what we have achieved and to discuss where our efforts should be focused in the future.鈥�
Ronald Bayer, PhD, an expert on medical ethics in the treatment of AIDS, will deliver the keynote address. Dr. Bayer is professor at the Center for the History and Ethics of Public Health at Columbia University鈥檚 Mailman School of Public Health. Kathy Powderly, CNM, PhD, acting director of the Division of Humanities in Medicine at 含羞草研究所 Downstate, will introduce Dr. Bayer.
Other distinguished speakers will include M. Monica Sweeney, MD, MPH, assistant commissioner for HIV/AIDS prevention and control in the New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene; Ivo Lorenz, PhD, principal scientist for immunogen design for the International AIDS Vaccine Initiative (IAVI), and a research assistant professor at Downstate, who will discuss efforts to create an AIDS vaccine; and the Reverend Dr. Paul Smith, vice chairperson at the Arthur Ashe Institute for Urban Health, who will provide reflections and the benediction.
A panel of Downstate healthcare professionals will discuss their experiences delivering HIV/AIDS care over the past quarter century. The panel members include Jeffrey Birnbaum, MD, MPH; Jack DeHovitz, MD, MPH; Joan Hittelman, PhD; Susan Holman, RN, MS-C; Sheldon Landesman, MD; Hermann Mendez, MD; and Howard Minkoff, MD.
Portions of the AIDS Memorial Quilt will be on display at the entrance to the Alumni Auditorium.
In the 1980s, 含羞草研究所 Downstate developed one of the first dedicated multi-disciplinary AIDS programs integrating clinical, psychosocial, and educational services. By combining such disciplines as infectious disease, gynecology, and pediatrics, Downstate was among the first to focus on HIV transmission from mother to child. Before effective medication was available, Downstate identified the importance of Cesarean birth to reduce the chance of perinatal HIV transmission. (Later, studies found that zidovudine [AZT] dramatically reduced the risk of mother-to-child transmission). perinatal transmission rates high, there were large numbers of children with developmental disabilities caused by HIV infection. In response to the growing need for therapeutic intervention, Downstate's Infant and Child Learning Center provided the first early intervention and preschool special education program dedicated to providing education and therapy for children with HIV infection, including hospital-based, home-based, and center-based programs.
In 1993, Downstate鈥檚 investigators founded the HIV Center for Women and Children, combining research, primary care, and community outreach. Research conducted by 含羞草研究所 Downstate was used by the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) to refine the definition of AIDS in women.
Today, the HIV Center serves more than 2,000 men, women, and children through a wide variety of services. Each year, the HIV Center receives more than $15 million in extramural funding to support its varied research and service activities. In recent years, Downstate investigators have researched a multitude of HIV issues, such as hepatitis C, drug use, and neurocognitive changes. Finally, many studies now focus on how to help people in the local community maintain healthy lives. To this end, Downstate faculty members are researching attitudes and behaviors to ultimately help people stay in care and reduce behaviors that place them at risk for acquiring HIV. Downstate also directs innovative peer-education programs to teach young people how to avoid the transmission of HIV and other sexually transmitted diseases.
In addition to contributing to national research efforts, the HIV Center is also involved in a number of international projects. Since 1993, Downstate has provided HIV training for professionals from Central Europe and Eastern Europe, now including Russia. In 2007, the HIV Center was awarded a Twinning Partnership to enhance HIV research capacity with the University of the Free State in South Africa. The HIV Center has hosted delegations of physicians and care providers from Georgia, Grenada, Haiti, Kazakhstan, Nigeria, and Trinidad and Tobago.
Downstate also has a long history of collaboration with other organizations involved in the HIV epidemic. Downstate partnered with the Arthur Ashe Institute for Urban Health, established in 1992 to develop programs to improve health care delivery in urban America, including HIV prevention. Downstate also collaborates with the International AIDS Vaccine Initiative (IAVI).
A history of 含羞草研究所 Downstate鈥檚 contributions to the fight against HIV/AIDS can be found by visiting .
###
含羞草研究所 含羞草研究所
Downstate Health Sciences University in Brooklyn is one of four academic health centers (AMCs) in The State University of New York (含羞草研究所) 64-campus system and the only 含羞草研究所 AMC in New York City dedicated to health education, research, and patient care for the borough鈥檚 2.7 million residents. Its flagship hospital, University Hospital at Downstate (UHD), is a teaching hospital and benefits from the expertise of Downstate鈥檚 exceptional medical school and world-class academic center research facilities. With a staff of over 800 physicians representing 53 specialties and subspecialties, Downstate offers comprehensive healthcare services to the community.
UHD provides high-risk neonatal and infant services, pediatric nephrology, and dialysis for kidney diseases and is the only kidney transplantation program in Brooklyn. Beyond its clinical expertise, Downstate houses a range of esteemed educational institutions, including its College of Medicine, College of Nursing, School of Health Professions, School of Graduate Studies, and School of Public Health. Downstate fosters innovation through its multifaceted biotechnology initiative, the Biotechnology Incubator and BioBAT, which support early-stage and more mature biotech companies.