I remember the first time I saw a woman in Africa die of AIDS. Susan Andukais, just 36, was entombed on the only bed in …
Author: Ruthann Richter
Stanford opens Lokey Building, crown jewel of stem cell science
As soon as he heard the words "stem cell" Lorry I. Lokey said he wanted in. Lokey, the philanthropist and founder of Business Wire, jumped …
Controversial class primes students in genomics
I joined a group of Stanford medical and graduate students this summer in a class that was unprecedented - the first in the country where …
Philanthropist Li Ka-shing helps dedicate Stanford's new medical education building
Li Ka-shing, the leading Hong Kong businessman and philanthropist, recently shared with me the story of why he chose to help fund a new medical …
Dramatic art depicts triumph over HIV
I stopped by recently to get a peek at Stanford’s new Positive Care Clinic (.pdf) in Atherton, which is getting some attention these days because …
International AIDS Conference – Day 4
There's a mantra in the AIDS world: Treatment is prevention. This isn't a new idea, but it's gaining a lot more traction, particularly in light …
International AIDS Conference – Day 3
The hottest news yet out of the International AIDS Conference was the announcement of the first vaginal gel that can protect women against HIV during …
International AIDS Conference – More from Day 2
A weary-looking Bill Clinton took the main stage today at the International AIDS Conference in Vienna - the same spot where some 50 demonstrators the …
International AIDS Conference – Day 2
Bill Gates is admittedly an optimist. At the International AIDS Conference in Vienna, which has been filled with gloom about funding shortages for desperately needed …
International AIDS Conference – Day 1
I descended into Vienna early this morning into the mass chaos that is the International AIDS Conference. There is often drama at this enormous conference …
Stanford expert says "hallelujah" over new Obama AIDS strategy
Eighteen months into his administration, President Obama has finally introduced a coordinated national AIDS strategy (.pdf) that has very laudable goals, though no new funding …
Global Health Corps starts training at Stanford
In her first month in Malawi, recent Boston University graduate Emily Bearse met a 22-year-old woman who had tested HIV-positive during pregnancy and was fearful …
Africa's orphaned elderly – a serious side-effect of AIDS
While in Africa, I spent time with children who had lost parents to AIDS, many of whom were living with aging grannies. The grannies were, …
Africa and the pill
I recently gave a talk to a distinguished group at the Fellowship Forum in Palo Alto, where I was asked about contraception use in Africa. …
AIDS war in Africa is failing
For the last several months, stories have been trickling out of Africa of people dying as AIDS clinics fall short of drugs. Now comes a …
Ethiopia to benefit from low-tech cervical cancer screening
We tend to think of Africa in terms of strange, exotic diseases, yet the common killers in the United States, such as cancer and heart …