Mayor Greg
Nickels Proclaims Seattle's First-Ever Elizabeth Glaser Pediatric AIDS
Foundation Day
At a ceremony to be held downtown Wednesday evening, the Foundation will present three of the most promising HIV/AIDS scientists with the Elizabeth Glaser Scientist Award recognizing their commitment to innovative and collaborative work in pediatric HIV/AIDS research. "I can think of no better day, than on Elizabeth Glaser Pediatric AIDS Foundation Day to present this honor to these three gifted scientists. They have demonstrated the tenacious curiosity and tireless dedication of which Elizabeth would be deeply thankful," said Kate Carr, president and CEO of the Elizabeth Glaser Pediatric AIDS Foundation. "We greatly appreciate the leadership of Mayor Nickels for helping to raise awareness about the impact of HIV/AIDS on our children. All of us must maintain a sense of urgency in the fight against this epidemic. Each day, more than 2,000 children are newly infected with HIV around the world. We will continue to fund research that will lead to more treatment options and to the development of a vaccine."
The 2002 Elizabeth Glaser Scientists are:
- Spyros A. Kalams, M.D. Assistant Professor of Medicine, Harvard Medical School Dr. Kalams is studying the generation of HIV-specific T cell repertoire and assessing the functional avidity of T cells in infected infants and children.
- Melissa Pope, Ph.D. Scientist, Center for Biomedical Research, The Population Council Dr. Pope is working to reveal whether strategies enhancing dendritic cell function can boost oral vaccine efficiency, a critical step in preventing infection with HIV and other pathogens in children.
- Jeffrey Stringer, M.D. Assistant Professor, University of Alabama/ University of Lusaka, Zambia Dr. Stringer is helping to determine the optimal use of the antiviral medication nevirapine to prevent the transmission of HIV from an infected mother to her infant.
Each Elizabeth Glaser Scientist will receive approximately $700,000 for five years of research dedicated to the treatment and prevention of pediatric HIV/AIDS. This year's three honorees join the 15 current Elizabeth Glaser Scientists, including Dr. Julie Overbaugh at the University of Washington, who are working together to help ensure that the world's next generation of children is born free of HIV/AIDS, and that children living with HIV/AIDS will grow to enjoy a healthy adulthood.
Scientists funded by the Elizabeth Glaser Scientist Award have achieved significant advances in pediatric HIV/AIDS research. Projects conducted by Elizabeth Glaser Scientists include demonstrating the benefits of administering aggressive triple combination anti-HIV drug therapies to infants, developing additional interventions to prevent mother-to-child transmission that are easier to implement in developing countries, and studies that could lead to immune system regeneration and the development of a vaccine. The Elizabeth Glaser Pediatric AIDS Foundation is the leading worldwide nonprofit organization dedicated to identifying, funding, and conducting pediatric HIV/AIDS research as well as promoting global education, awareness and compassion about HIV/AIDS in children. In addition, the Foundation is committed to working on [more] other serious and life threatening diseases facing children through the newly created Glaser Pediatric Research Network.
The Network brings together five of the nation's pre-eminent academic medical centers in an unprecedented collaboration that will accelerate better treatments for seriously ill children, help train the next generation of pediatric clinical investigators, and serve as a united voice to advocate policies that improve children's health worldwide. Since 1988, the Foundation has raised more than $130 million to ensure that children are at the forefront of every scientific breakthrough.