amfAR Dedicates $100 Million To HIV Cure By 2020

amfAR, The Foundation for AIDS Research, one of the world's leading nonprofit organizations dedicated to the support of AIDS research and HIV prevention, made a huge announcement today:

amfAR, The Foundation for AIDS Research, today announced that it has created a $100 million investment strategy in support of its Countdown to a Cure for AIDS initiative, launched last year with the aim of developing the scientific basis of a cure by 2020. The establishment of the amfAR Institute for HIV Cure Research within a major academic research institution with a grant of $20 million will be the centerpiece of the investment strategy.

"This represents the greatest expansion of amfAR's grant making in the 30-year history of the Foundation," said Kevin Robert Frost, amfAR's Chief Executive Officer. "We're very excited to be launching this strategy and establishing an institute dedicated exclusively to the pursuit of a cure for HIV. Concentrating the minds and the efforts of leading AIDS cure researchers under one roof will facilitate the rapid sharing of knowledge and ideas and create the kind of synergy needed to accelerate the search for a cure."

Since 1985, amfAR has invested $415 million in its programs and has awarded grants to more than 3,300 research teams worldwide.

(via press release)

Ben Cohen for AMFAR's 5th Annual LifeRide

Rugby World Champion and LGBT ally Ben Cohen for AMFAR's LifeRide

New York City! Head down to 22 Little West 12th Street on August 12 at 6:30pm to celebrate the end of AMFAR's "LifeRide 2014" sponsored by Kiehls.

Mary J. Blige, fabulous food trucks and DJs Samantha Ronson, The Misshapes and Bob Mould will all be there for the celebration!

From the clip description: "This year's LifeRide has been an incredible journey so far. We're so fortunate to have spent it with such amazing celebrity riders and participants who are dedicated to raising money for amfAR and supporting this important cause."

amFAR announces $100 million investment to find HIV cure by 2020

amfAR, The Foundation for AIDS Research, today announced the launch of “Countdown to a Cure for HIV/AIDS,” a research initiative aimed at finding a broadly applicable cure for HIV by 2020. With a goal of investing $100 million in HIV cure research over the next six years, “Countdown to a Cure” will officially kick off at amfAR’s annual New York Gala on February 5.

“A decade ago, curing HIV was thought by many, if not most, in the scientific community to be impossible,” said amfAR CEO Kevin Robert Frost. “But the science has advanced by leaps and bounds in recent years, to the extent that there is now widespread agreement among researchers that a cure for HIV is possible—and even probable.”

Since its founding nearly 30 years ago, amfAR has been at the forefront of HIV/AIDS research, and was the first organization to aggressively pursue cure-focused HIV research. In 2010, the Foundation launched the amfAR Research Consortium on HIV Eradication (ARCHE), which supports collaborative teams of scientists at leading research institutions around the world in a directed effort to explore potential strategies for eliminating HIV infection.

(via press release)