WASHINGTON, DC – Marking World AIDS Day in the Nation’s Capital, a reception will be held at the Wilson Building honoring HIV/AIDS trial participants in the DC Metropolitan Area. This event is sponsored by the Capital Area Vaccine Effort (CAVE), Family Connections, Georgetown University Medical Center Clinical Trials Unit, NIH Vaccine Research Center, US Military HIV Research Program, and the Washington VA Medical Center.

Capital Area Vaccine Effort (CAVE) member Zenovia Wright comments: “HIV/AIDS trial participants play an integral role in not only the discovery of new treatments for those living with HIV/AIDS, but also in the search for a vaccine or microbicide to prevent the spread of the virus.”

Hundreds of DC residents are currently participating in HIV/AIDS clinical trials across the city, but new volunteers are always needed. HIV Negative volunteers may be eligible to participate in trials investigating new prevention approaches including vaccines and microbicides. HIV positive volunteers may be eligible for trials investigating new medications or treatment strategies.

Information about current volunteer opportunities will be available at the reception. All interested DC residents are invited to participate in this event, which begins at 6:45 PM in the main hearing room of the Wilson Building (1350 Pennsylvania Ave NW). Those interested can RSVP online at www.aidsvaccine.org.

Wright continues: “For their time and invaluable contribution to humanity we thank them and hope to meet many more like them in the near future.”
Capitol Area Vaccine Effort is a volunteer panel of individuals from the general public and from the diverse communities affected by AIDS. CAVE is organized to assist and advise HIV Vaccine Research in the DC area. CAVE serves as the Community Advisory Board to the NIH Vaccine Research Center HIV Clinical Trials.

For more information about CAVE, visit: www.aidsvaccine.org

For more information on HIV preventive vaccine research, visit www.bethegeneration.org