The Relentless Search to Cure HIV / AIDS
2 min readJan 25, 2024
Built Not Born (Episode X-Ray): Tricia Burdo, PhD, Professor and Vice Chair of Microbiology, Immunology, and Inflammation at Temple University discusses the search to cure HIV / AIDS.
CLICK HERE TO WATCH THIS EPISODE ON YOUTUBE
Tricia Burdo, PhD is the Professor and Vice Chair of Microbiology, Immunology, and Inflammation at Temple University’s Lewis Katz School of Medicine in Philadelphia.
Dr Burdo and I discuss the decades long search for the cure for HIV / AIDS. We discuss the latest treatments, experimental therapies, and the latest research in the search to cure to one of the most mysterious diseases known to humankind.
3.5 Questions for Tricia Burdo, PhD:
1) What is HIV and how does it differ from AIDS?
- “HIV is the virus. It’s Human Immunodeficiency Virus. AIDS is the disease that HIV can cause, which is Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome.”
2) Why has it taken so long to find a cure for HIV / AIDS?
- “One of the reasons is HIV is a retrovirus. It has RNA inside, it goes from RNA to DNA, and then that viral DNA can get into your cells and stay there. So even when you’re on medicine, the virus will be suppressed, but as soon as you stop taking the medicine, the virus will come back.”
3) If you could pass ONE LESSON about HIV / AIDS to everyone, what would it be?
- “For the younger people that didn’t live through the HIV / AIDS epidemic (which is still an epidemic to date.) It’s still out there and it’s still affecting the lives of people. I would say, don’t don’t blow it off. Don’t think it doesn’t exist anymore. It does. And it can be very debilitating. It’s still out there. Be diligent. Be safe..”
3.5) If you had to get a QUOTE or MOTTO tattooed on your body, what would it say?
- “Progress, Not Perfection.” “This is one from my personal life and from my fitness journey. Always be moving forward. You’re never going to be perfect. You don’t have to be perfect, but you need to be always moving forward. Always making progress. Always trying to better yourself.”
