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2009

Michigan

Elizabeth Hamilton has taken on the Coordinator position for the MDCH- HIV/STD/VH/TB Epidemiology Section
Data Management and Analysis Team (DMAT). In this role she is coordinating the Section's response to data requests. "Liz has been a national leader in analyzing incidence data and providing support to surveillance programs in other states. She has been the primary author of the last three Epidemiologic Profiles of HIV in Michigan. We welcome her taking on this responsibility and appreciate her leadership both in Michigan and nationally," stated the July 1, 2009 Michigan HIV/AIDS Statistics report.  Please contact Liz directly for data requests HamiltonE2@michigan.gov.

See also Winter 2009 Archives

Around the State

TROY, MICH., August 25, 2009 – Amanda Zawaideh, PharmD. of DirectRx specialty pharmacy, has been appointed to the board of directors for Royal Oak-based Steppin’ Out, a leading HIV/AIDS awareness organization and host of the annual AIDS Walk Detroit, to be held Sunday, Sept. 20 in Royal Oak. The announcement was made by Bill Thomas, president of the Steppin’ Out board.

Steppin' Out provides financial support for direct care services, agencies and HIV/AIDS prevention/education programs.  The group’s mission is to promote public awareness through events and activities that endeavor to guarantee people living with HIV/AIDS are treated with dignity and respect. 

“As a pharmacist specializing in HIV disease management, I have an enormous amount of respect for the work that Steppin’ Out does in our community,” said Zawaideh.  “I am proud to join the board and to help spread awareness of HIV treatment options and the importance of drug adherence with this disease.  Furthermore, I am committed to furthering HIV/AIDS education, collaborating with patients to provide the knowledge and skills needed to modify behavior and successfully self-manage the disease and its related conditions.”

Dr. Zawaideh, a resident of Birmingham, MI, is active in the metro Detroit HIV/AIDS community, hosting regular “Motivational Mondays” support group meetings to discuss medical issues associated with the disease. She has also developed an innovative solution designed to improve drug adherence in HIV patients.  The Rx EasyPak takes an individual’s complex combination of medication and creates prepackaged, tear-off packets labeled in morning, afternoon, and evening doses for the entire month. This is especially helpful for patients using several medications and perfect for on-the-go individuals. The Rx EasyPak increases compliance to even the most complex medication regimens.

Since it’s inception in 1991, Steppin’ Out has become the largest grass roots HIV/AIDS fundraising organization in Michigan and has granted over $2.8 million to more than 20 different agencies and helped thousands of individuals in pursuit of its mission.

DirectRx, an independent, specialty pharmacy based in Troy, Mich., was recently accredited by the National Association of Boards of Pharmacy^® (NABP^®) through the Association’s durable medical equipment, prosthetics, orthotics, and supplies (DMEPOS) accreditation program. DirectRx is one of only three NABP-accredited pharmacies in Michigan.

National

Helene Gayle, president and chief executive of the charity CARE USA, will chair the Presidential Advisory Council on HIV/AIDS. Reuters reported HHS Secretary Kathleen Sebelius's announcement on Monday.  The news service reports that "Gayle, former head of AIDS research at the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention," who also "headed AIDS efforts at the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation," will advise President Obama "on fighting the virus, which has infected an estimated 1 million Americans and 33 million people globally" (8/24).

"University of California-San Francisco Nominee Confirmed AIDS Chief"
San Francisco Chronicle , (06.20.2009) Jim Doyle  CDC NPIN Summary
On Friday, the Senate confirmed Dr. Eric Goosby as the new US global AIDS coordinator, an ambassador-at-large post based in the State Department. Goosby, a professor of clinical medicine at the University of California-San Francisco, will be responsible for overseeing the President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR).

As a young intern at San Francisco General Hospital, Goosby was among the first physicians to see the devastating effect of AIDS at the start of the city’s epidemic. In 1991, he was named the first director of the Ryan White AIDS CARE Program, marshaling federal resources to fight the disease domestically.

