The Foundation For Aids Research

AMFAR IS DEDICATED TO ENDING THE GLOBAL AIDS EPIDEMIC THROUGH INNOVATIVE RESEARCH. (SEE SCHEDULE O).

RESEARCH: AMFAR SUPPORTS RESEARCH PROJECTS THAT EXPLORE NOVEL APPROACHES TO SCIENTIFICALLY SOUND BUT UNTESTED HYPOTHESES IN ALL AREAS OF RESEARCH ON HIV/AIDS, FUNDING GOAL-ORIENTED STUDIES THAT OFTEN LACK THE PRELIMINARY DATA REQUIRED FOR SUPPORT FROM TRADITIONAL GRANT MAKERS. THE FOUNDATION PLAYS A VITAL ROLE IN HIV/AIDS RESEARCH, IDENTIFYING CRITICAL GAPS IN KNOWLEDGE AND PROVIDING ESSENTIAL SEED MONEY THAT ENABLES GRANTEES AND FELLOWS TO TEST THE MERITS OF NEW CONCEPTS OR TECHNOLOGIES THAT SUBSEQUENTLY CAN BE VALIDATED THROUGH LARGE-SCALE STUDIES, SUCH AS THOSE FUNDED BY THE U.S. NATIONAL INSTITUTES OF HEALTH. FOR FURTHER DETAILS, SEE SCHEDULE O. AMFAR FELLOWSHIPS ALLOW TALENTED YOUNG RESEARCHERS TO CONDUCT ORIGINAL INVESTIGATIONS UNDER THE GUIDANCE OF EXPERIENCED SCIENTISTS, HELPING TO ENSURE THE LONG-TERM VITALITY OF AIDS RESEARCH.NEW GRANTS AND FELLOWSHIPSGRANTS AND FELLOWSHIPS ARE AWARDED THROUGH A RIGOROUS PROCESS OF PEER REVIEW BY A TEAM OF INDEPENDENT HIV/AIDS EXPERTS DRAWN LARGELY FROM THE VOLUNTEER SCIENTISTS ON AMFAR'S SCIENTIFIC ADVISORY COMMITTEE. GUIDED BY ITS SCIENTIFIC ADVISORS AND WITH THE APPROVAL OF ITS BOARD OF TRUSTEES, AMFAR PURSUES A STRATEGIC RESEARCH PLAN THAT FOCUSES ON FINDING A CURE FOR HIV. AMFAR'S GRANTMAKING PROGRAM CONSISTS OF THE FOLLOWING TYPES OF GRANTS:MAGNET GRANTSUNITING DATA SCIENTISTS WITH HIV RESEARCHERS, THESE ONE-YEAR GRANTS OF UP TO $150,000 ARE HARNESSING ADVANCES IN MACHINE-LEARNING ALGORITHMS TO FIND PATTERNS IN DATASETS THAT MAY ADVANCE OUR SEARCH FOR A CURE.SYNERGY GRANTSTHESE GRANTS CAPITALIZE ON UNFORESEEN POSSIBILITIES FOR COLLABORATION AND ENABLE US TO ADD NEW STUDY ARMS ONTO EXISTING AMFAR GRANTS.TARGET GRANTSTHESE GRANTS FACILITATE BASIC AND PRECLINICAL BIOMEDICAL RESEARCH FINDINGS THAT PROVIDE THE FOUNDATION FOR NEW APPROACHES TO AN HIV CURE.MATHILDE KRIM FELLOWSHIPS IN BASIC BIOMEDICAL RESEARCHNAMED FOR AMFAR'S FOUNDING CHAIRMAN DR. MATHILDE KRIM, THIS FELLOWSHIP PROGRAM SUPPORTS PROMISING EARLY-CAREER SCIENTISTS ADVANCING INNOVATIVE SOLUTIONS TO HIV/AIDS. COUNTDOWN TO A CURE FOR AIDSIN 2015, AMFAR ANNOUNCED A MULTIMILLION-DOLLAR INVESTMENT STRATEGY TO SUPPORT ITS COUNTDOWN TO A CURE FOR AIDS (C2C) INITIATIVE, WHICH WAS AIMED AT DEVELOPING THE SCIENTIFIC BASIS FOR A CURE BY THE END OF 2020. ESTABLISHED WITH A $20 MILLION GRANT OVER FIVE YEARS TO THE UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA, SAN FRANCISCO, THE