In their new book, Dispatches From the AIDS Pandemic: A Public Health Story, Kevin De Cock, Harold Jaffe and James Curran – three former leaders with the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention – offer a  compelling firsthand account of the earliest days of a global health crisis. In this Think Global event, two of the book's authors -- Drs. Curran and De Cock -- will share their experiences on the frontlines of the CDC’s efforts to understand and respond to AIDS both in the U.S. and globally, tracing the scientific mobilization and public activism that drove life-saving advancements in HIV/AIDS prevention and treatment. DGHI director Chris Beyrer and Lance Okeke, who both serve as associate directors of Duke’s Center for AIDS Research, will lead a discussion with the authors exploring the most significant lessons from the AIDS epidemic and how HIV/AIDS research continues to shape public health science and responses to global health crises today.

SPEAKERS 

Kevin M. De Cock, M.D., is former director of the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) in Kenya. His research interests have been the clinical and public health aspects of HIV/AIDS in resource-limited settings, including HIV-associated tuberculosis. He previously served as Director of the CDC division of HIV/AIDS Prevention, Surveillance, and Epidemiology, Director of the World Health Organization (WHO) department of HIV/AIDS, and Director of the CDC Center for Global Health. He is also a former professor of medicine and international health at the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine.

James W. Curran, M.D., MPH, is dean emeritus of the Rollins School of Public Health at Emory University, where he is a professor of epidemiology, global health and medicine and co-director emeritus of the Emory Center for AIDS Research. He is immediate past chair of the board on Population Health and Public Health Practice of the Institute of Medicine and served on the Executive Committee of the Association of Schools of Public Health. Curran led the task force on HIV/AIDS at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and subsequently led the HIV/AIDS Division. While at the CDC, he attained the rank of the assistant surgeon general.

Nwora Lance Okeke, MD, MPH (he/him) is an Associate Professor of Medicine (Infectious Diseases) and Population Health Sciences at Duke. He leads a growing research program focused on optimizing the HIV care continuum using contemporary data and implementation science-informed approaches. His research and his efforts to diversify the HIV workforce by engaging students at Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCU) earned him the 2023 Innovative Leader Award by the HIV Medical Association (HIVMA).  He is the current Associate Director for Data and Implementation Science at the Duke Center for AIDS Research, and also serves as the current Vice Chief of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion for the Duke Division of Infectious Diseases.

Chris Beyrer, M.D., MPH, (moderator) is director of the Duke Global Health Institute and associate director of global HIV research with the Duke Center for AIDS Research. He has led collaborative research on HIV epidemiology, prevention and treatment in Southeast Asia, Sub-Saharan Africa, and Eastern Europe and Central Asia for more than 30 years. He is past president of the International AIDS Society, the world’s largest body of HIV professionals, and currently serves as an advisor to the U.S. President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR), the HIV Vaccine Trials Network, the World Health Organization, and Physicians for Human Rights.

This is a hybrid event with both in-person and remote attendance options. Attendance in person is encouraged. Lunch will be available.