During the Clinton administration, Goosby served as director of HIV/AIDS policy in the Department of Health and Human Services and as a chief presidential advisor on AIDS-related issues. Since 2001, Goosby has been CEO and chief medical officer of the Pangaea Global AIDS Foundation, an international non-profit founded by the San Francisco AIDS Foundation (SFAF).

“What’s unusual about Eric is that he already comes into the arena with a lot of global experience,” said Mark Cloutier, SFAF’s head. “He helped to write the national AIDS plans in Rwanda, South Africa, and the Bahamas. He has been very involved for the past three years in China, helping the government to develop a system for the identification of people who are HIV-positive and to develop an effective treatment strategy.”

In many places in sub-Saharan Africa, southeast Asia, and Eastern Europe, the epidemic is growing,” Cloutier said. “Eric has a special depth of knowledge about working with the populations most at risk.”

Farmer Still Under Consideration for Obama Administration Position, Takes Harvard Medical School Appointment
Kaiser Daily HIV/AIDS Report, May 28, 2009
While Partners in Health co-founder Paul Farmer is still being considered for a senior role in the Obama administration, Farmer has been appointed chair of Harvard Medical School's Department of Global Health and Social Medicine -- Jeffrey Flier, the medical school's dean, said on Wednesday -- the Boston Globe reports. Flier said that Farmer will take a leave of absence from the medical school if he is offered a position with the administration. For now, Farmer is slated to succeed the current chair, Jim Kim, on July 1 (Smith, Boston Globe, 5/28).

Foreign Policy's "The Cable" reports that Farmer is "under consideration to head" USAID or "serve in a top administration international assistance post that would encompass it." An unnamed "international health activist" said that Farmer might be appointed USAID administrator "as an interim thing" and that he might go on to lead a new position focused on "global health in the process of foreign assistance reform over the coming year." Rep. Howard Berman (D-Calif.), chair of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, is organizing efforts to reform the Foreign Assistance Act later this year. The act was originally written in 1961 (Rozen, "The Cable," Foreign Policy, 5/26).
http://www.kaisernetwork.org/daily_reports/print_report.cfm?DR_ID=58614&dr_cat=1

 

See also Winter 2009 Archives

International

International Fellowships Awarded for HIV Related Research

The International AIDS Society (IAS) and the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA) announced the recipients of their prestigious joint fellowships today in Cape Town, South Africa. The fellowships were awarded to Professor Maria Gudelia Rangel of Mexico and Kenya's Dr Michah Ongeri Oyaro.

NIDA and the IAS established a research fellowship to advance the scientific understanding of drug use and HIV, while fostering multinational research on this linkage. This is the first year of the fellowship programme; it will continue to be offered every second year in conjunction with the IAS Conference on HIV Pathogenesis, Treatment and Prevention.

"We are eager to support what is a continuing priority for NIDA-to combat the spread of HIV/AIDS linked to drug abuse and the other risky behaviors it elicits," NIDA Director Dr. Nora D. Volkow commented. "The innovative approaches developed by these remarkable scientists will advance our understanding of this nexus and the value of drug abuse treatment in preventing HIV spread."

"We are proud to partner with NIDA on this initiative. Of the estimated 16 million people around the world who inject drugs, 3 million are HIV-positive. Drug use is therefore one of the IAS' priority policy areas," explained Craig McClure, executive director of the IAS.

Dr. Michah Ongeri Oyaro, who holds a Ph.D. in molecular virology, was awarded US$75,000 to undertake an 18-month post doctoral training under the supervision of Dr. John Wylie at Cadham Provincial Laboratory in Winnipeg, Canada. During his tenure, Dr. Oyaro's work will focus on social networks, status and molecular epidemiology of HIV, HBV and HCV infections among drug users in Kenya.