AMFAR INSTITUTE FOR HIV CURE RESEARCH WAS THE CORNERSTONE OF C2C. THE STRATEGY WAS DESIGNED TO PROVIDE SUPPORT TO ANY SCIENTIST OR TEAM OF INVESTIGATORS FOR ANY RESEARCH IDEA WITH THE POTENTIAL TO ADVANCE THE SEARCH FOR A CURE, AT ANY STAGE OF ITS DEVELOPMENT. SINCE LAUNCHING C2C, AMFAR HAS AWARDED 89 COUNTDOWN GRANTS TOTALING MORE THAN $50 MILLION TO SUPPORT RESEARCH CONDUCTED BY 307 SCIENTISTS WORKING AT 103 INSTITUTIONS IN 16 COUNTRIES.TARGET GRANTSIN NOVEMBER 2020 AMFAR AWARDED FUNDING TO A RESEARCHER EXPLORING AN HIV CURE APPROACH THAT HAS PREVIOUSLY SHOWN PROMISE IN CANCER THERAPY. VETERAN HIV RESEARCHER DR. JEROME ZACK, OF THE UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA, LOS ANGELES, IS EMPLOYING A NEW INTERVENTION TO ATTEMPT TO RID THE BODY OF THE PERSISTENT RESERVOIR OF HIVTHE ULTIMATE BARRIER TO A CURE. DR. ZACK AND COLLEAGUES ARE USING NATURAL KILLER (NK) CELLS IN AN EFFORT TO ELIMINATE CELLS HARBORING RESERVOIR VIRUS FROM THE BODY. NK CELLS ARE THE FOOT SOLDIERS OF THE INNATE IMMUNE SYSTEM, DELIVERING AN IMMEDIATE AND POTENT COUNTERATTACK AGAINST INFECTIOUS AGENTS SUCH AS HIV.THESE CELLS CAN BE ADMINISTERED EITHER IN THEIR NATURALLY OCCURRING FORM, OR THEY CAN BE ENGINEERED AS CAR-NK CELLS TO ENHANCE THEIR ABILITY TO KILL THEIR TARGETS. TO COMPARE THE ABILITY OF UNALTERED AND CAR-NK CELLS TO AFFECT THE REBOUND OF VIRUS WHEN ANTIRETROVIRAL THERAPY IS WITHDRAWN, THE RESEARCHERS ARE EMPLOYING SEVERAL NOVEL TECHNOLOGIES DEVELOPED BY DR. ZACK. THESE INCLUDE THE INSERTION OF A BARCODE INTO VIRUSES SO THAT THE FATE OF EACH INDIVIDUAL VIRUS CAN BE TRACKED, AND USE OF A LATENCY REVERSING AGENT DEVELOPED IN HIS LAB.IN JUNE 2021 AMFAR AWARDED APPROXIMATELY $600,000 IN NEW FUNDING TO RESEARCHERS PIONEERING GENE THERAPY APPROACHES TO TARGET AND ELIMINATE THE HIV RESERVOIR WITH FAR GREATER SPECIFICITY THAN IS CURRENTLY POSSIBLE. DR. TODD ALLEN OF THE RAGON INSTITUTE OF MGH, MIT AND HARVARD, AND COLLEAGUES, HAVE IDENTIFIED A GROUP OF ANTIBODIES THEY HAVE CALLED BROADLY FUNCTIONAL ANTIBODIES (BFABS). THESE BFABS ARE ADEPT AT BINDING TO INFECTED CELLS AND FLAGGING THEM FOR DESTRUCTION BY OTHER COMPONENTS OF THE IMMUNE SYSTEM SUCH AS NATURAL KILLER (NK) CELLS. DR. ALLEN AND HIS TEAM AIM TO TEST THE BFABS ALONE AND IN COMBINATION WITH GENETICALLY ENGINEERED CAR T CELLS WITH ENHANCED ABILITY TO KILL CELLS INFECTED BY HIV THAT HIS TEAM HAS ALREADY DESIGNED. THE INTERVENTIONS WILL BE TESTED IN HIV-INFECTED MICE POPULATED WITH HUMAN IMMUNE CELLS AND WILL TARGET ONLY THOSE CELLS THAT ARE INFECTED WITH HIV.CAR T