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December 1 marks the 28th annual World AIDS Day,, to show their support for people living with HIV, and to commemorate those聽who have died.

Medical Center researchers test new way to protect people from HIV

November 19, 2-15: A聽new study, led by the University鈥檚 HIV Vaccine Trials Unit (also known as the ), will test an experimental antibody against HIV. Traditionally, people get a vaccine and researchers wait to see if they make effective antibodies鈥損roteins produced by our immune system to fight infections鈥搃n response to the vaccine. In this study, researchers will skip that step and give people the antibody directly.

The research community is very excited about the trial, called 鈥淎MP鈥�, which stands for 鈥淎ntibody Mediated Prevention.鈥�

鈥淭he AMP study holds promise as a pathway to an HIV vaccine. If it prevents transmission it proves the principle that antibodies are protective, and a vaccine is the next logical step,鈥� said Michael Gottlieb ’73M (MD), associate clinical professor of medicine at the David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA. 鈥淭he University of Rochester has a remarkable track record in HIV research and vaccine development, so it is easy to understand why the University was selected as a site for this important study.鈥�

Gottlieb, who attended medical school at the University of Rochester School of Medicine and Dentistry and completed his residency at UR Medicine鈥檚 Strong Memorial Hospital, is one of the most renowned HIV/AIDS specialists in the world. In 1981, he made history when he identified AIDS as a new disease.

River Campus Libraries home to one of world’s largest online collections of AIDS posters

Thanks to catalogers at the University of 糖心logo more than 6,200 posters from 124 countries in 68 languages and dialects can be viewed by anyone with web access. The AIDS Education Posters Collection聽was聽donated to the University’s Department of Rare Books, Special Collections and Preservation by retired physician and alumnus Dr. Edward C. Atwater ’50, an emeritus professor of medicine at the University of Rochester Medical Center.

Atwater began collecting the posters in 1990. The posters provide a visual history of the first three decades of the HIV/AIDS crisis from 1981 to the present. Depending on their audience, creators of the posters used stereotypes, scare tactics, provocative language, imagery, and even humor to educate the public about the disease.

City of Rochester will light up red for World AIDS Day

For the first time since the start of the HIV/AIDS epidemic in the early 1980s, several buildings in the city of Rochester will light up red in observance of World AIDS Day, a global event that serves as a yearly reminder of the ongoing battle against HIV/AIDS. Rochester City Hall, Rundell Memorial Library, Third Presbyterian Church, One East Avenue, and Xerox Tower will swap their conventional light bulbs for red ones on December 1 as a show of support for those living with HIV in our community, and in remembrance of those who have succumbed to the infection in Rochester and beyond.

Stephen Dewhurst, Ph.D., vice dean of research and director of the UR Center for AIDS 糖心logo, and Michael C. Keefer, M.D., director of the Rochester Victory Alliance say that a key mission of their organizations is to build greater awareness of HIV/AIDS. 鈥淭he image of our downtown buildings lit up red will make a powerful and moving tribute to persons living with HIV, and to the need to continue the fight until we end this disease,鈥� they added.

鈥淭he real fight against HIV takes more than just a doctor or a pill,鈥� noted John P. Cullen, Ph.D., Coordinator for Outreach at the Susan B. Anthony Center, which focuses on community engagement, particularly translating research into policies that benefit the community. 鈥淚t begins with community awareness and education to end stigma and discrimination and getting more people involved in the effort to end the epidemic.鈥