SFAF.org Podcast #65 - Ryan White reauthorized in a climate of health care reform

In this episode Ernest Hopkins, the Foundation's Director of Federal Affairs, talks about the reauthorization of the Ryan White CARE Act. On the eve of the White House signing ceremony, Ernest reveals the importance of providing life-sustaining care for people living with HIV and AIDS through Ryan White as health care reform makes its way through Congress.

SFAF.org Podcast #64 - Is the Thai Trial the Holy Grail?

Recent results from a study trial in Thailand provide the first glimpse of hope that we may someday have a vaccine that protects people from HIV infection. In this episode, Mitchell Warren, Executive Director of the AIDS Vaccine Advocacy Coalition, reviews these new scientific findings with the Foundation's Erik Ireland and explains what the results mean…and what they don't.

SFAF.org Podcast #63 - Project Inform and HIV Treatment as HIV Prevention

The Foundation partners with many organizations to reduce new HIV infections and increase access to care for people living with HIV. In this episode, Dana Van Gorder, Executive Director of Project Inform, discusses HIV treatment as HIV prevention, PrEP and the importance of the National HIV/AIDS Treatment and Information Hotline.

SFAF.org Podcast #62 - New HIV Vaccine Trial Begins

One of the least understood areas of HIV research is the ongoing hunt for a vaccine to prevent infection. In this episode, Jen Sarché of the San Francisco Department of Public Health, answers questions about the 505 Study, a new HIV vaccine trial being conducted by the HIV Vaccine Trials Network at the National Institutes of Health. San Francisco is one of ten nationwide sites for the 505 Study, designed to increase our understanding of the T-cell's response to infection. Jen will work with partners across the region—including the San Francisco AIDS Foundation—to raise understanding about HIV vaccines and how individuals can get involved in the search.

SFAF.org Podcast #61 - Detecting Acute HIV Infections Among Gay Men in San Francisco

In this episode, Steve Gibson, director of Magnet, the Foundation's gay men's health center in the Castro, discusses his upcoming presentation at the 2009 National HIV Prevention Conference. Magnet is on the forefront of RNA testing for HIV in a community setting, helping locate cases of acute HIV infection among gay men in San Francisco and moving the Foundation closer to a goal of having every San Francisco resident between the ages of 13 and 65 know their current HIV status by 2015. Steve shares some of the information that this unique perspective is revealing.

SFAF.org Podcast #60 - California HIV Budget Cuts: Not a Done Deal

While signing the state budget, Governor Schwarzenegger used his line-item veto power to slash an additional $52 million in funding for HIV/AIDS programs. That cut, which eliminates all state support for HIV testing, prevention and care, came on top of the more than $30 million already agreed to by the Legislature in order to balance the budget. In this episode, Courtney Mulhern-Pearson – the Foundation’s Legislative and Policy Associate – gives us an update on the governor's last-minute HIV budget cuts and efforts underway to reverse them.

SFAF.org Podcast #59 - Safer Sex: Magnet & Sexual Harm Reduction

In this episode Dale Gluth, the HIV Counseling Testing & Linkages Manager at Magnet, discusses sexual harm reduction and how it factors into a comprehensive strategy for combating new HIV infections in San Francisco. Located in the heart of San Francisco's Castro district, Magnet offers free sexual health services including HIV and STD testing for gay and bisexual men.

SFAF Podcast #57 - Advocacy Still Works: State Budget Escapes Knife…so far

HIV/AIDS services in California narrowly escaped draconian cuts in the first budget the governor sent to the State legislature. The San Francisco AIDS Foundation and peer organizations all over the State went to work immediately to fight cuts to prevention, HIV testing, surveillance and treatment for more than 35,000 Californians. In this episode of the San Francisco AIDS Foundation podcast, Peter Taback shares details of the current budget compromise and reminds us that basic advocacy tools are still effective.

SFAF.org Podcast #55 - The intersection of biomedical HIV prevention and social justice

In this episode, we'll hear an edited excerpt from our recent HIVision forum entitled “Is HIV Treatment HIV Prevention?” An audience member asked our panel about possible disparities in access to Pre-Exposure Prophylaxis (PrEP). We'll hear Dr. Robert Grant's answer explaining the relationship between biomedical HIV prevention and issues of social justice and stigma.

SFAF.org Podcast #53 - BETA editor Reilly O'Neal on curbing the spread of HIV through treatment

In this episode, a discussion with Reilly O'Neal, editor of BETA, the Foundation's Bulletin of Experimental Treatments for AIDS. Recent studies offer evidence and raise questions about the role of antiretroviral medications in curbing the spread of HIV. Questions such as "Are HIV-positive people who take antiretroviral drugs less likely to transmit the virus?" Find out what's being done to answer these questions and the relationship between HIV treatment and HIV prevention.