HIVMA names Feinberg as Board of Directors chair
New leadership affirms commitment to working to end the HIV epidemic
The HIV Medicine Association (HIVMA) is pleased to announce the election of five members to its Board of Directors and to name Judith Feinberg, MD, FIDSA as its new Chair. HIVMA is dedicated to promoting quality HIV care and advocating for policies that ensure a comprehensive and humane response to the global AIDS pandemic.
Dr. Feinberg is Professor of Medicine/Infectious Diseases and Professor of Behavioral Medicine and Psychiatry at West Virginia University. She also serves as the E.B. Flink Vice Chair of Medicine for Research.
She has been involved in HIV care, research and education since the beginning of the epidemic, and has made tremendous contributions to the transformation of this once-lethal disease into a manageable, chronic condition. Dr. Feinberg has also long been involved in various public health aspects of HIV/AIDS, including resource allocation and policy development, the FDA approval process, and the development of harm reduction programs to prevent the spread of HIV and hepatitis due to the current opioid epidemic.
“While research has brought highly potent, well-tolerated, simpler therapies to people living with HIV, access to knowledgeable care, adherence and successful virologic suppression still eludes many, especially young black MSM whose infection rate is higher than Sub-Saharan Africa. In the absence of an effective vaccine, limiting HIV spread through ‘Treatment as Prevention’ and PrEP are key strategies that must be optimized. Reaching young black and Latino MSM for PrEP and care for those already infected is critical for ending the epidemic in the US. Ensuring the continuation of a robust Ryan White Program--instrumental in providing care for the uninsured and underinsured is also critical. These are all challenges that HIVMA must face through legislative advocacy and moral leadership. I look forward to leading HIVMA as we confront these challenges and to leading contributing to the commitment to end the HIV epidemic by 2030,” said Dr. Feinberg.