Professor Maria Gudelia Rangel is a Professor and Research associate at the El Colegio de la Frontera Norte. A widely published and respected behavioural scientist, Professor Rangel has spent more than 15 years working in the field of HIV, migration, and relative topics. The US$75,000 provided for an eight month fellowship will enable her to extend her work into the field of substance use and HIV infection, and conduct research that could contribute to social public policy development in Baja California, Mexico. She will conduct her research under the mentorship of Professor Steffanie Strathdee at the University of California, San Diego.

The two initial fellowships will be awarded at the IAS Conference on HIV Pathogenesis, Treatment and Prevention (IAS 2009), which will take place in Cape Town, South Africa on 19-22 July 2009 during the 'Drug and Alcohol Dependence - New Advances and Ongoing Challenges in HIV Treatment and Prevention' session on Tuesday, July 21, at 12:50 p.m.

About NIDA

The National Institute on Drug Abuse is a component of the National Institutes of Health, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. NIDA supports most of the world's research on the health aspects of drug abuse and addiction. The Institute carries out a large variety of programs to inform policy and improve practice. Fact sheets on the health effects of drugs of abuse and information on NIDA research and other activities can be found on the NIDA home page at www.drugabuse.gov. To order publications in English or Spanish, call NIDA's new DrugPubs research dissemination center at 1-877-NIDA-NIH or 240-645-0228 (TDD) or fax or email requests to 240-645-0227 or drugpubs@nida.nih.gov. Online ordering is available at http://drugpubs.drugabuse.gov.

About IAS

The IAS is the world's independent association of HIV professionals, with over 14,000 members in 188 countries working at all levels of the global response to HIV/AIDS. IAS members represent scientists, clinicians, public health, policy experts and community practitioners on the frontlines of the epidemic. The IAS is the lead organizer of the International AIDS Conference and the IAS Conference on HIV Pathogenesis, Treatment and Prevention.

ROBIN GORNA TO HEAD INTERNATIONAL AIDS SOCIETY

22 May 2009 (Geneva, Switzerland) - The International AIDS Society (IAS) today announced the appointment of Robin Gorna as Executive Director. Ms Gorna will succeed current Executive Director, Craig McClure, on 1 September this year.

In her role as executive director, Ms Gorna will head the IAS secretariat based in Geneva , Switzerland . Responsible for the day-to-day management of the activities of the organization, she is charged with implementing the organization's strategic and operational plans under the direction of the IAS' governance and membership.

"We are delighted to find a candidate of Robin's caliber and expertise for this position," said IAS president Julio Montaner. "Robin has worked in all corners of the globe across many diverse issues within HIV and healthcare generally. She is a strong and respected leader, and I have no doubt she will make a significant contribution to the IAS and to AIDS."

Ms. Gorna is currently based in South Africa where she is the Senior Regional Health and AIDS Adviser for the UK Government's Department for International Development (DFID). Before accepting this position, Ms. Gorna headed up a new Global Policy Team on AIDS at DFID where she led many policy processes, including delivering the first UK government strategy on AIDS in developing countries and securing international agreement to "Universal Access", first at the G8 in Gleneagles and then through the United Nations.

Her involvement with the IAS began in 1998, when she was the community co-chair of the 12 th World AIDS Conference, a biennial event organized principally by the IAS.

With over 20 years' experience in the response to HIV, Ms Gorna's previous roles include executive director of the Australian Federation of AIDS Organisations; co-chair of the 6 th International Conference on AIDS in Asia and the Pacific; and director of health promotion for the Terrence Higgins Trust; among others. Ms Gorna is the author of many internationally-published works, including a book entitled Vamps, Virgins and Victims: How can women fight AIDS? (Cassells, 1996).

The IAS is the world's leading independent association of HIV professionals, with over 13,000 members in 188 countries working at all levels of the global response to HIV/AIDS. IAS members represent scientists, clinicians, public health, policy experts and community practitioners on the frontlines of the epidemic. The IAS is the lead organizer of the International AIDS Conference and the IAS Conference on HIV Pathogenesis, Treatment and Prevention.
 

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