CELLS HAVE PROVEN HIGHLY EFFECTIVE AGAINST CERTAIN BLOOD CANCERS, BUT LESS SO AGAINST HIVPARTLY BECAUSE THEY ARE SUSCEPTIBLE TO INFECTION AND DESTRUCTION BY THE VIRUS. THE IMMENSE GENETIC VARIABILITY AMONG VIRUSES EVEN WITHIN AN INDIVIDUAL WITH HIV ALSO PRESENTS A FORMIDABLE CHALLENGE. A TEAM LED BY DR. ANASTASIOS KARADIMITRIS OF IMPERIAL COLLEGE, LONDON, PLANS TO ADDRESS BOTH ISSUES BY USING CELLS THAT COMBINE THE CHARACTERISTICS OF NATURALLY OCCURRING NK CELLS AND T CELLS AS THE BASIS FOR THEIR CAR CELL THERAPY. THESE INVARIANT (I) NKT CELLS DO NOT CARRY THE CD4 PROTEIN ON THEIR SURFACE AND THUS ARE RESISTANT TO HIV INFECTION. TO ADDRESS GENETIC BREADTH, THE RESEARCHERS WILL USE COMBINATIONS OF UP TO THREE TARGETING STRATEGIES. UNLIKE CONVENTIONAL T CELLS, THERE IS LITTLE VARIABILITY IN INKT CELLS AMONG THE HUMAN POPULATION, SO IT MAY BE POSSIBLE TO DESIGN "OFF THE SHELF" CAR-INKT CELLS THAT WOULD WORK IN MOST PEOPLE WITH HIV, RATHER THAN HAVING TO MANUFACTURE CAR T CELLS FROM EACH INDIVIDUAL PATIENT. CRISPR/CAS GENE-EDITING TECHNOLOGY HAS SHOWN BREAKTHROUGH POTENTIAL FOR TREATING A RANGE OF MEDICAL CONDITIONS. IN THE FIELD OF HIV CURE RESEARCH, THE PROSPECT OF BEING ABLE TO EXCISE THE VIRUS WHEREVER IT HAS INSERTED ITSELF INTO HOST DNA IS A TANTALIZING ONE. BUT ITS DELIVERY REMAINS A CHALLENGE. ACROSS THE GENOME THERE ARE VERY TIGHTLY WOUND REGIONS THAT LIMIT ACCESS TO THE DNA AND HAVE PROVEN DIFFICULT FOR CRISPR/CAS TO PENETRATE EFFECTIVELY. RECENT EVIDENCE SHOWS THAT HIV SOMETIMES INTEGRATES INTO THESE "GENE DESERTS." DR. JORI SYMONS OF UNIVERSITY MEDICAL CENTER UTRECHT, AND COLLEAGUES, PLAN TO TEST WHETHER THIS EXPLAINS THE RESISTANCE OF SOME VIRUSES TO EXCISION BY CRISPR/CAS. THEY AIM TO INCREASE THE GENE-EDITING TOOL'S EFFECTIVENESS WITH DRUGS THAT OPEN UP AND EXPOSE THE DNA.

TREAT ASIA: AMFAR'S TREAT ASIA (THERAPEUTICS RESEARCH, EDUCATION, AND AIDS TRAINING IN ASIA) PROGRAM IS A NETWORK OF HOSPITALS, CLINICS, AND RESEARCH INSTITUTIONS WORKING WITH CIVIL SOCIETY TO ENSURE THE SAFE AND EFFECTIVE DELIVERY OF TREATMENTS FOR HIV AND ITS CO-INFECTIONS TO ADULTS AND CHILDREN ACROSS THE ASIA-PACIFIC THROUGH RESEARCH, EDUCATION, AND ADVOCACY OF EVIDENCE-BASED HIV-RELATED POLICIES. THE TREAT ASIA NETWORK ENCOMPASSES 21 ADULT AND 20 PEDIATRIC SITES THROUGHOUT THE REGION, WHICH COLLABORATE ON A VARIETY OF PROJECTS. FOR FURTHER DETAILS, SEE SCHEDULE O. TREAT ASIA SCIENTISTS PRODUCED 28 PUBLICATIONS IN PEER-REVIEWED MEDICAL JOURNALS IN FY2021. INTERNATIONAL AIDS DATABASETREAT ASIA MANAGES THE ASIA-PACIFIC SECTION OF THE