Diary Prequel Package — page 459

Today I had the first meeting for the search committee for the director of the division of intramural research to replace Kathy Zoon. The Committee is co-chaired by Cliff Lane and Gary Gibbons. June 17, 2015 - I gave a talk at the HPTN/IMPAACT meeting at the Crystal Gateway Marriott Hotel on Jefferson Davis Hwy. in Crystal City, Virginia. This was an important talk because I introduced to the investigators the difficulty that we are having now with certain members of Congress wanting to decrease the AIDS budget and even move money out of the AIDS bucket into other institutes. I showed the audience a C-SPAN clip of my debating with Senator Cassidy (R-Tea Party) from Louisiana where he was talking about matching allocation of funds with the number of disability adjusted life years (DALYs) in this country. If this approach were followed, it would have a serious negative impact on all global health research, particularly research on infectious diseases. I articulated well my objection to this. Some people have picked this up and put it on YouTube, and the clip has gone viral. In addition, I spoke to the group about future directions of focusing the AIDS research specifically on ending the epidemic so that ultimately we will not have to spend any money on AIDS. This would be an important public health accomplishment, and it would silence the people who want to take money from AIDS prematurely before we have ended the AIDS epidemic. Tonight, I flew to Atlanta to participate in the Charles C Shepard Science Award Ceremony in Atlanta at the CDC headquarters. June 19, 2015 - I gave a lecture at the CDC on the subject of " Ending the HIV AIDS pandemic: From scientific advances to public health implementation". The lecture was extremely well accepted by the CDC community. I had time to chat with my dear friend Tom Frieden about a number of issues of mutual interest. I was shown around the absolutely beautiful new CDC campus that I had not been on for several years. The campus has been completely transformed by beautiful, architecturally creative buildings. It is very clear that I am highly respected and revered by the CDC community. Tom introduced mew as a "living legend". It was a great visit that I enjoy very much and it cemented my relationship with our colleagues at the CDC. June 20, 2015 - I viewed the preview of the soon to be shown on HBO documentary on Larry Kramer entitled "Larry Kramer: In Love and Anger". It was played at the Naval Heritage Center on 701 Pennsylvania Ave. NW. The documentary is a moving story of Larry Kramer's complicated life. I was prominently featured in the documentary interacting on multiple occasions with Larry. June 22, 2015 - I gave a lecture at Georgetown University O'Neill Institute at the Law School on New Jersey Avenue, NW Summer Program on Infectious Diseases and the Law. Again very well received by the group there. We are in the middle of an extraordinary heat wave now in Washington DC with temperatures reaching 95- 100° with sunny skies during the day and massive thunderstorms at night.