The NIH NIAID Vaccine Research Center is dedicated to developing a vaccine that can help control the global HIV epidemic. We are assisted in these studies by volunteers from the community. The vaccine studies are approved by the U.S. FDA, the NIAID Institutional Review Board (IRB), the NIH Institutional Biosafety Committee, several other scientific review committees and a Community Advisory Board. Volunteers are extensively educated and counseled before entering a trial on the principles that underlie the development of candidate vaccines, and are fully informed about the potential risks and benefits of participating in clinical trials.

Our goal when engaging the public in presentations, advertisements, or other forms of publicity is to inform and educate people about the scope of the HIV/AIDS epidemic, how vaccines work, and how vaccines are developed. We consider the relationship between VRC scientists, clinicians, and volunteers from the community to be a partnership and collaboration.

Advertisements are used by the Vaccine Research Center as a means to educate the local community about the global nature of the HIV/AIDS epidemic, and to encourage voluntary participation in clinical studies vital to developing a successful vaccine. The advertisements used by the VRC are broad in scope and do not intend to single out any single nation or target population at risk. Rather, they encourage altruistic behavior to help stem the global HIV/AIDS epidemic anywhere on the globe.

Our volunteers are extraordinary people who graciously volunteer their time, and work closely with us to find a solution to the global AIDS crisis. They are people who care not only about themselves and their immediate families, but about people in all parts of the world. The VRC advertisements are used locally in the Washington, D.C. area, and appeal to these altruistic persons who genuinely want to help find a vaccine that can help control the global HIV epidemic. They demonstrate that all humanity has a common interest in finding a solution to HIV/AIDS, and that we all must work together to be successful.

If you are interested in volunteering to participate in a clinical trial, please call us at 1-866-833-LIFE (5433) or or e-mail us at VRCforlife@mail.nih.gov.