INTERNATIONAL EPIDEMIOLOGY DATABASES TO EVALUATE AIDS (IEDEA), A GLOBAL COLLABORATION ESTABLISHED BY THE U.S. NATIONAL INSTITUTE OF ALLERGY AND INFECTIOUS DISEASES. TREAT ASIA HIV OBSERVATIONAL DATABASE (TAHOD)TREAT ASIA PIONEERED THE REGION'S FIRST ADULT OBSERVATIONAL DATABASE FOR HIV/AIDS, WHICH NOW INCLUDES ANONYMOUS DATA FROM MORE THAN 10,000 PATIENTS AT 21 CLINICAL SITES IN 12 COUNTRIES. THE INFORMATION GATHERED IN THE DATABASE INFORMS THE DEVELOPMENT OF MORE EFFECTIVE RESEARCH AND TREATMENT PROGRAMS AND HELPS DEFINE TREATMENT STANDARDS SPECIFIC TO HIV/AIDS IN ASIA. TAHOD LOW-INTENSITY TRANSFER LAUNCHED IN 2014, TAHOD LOW-INTENSITY TRANSFER (TAHOD-LITE) CONTAINS DATA FROM OVER 51,000 HIV-POSITIVE PATIENTS ACROSS 11 TREAT ASIA NETWORK SITES. AS AN EXTENSION OF TAHOD, TAHOD-LITE AIMS TO INCREASE THE SCOPE OF ADULT DATA COLLECTION BY GATHERING A SUBSET OF CORE VARIABLES FROM THE ENTIRE COHORT OF HIV-INFECTED PATIENTS WHO HAVE SOUGHT CARE AT SELECTED TAHOD SITES. TREAT ASIA PEDIATRIC HIV OBSERVATIONAL DATABASE THE TREAT ASIA PEDIATRIC HIV OBSERVATIONAL DATABASE (TAPHOD) IS A REGIONAL PEDIATRIC HIV STUDY SET UP BY TREAT ASIA IN 2006. IT WAS MODELED AFTER THE ADULT DATABASE AND INCLUDES DATA FROM MORE THAN 7,400 CHILDREN AND ADOLESCENTS AT 17 CLINICAL SITES IN CAMBODIA, INDIA, INDONESIA, MALAYSIA, THAILAND, AND VIETNAM.TAHOD AND TAPHOD ANNUAL MEETINGSIN NOVEMBER 2020 BOTH THE TAHOD AND TAPHOD STEERING COMMITTEES HELD THEIR ANNUAL MEETINGS, WITH THAILAND-BASED INVESTIGATORS ATTENDING IN BANGKOK AND REGIONAL INVESTIGATORS JOINING VIRTUALLY. ATTENDED BY INVESTIGATORS AND STUDY COORDINATORS, THE MEETINGS INCLUDED UPDATES AND DISCUSSIONS ON TAHOD AND TAPHOD DATA, PROPOSED ANALYSES, AND ONGOING AND NEW SUB-STUDIES. INTEGRATING HIV, MENTAL HEALTH, AND IMPLEMENTATION SCIENCE RESEARCHIN 2019, THE U.S. NATIONAL INSTITUTES OF HEALTH AWARDED A FIVE-YEAR, $1.4 MILLION GRANT TO TREAT ASIA AND COLUMBIA UNIVERSITY TO ESTABLISH AN INNOVATIVE PLATFORM FOR INTEGRATING HIV, MENTAL HEALTH, AND IMPLEMENTATION SCIENCE RESEARCH IN THE ASIA-PACIFIC REGION. THE OBJECTIVE OF THE CHIMERA PROGRAM (CAPACITY DEVELOPMENT FOR HIV AND MENTAL HEALTH RESEARCH IN ASIA) IS TO ADDRESS THE DUAL AND INTERLINKED BURDENS OF HIV AND MENTAL HEALTH. CO-LED BY PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATORS DR. ANNETTE SOHN, AMFAR VICE PRESIDENT AND DIRECTOR OF TREAT ASIA, AND DR. MILTON WAINBERG, PROFESSOR OF CLINICAL PSYCHIATRY AT COLUMBIA UNIVERSITY AND THE NEW YORK STATE PSYCHIATRIC INSTITUTE, THE PROGRAM AIMS TO BUILD A TEAM WITHIN THE ASIA-PACIFIC