AIDS Researcher Discusses HIV/AIDS Epidemic, Vaccine Research in China on NPR’s ‘Talk of the Nation’

Researchers in China have a "tremendous willingness to embrace technology" in their efforts to fight HIV/AIDS in the country, Sarah Schlesinger, research associate professor in the laboratory of cellular immunology and physiology at Rockefeller University and the Aaron Diamond AIDS Research Center, said in an interview on NPR's "Talk of the Nation/Science Friday." According to Schlesinger -- who is working on ADARC's plans for a human clinical trial to test the safety of an experimental DNA-based HIV vaccine in China -- the country has wealth, personnel, technological understanding and an ability to learn quickly, which is a "huge boon and a fundamental difference" from some other countries that also are fighting the HIV/AIDS pandemic. According to Schlesinger, China is using the experiences of other regions and the resources of organizations such as UNAIDS and the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation "to help change the course of the epidemic, because the good news is it's still early enough to do that" (Flatow, "Talk of the Nation/Science Friday," NPR, 1/13).

The complete segment is available online in RealPlayer.