Paul's Bio

Paul Galatowitsch, PhD

Paul Galatowitsch, PhD his doctorate in sociology from Yale University in 1996 specializing in organizational and institutional behavior and culture. He has worked for more than HIV/AIDS field for more than 20 years focusing on developing innovative responses to HIV prevention and care.

Currently, Dr. Galatowitsch is the coordinator clinical HIV/AIDS Education at St. Vincents Catholic Medical Center in New York City where he is responsible for managing clinical training of community based health care providers in HIV/AIDS. Dr. Galatowitsch is also involved in research studies examining organizational responses to HIV/AIDS in New York City. He has recently published in the New York Times, on the public health benefits of conducting pooled viral load testing at sexually transmitted infection clinics in New York City, in Science on the Cost of Access to HIV Treatment in Africa and in the Microbicide Quarterly, where he reported on the cost of “Vaccine and Drug Trials in HIV/AIDS in Africa.” Dr. Galatowitsch along with Dr. Urbina is the co-producer of the first educational DVD on Acute HIV Infection.

Breaking the AIDS Chain – New York Times

http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9805E5DB1030F934A25754C0A9639C8B63&sec=health&spon=&pagewanted=print

Notes from the Field – Microbicide Quarterly

http://www.microbicide.org/microbicideinfo/reference/TMQ.Jan-Mar2006.FINAL.pdf.

Cost of Access to ARV Treatment – Science

http://www.sciencemag.org/cgi/content/citation/314/5805/1540

Acute HIV Infection – DVD (12 mins)

http://www.nynjaetc.org/clinPop6.htm

Mini's Bio

Mini Murthy, MD

Padmini (Mini) Murthy is trained as a physician and did her residency in Obstetrics and Gynecology. Murthy has practiced medicine in various countries. She has a MPH in International Health Education and an M.S. in Management of International Public Service Organizations from New York University. She is also a Certified Health Education Specialist. She is also working towards a PhD in Public health education.

She been the recipient of several awards and some of them are Best Physician at work place award, Distinguished Student Award Dean at NYU School of Education and was named Public Service Scholar at the NYU Robert F. Wagner school of Public service. She has been invited to be visiting research scholar at the London School of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene in 2005.

Murthy has been a champion of women’s health issues and has given a number of talks on women’s health at NYU, Yale, Brown and Lehman universities. She has presented at various national and international conferences on various healths related issues.

She has experience in the, implementation, and management of public health and educational programs at the local, national, and global level. She has served as a health care consultant to healthcare providers, international non government organizations, and the United Nations. Murthy was instrumental in developing a best practices guide line for HIV/ AIDS the United Nations Population Fund HIV/ AIDS Division. ( a United Nations Agency which h is a member of the UNAIDS)

Murthy is Assistant Professor Department of Behavioral Science and Community Health., and the Program Director for the MPH Program in International Health at New York Medical College School of Public Health. She also serves on the board of a number of International NGOs and is their representative at the United Nations. Currently Murthy is working as co editor and co author of a Text Book on women’s health to be published Dec 2007/ spring 2008.

Antonio's Bio

Antonio E. Urbina, M.D.

Dr. Urbina trained at Saint Vincent’s Catholic Medical Center where he completed his internship and residency in Internal Medicine. Subsequent to this, he has completed a Primary Care Research Fellowship at New York Medical College.

Dr. Urbina currently is Associate Professor of Medicine at New York Medical College where he is responsible for teaching medical students and residents inpatient and outpatient medical management. In addition, Dr. Urbina maintains a busy and successful private faculty practice at St. Vincent’s Medical Associates, providing HIV treatment and general primary care medicine.

Dr. Urbina also serves as Medical Director of the HIV/AIDS Education and Training Program at St. Vincent’s Hospital-Manhattan and the St. Vincent’s Chapter of the Congressional Black Caucus Initiative. Dr. Urbina is also directs a monthly multidisciplinary forum supervising the care of HIV infected pregnant women.

Dr. Urbina is a well-known lecturer and has presented on various topics on HIV biology, prevention, epidemiology, as well as on novel treatment agents and co-morbid conditions such as substance use.

