NEW YORK CITY CELEBRATES OPENING OF THE FIRST LABORATORY SOLELY DEVOTED TO THE DEVELOPMENT OF AN AIDS VACCINE
THE INTERNATIONAL AIDS VACCINE INITIATIVE OPENS STATE-OF-THE-ART AIDS VACCINE LAB AT HISTORIC BROOKLYN ARMY TERMINAL
WHAT: The International AIDS Vaccine Initiative (IAVI) opens an AIDS Vaccine Design and Development
Laboratory in New York City, the only facility in the world exclusively devoted to the development of an
AIDS vaccine. IAVI will be the first occupant of a biotechnology park that the City of New York is creating
in the landmark Brooklyn Army Terminal in Sunset Park, Brooklyn.
Scientists at IAVI's AIDS Vaccine Design and Development Laboratory, together with partners in
academia, the private sector and government, will design, compare, prioritize and advance promising
AIDS vaccine strategies, with the ultimate goal of ending the AIDS epidemic through an effective vaccine,
accessible to all.
Distinguished guests will speak at a ribbon-cutting ceremony to celebrate the Design Lab's opening.
WHO: Seth Berkley - President and CEO, IAVI
Dennis R. Burton - Scientific Director, IAVI Neutralizing Antibody Consortium and Professor, Department
of Immunology, The Scripps Research Institute
Salim Abdool-Karim - Pro Vice Chancellor, University of KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa
WHY: New York is a global city, and there are few global problems more pressing than AIDS. Despite advances
made in AIDS treatment and some successes with HIV prevention, AIDS remains the number four killer
globally and the number one in sub-Saharan Africa. Scientists agree that the best hope for ending the
AIDS pandemic is through a preventive vaccine.
New York City has the highest concentration of academic institutions in the world and is home to more
than 125 bioscience companies, nine world-class medical centers and two of the four major global
vaccine developers. All of which makes New York an ideal wellspring for the kind of pioneering ideas that
will be necessary for development of an effective AIDS vaccine.
WHERE: Brooklyn Army Terminal, 140 58th Street, Eighth Floor, Brooklyn NY 11220
WHEN: Wednesday, November 12 from 6:00PM to 9:00PM
Media are invited to tour the facility and shoot B-roll footage earlier in the day from 12:00PM - 1:30PM.
Media Registration
Contact
Rachel Steinhardt at 212-847-1045 or at rsteinhardt@iavi.org to register for the ribbon-cutting ceremony.
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