Getting 500 Miles Closer to Ending AIDS

Emory Vaccine Center AV200 research fellows w/young rider astride the
formerly riderless bike, offering hope for a vaccine - photo by Dan Lax

Your gifts to my first 200 miles in Georgia funded a new set of Emory Vaccine Center fellows to lend their fresh ideas and enthusiasm to fighting HIV.

Your donations to the next 300 miles will further fund HIV/AIDS research at EVC and also at the UCLA AIDS Institute, a beneficiary of my first HIV vaccine rides in Alaska and Montana. Please help me keep the momentum going with your extra credit gift to Charity Treks Inc. – another grassroots cycling event, by cyclists, to ensure 100% of every donation goes straight to the cause.

Inspiring progress continues in the world of HIV/AIDS research, especially in its two-way collaboration with cancer-fighting science. When former President Jimmy Carter announced he would fight his cancer with a new drug therapy at Emory, Jonathan Russell from the Emory Vaccine Center shared with the AV200 community…

“President Carter's treatment has been directly supported by friends of the Emory Vaccine Center including everyone involved in the AIDS Vaccine 200 and Charity Treks bike rides.
 People familiar with the EVC should recognize PD-1 therapy as an approach led by Dr. Rafi Ahmed for HIV prevention and treatment for nearly the past decade. All along we've talked about potential PD-1 uses in other conditions like Alzheimer's, autoimmune diseases and cancer.
 Keytruda isn't exactly "brand new" since it received breakthrough drug status nearly a year ago - but it represents a very exciting new direction in cancer immunology. Definitely more to come!”

Charity Treks 2015 begins September 30 from the UVA campus in Charlottesville, VA and winds 300 miles to end at our nation's capital. Please consider making a secure online donation today. 

This road is long. Every mile counts. Thank you for riding it with me and bringing hope to the journey.