AIDS Foundation Houston Announces World AIDS Day Luncheon Honoree

Houston Methodist Research Institute’s Department of Nanomedicine will receive Shelby Hodge Vision Award.

HOUSTON, TX — AIDS Foundation Houston has announced that the Houston Methodist Research Institute’s Department of Nanomedicine will be honored with the Shelby Hodge Vision Award at the World AIDS Day Luncheon on Dec. 1, 2016. Chaired by Bill Baldwin (owner, Boulevard Realty) and Ernie Manouse (senior producer/host, Houston Public Media) and presented by Chevron, this annual event raises funds to support AIDS Foundation Houston’s goal of “Getting to Zero” — zero new infections, zero AIDS-related deaths and zero stigma.

The Shelby Hodge Vision Award is given each year to an individual or organization that exhibits extraordinary vision in addressing HIV/AIDS. Alessandro Grattoni, PhD — the chair of the Department of Nanomedicine at the Houston Methodist Research Institute — will accept the award for his work on a refillable implant that administers Pre-Exposure Prophylaxis (PrEP) drugs to subjects at risk of HIV-exposure. Grattoni was recently awarded a multi-million dollar grant from the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases to enhance the technology which provides sustained and constant release of drugs without the use of pumps, valves or a power supply.

Author and HIV activist Sean Strub will be the keynote speaker at this year’s luncheon. Strub, a longtime HIV survivor, founded POZ magazine and currently serves as the director of the Sero Project. He is the author of Body Counts, A Memoir of Politics, AIDS, Sex and Survival (Scribner, 2014). His short film, HIV is Not a Crime, has introduced the problem of HIV criminalization to audiences worldwide. Already, as a longtime activist, he has accomplished a great deal—he was the first openly HIV positive person to run for the U.S. Congress, he produced the off-Broadway hit The Night Larry Kramer Kissed Me and he served as a member of the board of the Global Network of People Living with HIV.

Through this annual event, AIDS Foundation Houston raises critical funds that support ending new HIV/AIDS infections and helps those who are infected. Individual tickets start at $150 per person, with corporate and individual underwriting opportunities available from $1,500. For more information or to purchase tickets, visit www.AIDSHelp.org.

About AIDS Foundation Houston, Inc.

AIDS Foundation Houston, Inc. (AFH), founded in 1982, was the first AIDS Service Organization in Texas and remains a national leader in HIV/STD programming. Focusing on preventing new HIV infections, and providing housing and supportive services to those already living with HIV/AIDS, AFH provides care to almost 6,000 men; women and children affected by HIV/AIDS and will educate more than 90,000 people throughout Texas. For more information, please visit www.AIDSHelp.org.