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Cardiovascular Research Initiative Launched
MILESTONE
| HIV Center Marks Two Decades Battling Epidemic |
| The HIV Center for Clinical and Behavioral Studies, one of the oldest and most productive AIDS research centers in the United States, this spring celebrated 20 years at the forefront of AIDS research. When the center opened in 1987 with a $19 million grant from the National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH), little was known about how the disease affected mental health. The center led one of the first studies to follow a cohort of HIV-positive men and women to understand how people cope with infection. The center has taken the lead both nationally and internationally in raising awareness about women’s vulnerability to HIV and has been a strong advocate for the development of prevention methods, such as microbicides, that give women greater control over their own protection. The center is currently working with New York State to promote greater use of the female condom. The center also spearheaded research with people with mental illness, adolescents and other groups excluded from the first HIV studies. It conducted the first study to document the disproportionately high rate of infection among the severely mentally ill and developed programs to decrease risky behavior in this population. The center also helped establish the Special Needs Clinic at Morgan Stanley Children’s Hospital of New York-Presbyterian to meet the mental health needs of families affected by HIV. Since its inception, the HIV Center has been continuously funded by the NIMH, along with individual research and training grants from federal and private sources. As the epidemic has spread worldwide, the center’s agenda has expanded into other countries, such as South Africa, Brazil and China. More than 100 investigators in disciplines from psychology and psychiatry to anthropology and public health are now involved with the center. “When we started, I thought we might be around for 10 years and then we would win against this disease,” says Dr. Anke Ehrhardt, PhD, professor of psychiatry and the center’s director. “We have definitely made progress – we now have drugs that extend lives and we understand much more about how to encourage safer behaviors. What is disheartening is that no effective vaccine or other preventive technology is in sight, the virus has moved around the world, and many people with HIV continue to endure stigma and discrimination.” |
