About Us

HIV Research Section

The HIV Research Section at The San Francisco Department of Public Health is a recognized leader in HIV prevention research working to discover effective HIV prevention strategies that will reduce the impact of HIV/AIDS globally. Led by Director Dr. Susan Buchbinder, HIV Research Section has been working to find new and innovative ways to fight HIV/AIDS since the beginning of the epidemic.

The first study in the early 1980s was with gay men who had previously volunteered for a Hepatitis B study. With the study participants’ permission, HIV Research Section went back to their blood samples, looking for the presence of HIV antibodies. In some of these men, the tests revealed a history of HIV infection dating back as far as 1978. The results became a world-renowned source for understanding HIV infection and disease.

HIV/AIDS continues to be under recognized in its severity and persistence as a global epidemic. Operating under the umbrella of the San Francisco Department of Public Health, HIV Research Section today conducts innovative research that is guiding global approaches in HIV prevention, such as HIV vaccines. By collaborating with other researchers and communities throughout the world, HIV Research Section’s scientific breakthroughs will be used to help the people most affected by the epidemic.

Volunteering with HIV Research Section gives participants the opportunity to join a global network of volunteers who are influencing the development and efficacy of HIV prevention strategies. By combining a heritage of innovative prevention trials with a local and global network of motivated volunteers and peers, HIV Research Section strives to bring about global change in the field of HIV/AIDS research.