WITH THE CAPACITY TO LEAD REGIONAL HIV-MENTAL HEALTH-IMPLEMENTATION SCIENCE RESEARCH THAT WILL INFORM PUBLIC HEALTH POLICY AND IMPROVE THE QUALITY OF CLINICAL CARE FOR PEOPLE LIVING WITH HIV. THE PROGRAM IS NESTED WITHIN THE IEDEA (SEE ABOVE) ASIA-PACIFIC REGIONAL RESEARCH NETWORK THAT TREAT ASIA DIRECTS. CHIMERA CREATES THE OPPORTUNITY TO BRING TOGETHER STELLAR TRAINING FACULTY FROM ACADEMIC CENTERS AND PUBLIC HEALTH AND DEVELOPMENT AGENCIES WITHIN THE REGION AND ACROSS THE WORLD, AND WILL BUILD ON EXISTING NIH-FUNDED MENTAL HEALTH RESEARCH BEING CONDUCTED THROUGH IEDEA ASIA-PACIFIC.IN DECEMBER 2020, A FINAL WORKSHOP FOR THE FIRST CLASS OF CHIMERA FELLOWS WAS HELD REMOTELY, COVERING IMPLEMENTATION RESEARCH METHODS, RESPONSIBLE CONDUCT OF RESEARCH, POLICY DEVELOPMENT, STIGMA, COMMUNITY PARTICIPATION IN RESEARCH, AND SCIENTIFIC WRITING. SIX OF EIGHT CLASS I FELLOWS BEGAN IMPLEMENTATION OF THEIR PILOT RESEARCH STUDIES IN 2021. A SECOND CLASS OF EIGHT FELLOWS ATTENDED PROGRAM ORIENTATION IN APRIL 2021. COVID-19 TREAT ASIA IS COLLABORATING WITH THE INSTITUTE OF HIV RESEARCH AND INNOVATION (IHRI), THAI RED CROSS AIDS RESEARCH CENTER (TRC-ARC) LABORATORY, AND THE NIH VACCINE RESEARCH CENTER (VRC) TO CONDUCT SARS-COV-2 SEROLOGIC ASSAYS OF THAI ADULTS TAKING AND NOT TAKING ANTIRETROVIRAL DRUGS FOR PRE-EXPOSURE PROPHYLAXIS AND TREATMENT OF HIV. IN SEPTEMBER 2020, MORE THAN 1,800 SAMPLES WERE SENT TO THE NATIONAL INSTITUTES OF HEALTH. IN 2021 THE NIH VRC PROPOSED AN EXPANSION OF THE STUDY COLLABORATION TO FOLLOW LONGITUDINAL SEROLOGIC PATTERNS AND ASSESS FOR INFECTIONS WITH OTHER VIRAL PATHOGENS. A DRAFT PROTOCOL WAS DEVELOPED AND SHARED WITH THE WORKING GROUP IN SEPTEMBER 2021. IN 2021 TREAT ASIA LAUNCHED A NEW WEBSITEWWW.COVID19ASIAINFO.ORGAN IMPORTANT NEW SOURCE OF INFORMATION ON COVID VACCINES AND THERAPEUTICS RELEVANT TO THE ASIA-PACIFIC REGION. THROUGHOUT THE YEAR, TREAT ASIA CONTINUED TO PARTICIPATE IN MEETINGS HELD VIRTUALLY WITH ORGANIZATIONS AND COMMUNITY MEMBERS FROM COUNTRIES THROUGHOUT THE ASIA-PACIFIC REGION TO NAVIGATE THE IMPACTS OF COVID-19 ON CRITICAL HIV AND HEPATITIS SERVICES AND INITIATIVES.HELPING ADOLESCENTS TRANSITION TO ADULT CAREMORE THAN ONE IN FOUR NEW HIV INFECTIONS IN THE ASIA-PACIFIC OCCUR IN YOUNG PEOPLE AGED 1524. CONTINUING ITS COMMITMENT TO HELPING ADOLESCENTS TRANSITION TO ADULT CARE, IN 2019 TREAT ASIA INITIATED PLANS FOR A STUDY OF ADOLESCENTS AND YOUNG ADULTS LIVING WITH HIV. A TOTAL OF AT LEAST 75 HIV-DISCLOSED ADOLESCENTS WITH HIV WILL BE ENROLLED FROM THREE PARTICIPATING SITES