Each year, Treatment Action Group (TAG) hosts its Research in Action Awards to honor those fighting to end infectious diseases such as HIV, hepatitis, tuberculosis and, now, COVID-19. Scheduled for Thursday evening, November 19, this year’s ceremony will be virtual—which means anyone can attend.

The champions being honored in 2020 include:

  • Anthony Fauci, MD, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, who has spearheaded research and dialogue about HIV and COVID-19

  • National Nurses United, a union and the largest professional association of registered nurses in the nation, which has led numerous efforts and surveys of nurses during COVID-19

  • Sharon Stone, the actress and humanitarian who has worked with the HIV community for decades and more recently raised funds to build 28 schools in Africa

  • Wakefield (aka, Steve Wakefield), a health care advocate known for his work with the HIV Vaccine Trials Network and his efforts to increase the number of ethnic minorities participating in HIV prevention research.

Journalist and activist Ann Northrop will host the evening, which will feature a performance by Rachel York.

The event also includes a roundtable discussion with Wafaa El-Sadr, MD, MPH; Trip Gulick, MD; and Annette Gaudino, TAG’s director of policy strategy. Jon LaPook, MD, the chief medical correspondent for CBS News, will moderate the talk.

The virtual reception kicks off at 7:45 p.m. ET; the program starts at 8 p.m.

According to TreatmentActionGroup.org, anyone can attend, but registration is required. The first 100 people who donate $250 or more will receive a TAG Limited Art Edition that includes a double LP of the 1990 AIDS fundraising album Red Hot + Blue, a signed giclée print of a Fauci portrait by HIV activist and artist Keith Mayerson and a tote bag with an image by famed AIDS activist David Wojnarowicz.

TAG got its start as part of ACT UP New York (the AIDS Coalition to Unleash Power) and became an independent nonprofit in 1992. After successfully influencing research and investment in HIV science, the group began working on other infectious diseases, such as tuberculosis, and increased its focus to global advocacy.

In related and recent news, see the POZ articles “Activist Peter Staley Has Unmasked Dr. Tony Fauci and It Is Fabulous,” “Experts Matter” and “Red Hot Reissues of AIDS Benefit Albums from the 1990s.”