A name that has been at the forefront of the fight against HIV/AIDS since the first reported cases 40 years ago will open the ATS President’s Symposium with a retrospective look at the lessons learned since the start of this pandemic.

Anthony S. Fauci, MD, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, National Institutes of Health, will be the first of five presenters discussing the evolution of HIV care and the global impact of pulmonary complications of HIV in this session, 9:30-11 a.m. PT Monday, May 16, in Room 215-216 (South Building, Level 2) of the Moscone Center.

Dr. Fauci, whose presentation will be pre-recorded, will discuss global disparities in HIV cases, groundbreaking advances in HIV/AIDS science, and remaining implementation gaps for testing and treatment.

Since the early 1980s, about 80 million people have been infected with HIV and upwards of 36 million people have died of AIDS, with 1.5 million new infections and 680,00 deaths each year.

Despite these sobering statistics, antiretroviral drugs have extended the life expectancy of a newly diagnosed 20-year-old to more than 50 years, compared to one to two years in the early 1980s, Dr. Fauci noted.

“The development of highly effective antiretroviral therapy for HIV, undoubtedly, is one of the most important biomedical research advances of our era,” he said.

Dr. Fauci has been the NIAID director since 1984, overseeing an extensive research portfolio of basic and applied science to prevent, diagnose, and treat infectious diseases. He has advised seven U.S. presidents on HIV/AIDS and other domestic and international health issues. Dr. Fauci was one of the principal architects of the President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief, a program credited with saving millions of lives in the developing world. 

Laurence Huang, MD, ATSF, University of California, San Francisco, will explain the global burden of HIV in the symposium. Engi Farouk Attia, MD, MPH, University of Washington, will trace the evolution of pulmonary manifestations with HIV. Krishna P. Reddy, MD, MS, Massachusetts General Hospital, will discuss threats to survival posed by smoking among patients with HIV. Janice Leung, MD, St. Paul’s Hospital, Vancouver, Canada, will offer insights into the mechanisms and future directions of HIV-associated lung disease.

The President’s Symposium is organized by ATS President Lynn M. Schnapp, MD, ATSF, with co-chairs Kristina A. Crothers, MD, University of Washington, Seattle, and Ken M. Kunisaki, MD, MSCR, ATSF, Minneapolis VA.