John Y. Killen, Jr., was named director of the Division of AIDS (DAIDS) at the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID) of the National Institutes of Health in Bethesda, Md., effective April 17. He had been acting director of the division since June of last year.
As the division's new chief, Killen plans to continue the work he began as acting director. Among the activities he sees as having overriding importance are to "emphasize the value of basic research to the development of both treatments and vaccines" and "to improve the efficiency and effectiveness of our clinical trials network program." DAIDS currently sponsors a large number of treatment-related clinical trials nationwide, including antiretroviral strategies against the primary disease--infection with the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV)--as well as therapies for opportunistic infections that occur in people with AIDS.
A third item on Killen's agenda as DAIDS director is to promote ...