IN THAILAND AND THE PHILIPPINES FOR INITIAL AND 12-MONTH FOLLOW-UP ASSESSMENTS. CRITICAL OUTCOMES INCLUDING VIRAL SUPPRESSION, TREATMENT ADHERENCE, PREGNANCY, AND MORTALITY WILL BE ASSESSED. ENROLLMENT BEGAN IN 2021. PUBLICATIONSIN 2021 TREAT ASIA CONTINUED TO PUBLISH LAY-LANGUAGE ARTICLES ON HIV/AIDS RESEARCH, POLICY, AND COMMUNITY ISSUES FACING THE ASIA-PACIFIC AS A WHOLE. THE ARTICLES AND EDUCATIONAL PIECES APPEAR ON TREAT ASIA'S WEBSITE, WWW.TREATASIA.ORG.IAS 2021 AND OTHER CONFERENCESTREAT ASIA STAFF AND NETWORK INVESTIGATORS ATTENDED AND PRESENTED AT SEVERAL REGIONAL AND INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCES ON HIV-RELATED ISSUES. TREAT ASIA HAD A STRONG PRESENCE AT THE 11TH IAS CONFERENCE ON HIV SCIENCE (IAS 2021) HELD VIRTUALLY IN JULY 2021. TREAT ASIA DIRECTOR DR. ANNETTE SOHN MODERATED A SESSION THAT REVIEWED THE EVIDENCE BEHIND CURRENT TREATMENTS USED FOR COVID-19 AND ITS RELATED CONDITIONS, AND EXAMINED HOW THERAPEUTICS COULD BE RAPIDLY EVALUATED FOR COVID AND OTHER EMERGING INFECTIONS. DR. SOHN ALSO CO-CHAIRED A JOURNAL OF THE INTERNATIONAL AIDS SOCIETY SPECIAL SESSION ON THE CRITICAL ROLE OF IMPLEMENTATION SCIENCE IN THE HIV RESPONSE AND FOR GLOBAL GUIDELINES. NUMEROUS TREAT ASIA PARTNER INVESTIGATORS AND AFFILIATES ALSO GAVE POSTER PRESENTATIONS AT THE CONFERENCE.TREAT ASIA ALSO PARTICIPATED IN: THE 23RD BANGKOK INTERNATIONAL SYMPOSIUM ON HIV MEDICINE IN JANUARY 2021; THE INTERNATIONAL AIDS SOCIETY (IAS) COVID-19 CONFERENCE IN FEBRUARY; THE CONFERENCE ON RETROVIRUSES AND OPPORTUNISTIC INFECTIONS (CROI) IN MARCH; AND THE SIXTH ASIA PACIFIC AIDS & CO-INFECTIONS CONFERENCE (APACC), HELD VIRTUALLY IN JUNE.

PUBLIC INFORMATION: AMFAR SEEKS TO TRANSLATE AND DISSEMINATE INFORMATION ON IMPORTANT HIV-RELATED RESEARCH, TREATMENT, PREVENTION, AND POLICY ISSUES FOR DIVERSE AUDIENCES AND TO INCREASE AWARENESS AND KNOWLEDGE OF THE PANDEMIC. AMFAR PUBLISHES A WIDE RANGE OF EDUCATIONAL MATERIALS, MAINTAINS AN INFORMATIVE WEBSITE, AND ENGAGES RESPECTED PUBLIC FIGURES, HIV/AIDS SCIENTISTS, AND POLICYMAKERS IN COMMUNICATING THE NEED FOR CONTINUED RESEARCH TO DEVELOP NEW METHODS OF PREVENTION, TREATMENT, AND, ULTIMATELY, A CURE FOR HIV. FOR FURTHER DETAILS, SEE SCHEDULE O. WHEN THE COVID-19 CRISIS EMERGED IN EARLY 2020, AMFAR DEDICATED A SECTION OF ITS WEBSITE TO INFORMATION ON THE CORONAVIRUS AND THE INTERSECTION OF HIV AND COVID-19 IN PARTICULAR. THE SECTION FEATURED RESOURCES FOR PEOPLE LIVING WITH HIV AND NEWS OF THE LATEST STUDIES AS MORE AND MORE DATA EMERGED. AUDIOVISUAL CONTENT INCLUDED A