Researchers mark HIV Vaccine Awareness Day with call for trial volunteers (12463)

The Aaron Diamond AIDS Research Center, Rockefeller University Hospital, and the University of Rochester, N.Y., Medical Center are marking HIV Vaccine Awareness Day on May 18 by calling on healthy volunteers to participate in an HIV vaccine trial. The facilities are recruiting healthy, HIV-negative men and women between the ages of 18 and 45 in the greater New York City area and Rochester, N.Y., for the study. "Each day progress is being made in the search for an HIV vaccine thanks to continued community involvement in HIV vaccine research," said Rockefeller University professor and ADARC director David Ho. "We are currently looking for additional volunteers to participate in this trial and want to remind people of the vital role they can play in the search for an effective HIV vaccine--the world's best hope for slowing the spread of the epidemic." The trial is designed to test the safety of a new DNA vaccine called ADVAX that uses synthetic versions of key HIV genes to stimulate the body's immune system to identify and attack the virus in the body. The vaccine is designed to protect against HIV infection. The study is being supported by the International AIDS Vaccine Initiative. For more information about the ADVAX trial, go online to www.adarc.org, send e-mail to aidsvaccine@adarc.org, or call (212) 448-5126.