Revisiting AIDS, Advocacy, and the Evolution of Medicine

Hosted by the Office of the Chancellor, the program brought together about 60 faculty, staff, and students for a panel discussion followed by a screening of the 2020 documentary Cured. The event reflected on the College’s early involvement in the crisis. In 1981, one of the three key articles in the New England Journal of Medicine describing the new disease entity originated from New York Medical College’s academic medical center, Saint Vincent Catholic Medical Center in Greenwich Village. It highlighted Pneumocystis infection and Kaposi's sarcoma, primarily in young homosexual men. These reports, following an earlier report in Morbidity and Mortality Weekly were the first medical publications of the outbreak that would become known as HIV/AIDS.

Attendees also explored archival medical media coverage from the AIDS crisis, along with materials highlighting NYMC alumni and faculty contributions, presented by Nicholas Webb, M.S.I.S., archivist and digital preservation librarian and senior instructor of health sciences library. The program created space for both personal storytelling and historical examination, underscoring the intersection of medicine, advocacy, and social change.

The panel discussion, titled “When I was a young doctor—encountering AIDS in the early years,” featured Edward C. Halperin, M.D., M.A., chancellor and chief executive officer; Bijan Safai, M.D., D.Sc., professor and chair of the Department of Dermatology; Gregory Almond, M.D., M.P.H. ’00, M.S. ’00, vice chancellor for external academic relations at NYMC School of Medicine, and Roger Chirurgi, M.D. FACEP, associate professor and chair of the Department of Emergency Medicine. Each panelist reflected on their firsthand experiences during the early years of the AIDS epidemic, offering insight into the uncertainty, stigma, and emotional toll that defined the era.

“In the beginning, we didn’t know what it was,” recalled Dr. Halperin. “It didn’t have a name. We didn’t know the cause. Everybody died. We felt completely useless. The wards were full of young patients. There was serious depression among the house staff in internal medicine. All your patients are dying and nothing that you’re doing is effective.”

Dr. Almond and attendees reflected on striking parallels between the AIDS epidemic and the COVID-19 pandemic. He recalled seeing patients on stretchers lining hospital hallways and physicians grappling with a lack of knowledge and resources in the early years of the crisis. At the time, the absence of safety-engineered needles heightened the risk for health care workers, who often viewed accidental needle sticks as a death sentence. The later development of post-exposure prophylaxis offered providers a means of treatment following potential exposure.

Some health care providers were fearful and hesitant to treat or operate on patients with AIDS, and some left the profession altogether remembered Dr. Chirurgi. Stigma and widespread misinformation led many clinicians and emergency personnel to avoid contact with patients or delay providing care.

Dr. Safai’s research on Kaposi’s sarcoma placed him at the forefront of the earliest investigations into AIDS. He advanced the use of interferon as a treatment for AIDS-related Kaposi’s sarcoma and contributed to the initial identification of the AIDS-causing virus, HIV. His work also led to the identification and isolation of the HIV GP21 antigen and the development of the first serologic test for HIV, along with the earliest publication on serologic testing for the virus. Dr. Safai recalled being involved in early clinical trials exploring HIV treatments didanosine and zalcitabine. He also secured funding and organized the first international AIDS conference in Cold Spring Harbor, New York.

Dr. Halperin highlighted his role in developing a landmark 1997 issue of the North Carolina Medical Journal focused on gay and lesbian medicine. His remarks emphasized the importance of representation in medical literature and the responsibility of physicians to advocate for marginalized communities.

Following the panel, attendees viewed Cured, a documentary that chronicles the grassroots activism and scientific advocacy that led to the American Psychiatric Association’s 1973 decision to remove homosexuality from the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders. The film provided historical context for ongoing conversations about equity and inclusion in health care.

The event concluded with a discussion, moderated by Brandon Jacobi, D.O., assistant professor of psychiatry and behavioral sciences, attending psychiatrist in the outpatient department, ALLY Care Center and ACT Team at Westchester Medical Center, who encouraged attendees to consider how the lessons of history can inform a more compassionate and inclusive future in medicine.