SERIES OF INTERVIEWSCONNECTIONS: COVID-19 AND HIVFEATURING INDIVIDUALS LIVING WITH HIV SHARING THEIR PERSONAL EXPERIENCES DURING THE COVID-19 PANDEMIC. THE INFORMATIVE SERIES GARNERED TENS OF THOUSANDS OF VIEWS. PUBLIC INFORMATION ALSO ASSISTED IN THE PRODUCTION OF INNOVATIVE VIRTUAL BENEFIT EVENTS INCLUDING A GALA FOR OUR TIME AND IT'S A SIN: A CONVERSATION IN MARCH 2021, AND FROM THE STUDIO PART II, AN ONLINE ART AUCTION IN PARTNERSHIP WITH CHRISTIE'S IN JULY 2021, AS WELL AS FUNDRAISING GALAS THAT WERE HELD IN PERSON IN CANNES, FRANCE, IN JULY 2021, AND VENICE, ITALY, IN SEPTEMBER. IN MAY 2021 AMFAR RECEIVED THE AWARD FOR OUTSTANDING DIGITAL THEATER, INDIVIDUAL PRODUCTION, AT THE 87TH DRAMA LEAGUE AWARDS FOR THE GREAT WORK BEGINS: SCENES FROM ANGELS IN AMERICA. AMFAR AND DIRECTOR ELLIE HEYMAN CAME TOGETHER IN 2020 TO PRODUCE THE VIRTUAL PERFORMANCE INSPIRED BY THE ICONIC TONY KUSHNER PLAY TO BENEFIT THE NEWLY FORMED AMFAR FUND TO FIGHT COVID-19. EDUCATIONAL MATERIALS AMFAR PRODUCES PERIODICALS IN BOTH PRINT AND ELECTRONIC FORMATS, INCLUDING ITS NEWSLETTER INNOVATIONS, PUBLISHED TWICE A YEAR AND DISTRIBUTED TO ABOUT 35,000 PEOPLE, AND A MONTHLY E-MAIL NEWSLETTER DISTRIBUTED TO APPROXIMATELY 16,000 PEOPLE. THE FOUNDATION'S WEBSITEWWW.AMFAR.ORGFEATURES NEWS, INTERVIEWS, AND ORIGINAL ARTICLES COVERING HIV RESEARCH, POLICY, THE GLOBAL EPIDEMIC, AND AMFAR PROGRAMS AND ACTIVITIES. THE WEBSITE ATTRACTS AN AVERAGE OF 25,000 VISITORS PER MONTH. AMFAR CREATES AND DISTRIBUTES REPORTS, PRESS RELEASES, AND UPDATES ON MAJOR HIV/AIDS ISSUES AND CONDUCTS PUBLIC SERVICE ADVERTISING CAMPAIGNS THAT HAVE BEEN INSTRUMENTAL IN EDUCATING POLICYMAKERS, HEALTHCARE PROFESSIONALS, PEOPLE LIVING WITH HIV/AIDS, AND THE PUBLIC. AMFAR'S PUBLIC INFORMATION TEAM ALSO WORKS CLOSELY WITH THE PUBLIC POLICY OFFICE (SEE ABOVE) TO PRODUCE A WIDE RANGE OF ISSUE BRIEFS, FACTS SHEETS, INFOGRAPHICS, AND REPORTS.EPIC VOICESAMFAR'S EPIC VOICES, AN ONLINE VIDEO SERIES THAT AIMS TO REENERGIZE THE RESPONSE TO HIV AMONG MILLENNIAL AND LGBTQ COMMUNITIES CONTINUED TO GENERATE SIGNIFICANT ENGAGEMENT THROUGHOUT THE YEAR. EPIC VOICES WON THE AWARD FOR VIDEO STORYTELLING IN THE 2021 PRNEWS CSR & NONPROFIT AWARDS. LAUNCHED IN 2017, THE GOALS OF THE CAMPAIGN ARE TO: RENEW AWARENESS OF THE PERSISTENT THREAT OF HIV, UNDERSCORE THE URGENT NEED TO SUPPORT HIV RESEARCH, AND SUPPORT AMFAR'S LEADERSHIP IN THE SEARCH FOR A CURE. AMFAR SPOKE TO HIV ACTIVISTS ACROSS THE COUNTRY AND ASKED THEM TO SHARE THEIR UNIQUE JOURNEYS, THEIR INSIGHTS ON LIVING WITH HIV, AND THE BOLD STEPS