What
Worcester Polytechnic Institute (WPI) will host a lecture by world-renowned AIDS researcher Dr. David Ho, TIME magazine's 1996 "Man of the Year." The lecture will launch this academic year's "Great Problems Seminars," part of a new curriculum designed to engage WPI's first-year students with the great problems facing our world. Dr. Ho will meet with students on the first day of classes and then present his lecture: "The HIV/AIDS Pandemic and Prospects for Control." The lecture is free and open to the public.
Who
Dr. David Ho is CEO and founding scientific director of the Aaron Diamond AIDS Research Center, Irene Diamond professor at Rockefeller University Medical School, and head of the China AIDS Initiative. TIME magazine bestowed upon Dr. Ho the "Man of the Year" honor for his pioneering research and treatment of the deadly disease. In 2001, he was the recipient of the Presidential Medal. Dr. Ho has been at the forefront of AIDS research for 27 years, publishing more than 350 papers. His elegant studies, starting in 1994, unveiled the dynamic nature of HIV replication in vivo and revolutionized our basic understanding of this horrific disease (Nature 1995; Science 1996). This knowledge led him to champion combination antiretroviral therapy (New England Journal Medicine 1995; Science 1996) that resulted in unprecedented control of HIV in patients (Nature 1997). AIDS mortality in richer nations has declined six-fold since 1996, and a massive international effort is now underway to bring such life-saving treatment to millions in the developing world. Ho has been the major driving force behind this major medical breakthrough in what is arguably the worst plague in human history. His research team is now devoting considerable efforts to develop vaccines to halt the spread of the AIDS epidemic. Dr. Ho is now heading a consortium of Chinese and American organizations to help address the crisis of HIV/AIDS in China.
When
Thursday, August 28, 2008; 5-6 p.m.
Where
Worcester Polytechnic Institute
Alden Memorial
100 Institute Road, Worcester, Mass.
More Info
Supported by a generous gift from Eric Hahn, a 1980 graduate of WPI and partner of the Inventures Group in Palo Alto, California, the university has launched a new approach to WPI's first-year experience with the "Great Problems Seminars." The seminars focus on problems instead of disciplines or departments or majors. The themes for this year's seminars are Food, Energy, Health, and Engineering for Sustainability. The goal is to take problem solving out of the textbook and into the "real world" by focusing on themes of current global importance. The addition of the Great Problems Seminars provides students with early exposure to WPI's project-based curriculum and will help them develop the skills necessary for success in their future project work.
