Part 3: Our Hall of Fame

Any celebration of the The Advocate's founding in 1967 must honor the heroes for LGBT rights that we've covered for 45 years. With one honoree named per year, the list will be announced in parts and culminate in an event in Los Angeles this month.

BY Advocate Contributors

March 21 2012 2:00 AM ET

HEROES 1984 ROBERT GALLO X560 | ADVOCATE.COM

Biomedical researcher Robert Gallo led the team that discovered HIV, the infectious agent responsible for AIDS, back in 1984 when the disease was felling thousands of gay men. A medical researcher with the National Institute of Health, Gallo would go on to develop the first HIV blood test, which enabled doctors and nurses to screen blood for the deadly disease. His HIV breakthroughs continued through the ’90s — he discovered a natural compound known as chemokines that can block HIV and halt the progression of AIDS. “His research also helped physicians develop HIV therapies to prolong the lives of those infected with the virus,” according to the Institute of Human Virology, the health organization that Gallo founded and now directs.
—Neal Broverman