H=H, the H is for Human

Stigma has a major impact on individuals, society and their health. To talk about this issues we have invited Dr. Andrew Spieldenner and Dr. Gregory Greenwood who have been working and published on this topic.

Episode 12 features an interview with Jim Pickett and his participaron in the Conference on Retroviruses and Opportunistic Infections CROI that took place in Seattle, Washington from February 19 – 22. Jim Pickett facilitates the Margarita Breakfast Club, a webinar style daily event prior to the commencement of the plenaries where scientist and researchers are invited to present their research to the community.

This episode marks the one-year anniversary of the H=H, the H is for Human podcast. In this episode have an announcement from Dr. Anthony Fauci, Director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Disease and Dr. Carl Dieffenbach, Director of the Division of AIDS on World AIDS Day and more news.

Episode 8 presents the current status of the HIV Vaccine Trials Network (HVTN) research agenda and the role that the community plays in this process and the relevance of the inclusion of diverse populations and vulnerable groups in the conduct of HIV vaccine studies. In this episode we interview doctor Michele Andrasik, PhD who leads the social and behavioral science, and the community engagement program at the HVTN.

This episode will report on the 2022 Latinx Conference on HIV/HCV/SUD that took place on March 20-26 in Albuquerque, New Mexico. We interview the conference director, Pedro Coronado, and feature a few sessions/workshops that include Language Justice, addressing HIV health care providers training during the COVID-19 epidemic and the National Hispanic/Latinx Health Policy Agenda 2022-2024 produced by the Latino Commission on AIDS.

A recent article published in the Journal of AIDS reported that 9.2% of trans people are living with HIV in the United States, compared to 0.5% of the general population and they are the group most impacted by the HIV epidemic. As Jessica Xavier puts it, “…for the longest time, transgender persons have been the orphans of the HIV epidemic…” This episode of the H is for Human will be devoted to the health of transgender people.

Episode 2 of "The H is for Human" acknowledges World AIDS Day and what it means for HIV therapeutics, prevention and vaccine research in 2021 that marks the 40th anniversary of the CDC's Morbidity and Mortality Weekly report of a disease that later was defined as AIDS. This episode features Jeff Schouten, the Director of HANC, and the HIV/AIDS research networks leaders: Judy Currier (ACTG), Sharon Nachman (IMPAACT), Wafaa El-Sadr and Myron Cohen (HPTN) and Georgia Tomaras (HVTN).