AWARDS
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Freedom Fighters
At a White House ceremony August 9, Mathilde
Krim, PhD, founding cochair of the American Foundation
for AIDS Research (amfAR), received the Presidential Medal
of Freedom, the nation's highest civilian award. "Nearly 20
years ago, very few researchers even knew what AIDS was," said
President Clinton during an East Room grip-and-grin. "Krim
was one of the first to grasp its terrible implications. She reminds
us we must not grow complacent." Honored along with Rev. Jesse
Jackson and 14 other advocates, politicians and soldiers, Krim
said the medal serves as a reminder of "those we have already
lost to the epidemic, close to half a million in this country
alone." Activists, meanwhile, issued a release reprising Clinton's
1992 campaign pledge to make AIDS a "top priority" of his administration
and decried the man from Hope's "unfulfilled AIDS promises" such
as elevating the AIDS czar to a Cabinet-level position, lifting
the ban on federal funding of needle exchanges and a Manhattan
Projectstyle race for the cure. While a who's who of HIVers
and allies (including POZ's Sean Strub) had called on Krim
to refuse the award, the AIDS icon kept her eye on the prize,
responding that "my Medal of Freedom gives me new credibility
[as an advocate]. . . . [Its] long-term benefits
will far outweigh the very short-term attention that challenging
a 'lame duck' president would attract."
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The Gay and Lesbian Medical Association
honored Donna Futterman, MD, for her trailblazing research. "Donna
has written the book on gay youth and HIV, and that's both literal and
figurative," said Donald I. Abrams, MD, the group's out-going
president. Futterman is the director of the Adolescent AIDS Program
at Montefiore Medical Center in the Bronx, New York City, and is the
co-author of Lesbian and Gay Youth, a look at the health obstacles
facing gay adolescents. GLMA presented the award during its 18th annual
convention in Vancouver in August.
The National Institute of Drug Abuse gave
its annual Outstanding Leadership in Research award in June to Michael
Picucci, PhD, an addiction expert noted for his work on HIV and
gay mental health issues. Picucci, who was first diagnosed with HIV
in the early '80s, is credited with developing new recovery techniques
that blend 12-step programs with life-affirming messages. He practices
at the Institute for Staged Recovery in New York City.
In July, HMO Kaiser Permanente formed
the Consortium for HIV and AIDS Interregional Search, a research
effort to utilize its extensive database of HIV patients. "Most study
cohorts are very small -- anywhere from 50 to 500," said Michael Allerton,
who coordinates HIV operations policy for the Oakland, Californiabased
company. Kaiser has over 12,000 HIVers in its system.
The Earvin "Magic" Johnson Jr. Clinic,
named after the former basketball star, opened its doors in Oakland
in July. The HIV health clinic targets people of color in the area and
provides comprehensive services regardless of ability to pay. "The use
of Johnson's name helps eliminate some of the barriers facing African
Americans," said Greg Roberts, executive director of the Magic Johnson
Foundation, one of the funders. The clinic is located in the Summit
Medical Center to encourage anonymity for visitors, said Michael Weinstein,
president of the AIDS Healthcare Foundation in Los Angeles, which
operates the clinic.
Frank Hudson, chief executive of Catholic
Charities of San Francisco, resigned in August after running up
more than $73,000 in expenses for lavish dinners, laser hair-removal
and anti-wrinkle injections. Hudson repaid $3,158 to the group -- which
received $1.5 million in Ryan White funds this year -- claiming that
he was dining in style to boost the charity's visibility among civic
leaders. Brian Cahill, the former head of the city's social services
department, was named to succeed him. In an interview with Catholic
San Francisco, the official newspaper of the archdiocese, Hudson
said: "I'm not perfect. I don't pretend to be."
In August, Charles E. Clifton was appointed
editor of Positively Aware, a community-based HIV treatment
journal that is published by Chicago's Test Positive Aware Network.
Clifton previously served as director of the network's Men of Color
HIV/AIDS Coalition. He steps into the shoes of former editor Steve
Whitson, who died in January of AIDS.
"Social marketing" expert Steve Rabin
has moved to the Kaiser Family Foundation, a health policy research
group (no relation to the insurance company), to be senior VP in charge
of media relations. Rabin's previous gigs include Nelson Public Relations,
which he founded in 1995, and Ogilvy & Mather, where he oversaw
the $47 million "America Responds to AIDS" campaign for the Centers
for Disease Control and Prevention. "There is a real need to keep law-makers
informed on how state and federal policies are affecting people with
HIV," he said.
David William Lawrence,
49, who helped found the Catholic AIDS Network in Washington,
died of AIDS July 27. Lawrence often said his spiritual journey began
in 1991 at an Episcopalian retreat he attended for people with HIV.
He was so moved that he soon left his administrative job at NASA to
pursue spiritual outreach full-time. In 1997, he convened a symposium
of like-minded parishioners that later grew into the local Catholic
AIDS Network. "He dedicated his life to creating a Catholic ministry
for people with AIDS," said Father Jim Nickel, a friend and member of
the network.
-- Denny Lee
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