SUMMER SCHOOLIN’
(KNUCKLES) DEF MIX; (BROWN) CWRU/UH CFAR; (“SHARPIES”) SAN FRANCISCO DEPARTMENT OF PUBLIC HEALTH; (RIVERS) GLWD/JESSICA FRANKL; (MANHATTAN SYKLINE AND STATUE OF LIBERTY) THINKSTOCK
“Sharpies” and CFAR undergrads study AIDS research. Forget ditching the schoolbooks for fun in the summer sun. As part of the Minority HIV Research Training Program at Case Western Reserve University in Cleveland, Ohio, undergraduate “trainees” gain hands-on experience by teaming up with top scientists at the school’s Center for AIDS Research (CFAR). During the program’s 10 years, 25 scholars have studied everything from immigrant health to HIV latency, each giving a poster presentation of their work at the session’s end. Jonathan Karn, PhD, head of the Case Western CFAR, says that HIV research and global health are gaining popularity. “Right now,” he says, “there’s a lot of excitement around a functional cure and eradicating the virus.” Similarly, at the San Francisco Department of Public Health’s Summer HIV/AIDS Research Program (SHARP), six undergraduates are working with the city’s researchers. Each “Sharpie” develops a unique project of interest—some of the topics this summer include using online tools to help gay men reduce their HIV risk, studying the resiliency of transgender Latinas and estimating populations sizes in the Middle East. “The program hopes to increase the number of researchers who come from minority backgrounds,” says
From top: Center for AIDS Research “trainee” Jordan Brown, and undergrad researchers with the San Francisco Department of Public Health
Liz Kroboth of the city’s public health department. “Since those also happen to be the communities most affected by HIV, it makes sense to have people with an intimate understanding of those communities to be able to solve some of the HIV challenges we face.”
THE HOUSE THAT FRANKIE BUILT The “Godfather of House Music” Frankie Knuckles died March 31 at age 59 of diabetes complications, but his legacy will live on beyond the dance floor. The Elton John AIDS Foundation, Judy Weinstein and Def Mix Productions created the Frankie Knuckles Fund to support HIV/AIDS education, testing and treatment for black men at high risk of the virus in Africa, the United States and the United Kingdom. It’s a pitchperfect pairing. Knuckles’ influential sound—his classic tracks include “The Whistle Song” and “Your Love”—took off in ’70s and ’80s dance clubs popular among gay black men in Chicago and New York. “His legacy,” says Sir Elton John, “provides a powerful voice to reach out to people, particularly men of color, about their essential role in helping to create an AIDS-free future.”
THE NUMBERS
15 30 609 %
Million meals
In May, the always-in-fashion Joan Rivers helped prepare the 15 millionth meal for God’s Love We Deliver, which provides much-needed meals for New Yorkers living with severe illnesses, including HIV/AIDS.
Rent cap
Tenants in New York City’s HIV/AIDS rental assistance program will not pay more than 30 percent of their disability income toward rent. Before the rent cap, upwards of 70 percent went to housing, leaving precious little for actual living.
New Yorkers
Although HIV/AIDS was not a top 10 killer of New Yorkers in 2012—marking the first time it dropped off that list—it did take 609 lives and rank as the No. 5 killer of people younger than 65. New infections stayed at about 3,000 a year.
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