Siegal's Bio

Frederick P. Siegal, MD

Frederic P. Siegal, a native New Yorker, attended Cornell University, received the MD from Columbia College of Physicians and Surgeons, and trained in Internal Medicine at Mount Sinai Hospital. After serving at the Walter Reed Army Medical Center during the Vietnam War, he was Helen Hay Whitney Foundation Fellow in Immunology at The Rockefeller University in the laboratory of Henry G. Kunkel, MD.

Since his fellowship, he has been involved in various aspects of research and treatment of immunodeficiency diseases. After ten years’ work in this area at Sloan-Kettering and Mt. Sinai, he published the original description of the first cases of AIDS (1981). This early experience led in two major directions.

He initiated studies leading to the development of a new drug, rifabutin, and with it demonstrated for the first time the feasibility of preventing MAC, the most prevalent and deadly opportunistic bacterial infection occurring in AIDS.

Dr. Siegal elucidated the role of a previously obscure immune cell type, now known to be central to the workings of the immune system. He had made the clinical observation that this cell, now call the plasmacytoid dendritic cell (“pDC”), had the ability to protect people with AIDS from opportunistic disease and death. Because these cells were obviously crucial to the survival of humans, he devoted 20 years to the definition of the PDC. The Wohl family, spearheaded by our honoree, Ms. Nancy Drake, has been especially supportive of Dr. Siegal’s cutting-edge research over the years.

Dr. Siegal has served as advisor for many governmental and private organizations, including NIH, AmFAR, and THO. He was Commissioner of Health for the Village of Ocean Beach, NY, and has been called “Hero of Medicine” by the International Association of Physicians for AIDS Care, among other professional honors. Since 1998, he has been Medical Director, Comprehensive HIV Center of Saint Vincent Catholic Medical Centers, Manhattan, and a member of the faculties of New York Medical College and Rockefeller University.

Srinivas's Bio

Srinivas Thirunagari

Srinivas Thirunagari is an accomplished visionary and entrepreneur who possesses a unique understanding of the social, cultural, and economic interdependencies between India and the United States, and has demonstrated this by assembling a diverse blend of global stakeholders, donors, and teams and delivering results.

Srinivas has eleven years of leadership experience as the CEO, Chairman, and Founded various global companies that provide products and services to organizations that are positioned for success in the global marketplace. Srinivas is a high-integrity, energetic individual who is known by his peers for his ability to envision and create successful outcomes out of complex situations. Srinivas's turnaround capability is demonstrated by his accomplishment in successfully transitioning CS Solutions from the internet bubble burst and post-Sept 11 period of economic downturn to subsequent periods of record growth by major shifts in operations, solutions strategy, sales strategy and leadership.

In March, 1996, Srinivas founded CS Solutions, a global software solutions company with an impressive client list, of which Wells Fargo, American Express, Hallmark, Fiserv, eFunds and Geico are top clients. In 2000, Srinivas expanded and opened CS Software Solutions, Ltd. in Chennai, India, where he was able to provide the services of offshore technology professionals to major clients. CS Software Solutions is able to deliver innovative and profitable technology solutions and strategies for the companies that adopt them. CS Software Solutions has assisted clients such as Fiserv, Hallmark, and Fresh Direct by delivering high per-employee yields.

Committed to the conviction that social and economic growth are essential for overall personal growth, Srinivas's current work is bringing the latest HIV/AIDS testing technology and research teams from the United States to Chennai, India. He is helping to initiate a global implementation plan to detect HIV early and stop the spread of HIV/AIDS in India. Srinivas is also a member of the Association of India Development (AID), which has funded numerous health and education projects in India.

Srinivas graduated with a Bachelor of Engineering degree in Biomedical Engineering from Osmania University in Hyderabad, India in 1986. He completed his Masters of Science coursework in Computer Science at Old Dominion University in 1991. He attended the Owner/President Management (OPM) Program at Harvard University in 2001. Srinivas currently resides in Minneapolis, Minnesota, U.S., and spends about a fourth of the year in India. He and his family have spent four out of the past seven years in India.