THEY HAVE TAKEN IN THE FIGHT AGAINST THE EPIDEMIC.SOCIAL MEDIAAMFAR HAS VIGOROUSLY EXPANDED ITS PRESENCE IN THE SOCIAL MEDIA ARENA, REACHING LARGE NUMBERS OF PEOPLE, INCLUDING A YOUNGER DEMOGRAPHIC THAT IS OFTEN LESS EDUCATED ABOUT HIV AND THE AIDS EPIDEMIC. THE FOUNDATION HAS EXPANDED ITS SOCIAL PLATFORMS TO INCLUDE TIKTOK, TARGETING THE NEW GENERATION OF ADVOCATES. AMFAR REGULARLY UPDATES ITS SOCIAL CHANNELS WITH THE LATEST RESEARCH BREAKTHROUGHS AND POLICY NEWS, AS WELL AS DETAILED COVERAGE FROM ITS WORLD-FAMOUS GALAS. AMFAR HAS OVER 78,000 LIKES ON FACEBOOK, MORE THAN 43,000 TWITTER FOLLOWERS, OVER 116,000 TIKTOK FOLLOWERS, AND 170,000 INSTAGRAM FOLLOWERS. MEDIA OUTREACHIN FY2021, AMFAR CONTINUED TO WORK CLOSELY WITH THE MEDIA TO RAISE THE PROFILE OF HIV/AIDS, BOTH DOMESTICALLY AND INTERNATIONALLY, AND TO HELP ENSURE THE ACCURACY OF HIV-RELATED PRESS COVERAGE. ARTICLES AND REPORTS INVOLVING AMFARMANY OF WHICH INCLUDED INTERVIEWS WITH STAFFWERE CARRIED IN NUMEROUS MEDIA OUTLETS, INCLUDING ABC NEWS, NBC NEWS, CNN, ASSOCIATED PRESS, REUTERS, THE NEW YORK TIMES, USA TODAY, U.S. NEWS & WORLD REPORT, VANITY FAIR, VOGUE, PEOPLE, VARIETY, CR FASHION BOOK, POZ MAGAZINE, WOMEN'S WEAR DAILY, US WEEKLY, THE HOLLYWOOD REPORTER, DEADLINE, YAHOO, PAGE SIX, DAILY MAIL, THE DAILY BEAST, AND THE HILL.CELEBRITY SUPPORT AMFAR'S PUBLIC AWARENESS EFFORTS ARE GREATLY ENHANCED BY THE COMMITTED SUPPORT OF PUBLIC FIGURES WHO LEND THEIR VOICES AND DONATE THEIR TIME, TALENTS, AND RESOURCES TO HELP SUSTAIN THE FOUNDATION'S MISSION. SUPPORT OF AMFAR BY PROMINENT PUBLIC FIGURES BEGAN WITH THE LATE DAME ELIZABETH TAYLOR, AMFAR'S FOUNDING INTERNATIONAL CHAIRMAN, AND OTHERS HAVE FOLLOWED IN HER FOOTSTEPS. AMFAR IS PROFOUNDLY GRATEFUL FOR THE CONTINUING SUPPORT OF CELEBRITIES FROM ALL OVER THE WORLD.CELEBRITY SUPPORTERS INCLUDED MARIA BAKALOVA, JORDAN BARRETT, SWIZZ BEATZ, DEREK BLASBERG, ORLANDO BLOOM, IAN BOHEN, NICHOLAS BRAUN, RACHEL BROSNAHAN, CINDY BRUNA, KELLY CLARKSON, GLENN CLOSE, DARREN CRISS, OLIVIA CULPO, LEE DANIELS, DIPLO, NINA DOBREV, JAY ELLIS, CYNTHIA ERIVO, MORGAN FREEMAN, EMILY HAMPSHIRE, JEREMY O. HARRIS, EMILE HIRSCH, TYLER HOECHLIN, JULIANNE HOUGH, MAGIC JOHNSON, ALICIA KEYS, REGINA KING, HEIDI KLUM, NATHAN LANE, SPIKE LEE, JULIAN LENNON, JULIANNA MARGULIES, AVA MAX, STELLA MAXWELL, BETTE MIDLER, CATHERINE O'HARA, RITA ORA, DYLAN PENN, JEREMY PIVEN, NATASHA POLY, BILLY PORTER, JULIA ROBERTS, MICHAELA JA RODRIGUEZ, CARINE ROITFELD, NICOLE SCHERZINGER, NINA SENICAR, SHARON STONE, BELLA THORNE, ELLEN VON UNWERTH, AND LYDIA WEST.