Dr. Strobos is deputy director of the Forum for Collaborative HIV Research. This organization is working with the University of California, Berkeley’s School of Public Health at the UC Washington Center in the District.
How is your organization advancing HIV/AIDS research and public policy?
We represent a neutral ground. There are various stakeholders that have some sort of conflict with this issue. It’s not always possible for the stakeholders to have a scientific policy so we engage all our stakeholders. As for research, we are the scientific policy platform for moving HIV/AIDS policy forward without having a particular agenda.
What progress has been made with the HIV/AIDS research?
I think we are advancing on medicines, HIV prevention and a cure. Approximately 20 to 40 percent of people with HIV don’t know they have it. So we need to make sure that every person who is HIV-positive is diagnosed. There is a lifelong therapy that can cure HIV and leave a person’s life expectancy unaffected. However, when I say cure, I don’t mean to rid the virus but to make the virus dormant so that it won’t harm the immune system.
What issues with HIV/AIDS are still emerging?
It’s a news media cycle issue. There’s a mistaken belief that the disease is under control. The number of people contracting disease a year is greater than those being treated for it. There are high rates of HIV everywhere, and the virus does not know borders. The seriousness of HIV, in the public eye, is not as appreciated as hoped. The other issue is figuring out a way to facilitate new pharmaceuticals.
— Kristen Byrne
