Tag: HIV

Free HIV Webinar: Nothing About Us, Without Us.

Hello Everyone, As you all know, I am a strong advocate for HIV awareness and in doing so have been involved with HIV research an awareness most of my life. Tomorrow April 12th at 4:00 PM EST, I will be a part of a webinar speaking to high school students, undergrads, and grad students interested in pursing research in HIV and public health. It is absolutely FREE. I’ll be presenting alongside Dr Bob Fullilove of Columbia University & Taija Revels of Columbia University. Sign up here: http://goo.gl/whgnlZ

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Bug Chasers: People that Actually Want to be HIV+!

We all tend to have the understanding that HIV is NOT something anyone would want to have… at least that was my understanding of the virus. In my years of research in the field, hosting Safer Sex Socials, promoting being tested every year… never did I imagine that someone would be out there not only wanting to have HIV (Bug Chaser) but those with HIV willing to give it to someone (Gifter). When on earth did HIV become a GIFT?? As I opened my view of HIV research to understand not only my lab work and how it affects the central nervous system, I started taking a course on Coursera. For those who do not know, Coursera is a online classroom (free!) for individuals to acquire knowledge and information from a large selection of fields (math, science, finance, public health, you name it). What is even more exciting is that classes …

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National Black HIV/AIDS Awareness Day: I Am My Brother’s and Sister’s Keeper

 We all go day in and day out updating our statuses and pictures on Facebook! Instagram! Twitter!! But it is time to update the one status that truly matter…. Get your HIV Status UpdateAs you know, I have always had a strong interest in HIV research. Currently working in the field, mainly on how HIV affects the brain and aging, I still find it important to stress the everyday issues of HIV. While my blog posts are usually more geared towards traveling, I wanted to shed some light on a very serious matter, especially among Black communities in America. February 7, marks the 15th year of  National Black HIV/AIDS Awareness Day!! This was first observed in 1999 initiated in response to the growing HIV and AIDS epidemic in African American communities.  The theme for 2015 is: “I Am My Brother’s and Sister’s Keeper. Fight HIV/AIDS!” So why do Blacks/African Americans need a special Awareness …

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