Working Hard to End AIDS

“If you’re feeling good now, you’re not working hard enough”

Words uttered by my indoor cycling instructor midway through this morning’s torturous pre-dawn cycling drill. At 5:45am every Monday and Thursday, I don’t think. I follow instructions, and I work hard. As a result, I am stronger. It’s precisely the mantra required at this stage of the war on AIDS. We cannot afford to allow life-extending treatments, broadly available in the developed world, to leave us blinded to the devastation this pandemic continues to wreak on humanity worldwide.

Researchers at the Emory Vaccine Center have made extraordinary progress on preventive and therapeutic HIV vaccines. Every minute of every day, the scientists, doctors and researchers of the Emory Vaccine Center work hard to develop a viable HIV vaccine. The least I can do is sweat it out to cycle 200+ miles in return for your contribution – large or small – to support these vital efforts.  100% of the amount raised will be used to fund groundbreaking work such as:

•  Developing vaccines that prevent an HIV negative person from acquiring the disease, and at the same time help an HIV positive person fight the infection without anti-viral drugs.

•  The LifeForward clinical trial, at Emory Vaccine Center's Hope Clinic, is designed to test efficacy in a vaccine to prevent transmission of HIV.  The Hope Clinic is currently one of the top three enrolling centers nationally in the LifeForward clinical trial.

 •  Working to reinvigorate the body's immune system to fight chronic infections like HIV and reduce dependence on anti-viral drugs.

I feel good about our progress toward ending AIDS but I know that by digging deep to work harder we’ll gain the strength necessary to carry that progress over the final mile. Are you ready to dig deep and donate a few bucks to support this hard work by sponsoring the 200 miles I'll ride next month on the AIDS Vaccine 200?