director's message
Message from the Director
At the AIDS Research Institute, our goal is a world without AIDS.
Since the first reported case in June 1981, UCSF has been fighting this global scourge. We’ve made incredible advances—from the development of new drugs and promising vaccine candidates to breakthroughs in clinical research and care to establishing groundbreaking prevention and education programs in dozens of countries.
Yet, more than 8,000 individuals are still dying of AIDS every day. One person is infected every 13 minutes in the United States and every 17 seconds around the globe, while millions of children are left orphaned by this disease.
HIV/AIDS is tricky, as physician Abigail Zuger observed in a recent New York Times article: “Not everyone who is infected gets sick. Not everyone who is treated gets well. Some people progress along the road from initial infection to progressive immune deficiency to life-threatening illness at the expected pace, then with treatment, head right back again to health. Others stall along the way, sick or well, defying our dire predictions and happy reassurances alike.”
Looking to the future, the ARI must continue to be vigilant in its prevention efforts, both in the United States—where African Americans have the highest new-infection rate—and abroad. We must develop new treatments, especially for patients who do not respond to current drugs. We must create an effective vaccine by understanding why some individuals infected with HIV never show signs of AIDS. And, finally, we must expand training and mentoring programs for the next generation of HIV/AIDS clinicians and investigators.
As the world has seen, this disease knows no ethnic, sexual, economic, or age barriers. It affects us all. Creative thinking, dedication, donor generosity, and hard work have enabled us to progress over the past 25 years faster than we ever imagined. With your continued support, I’m confident we can beat AIDS.
John Greenspan, BDS, PhD
