Elizabeth Glaser Pediatric AIDS Foundation

The Elizabeth Glaser Pediatric AIDS Foundation seeks to prevent pediatric HIV infection and to eradicate pediatric AIDS through research, advocacy, and prevention and treatment programs.

In 1981, Elizabeth Glaser was infected with the AIDS virus through a blood transfusion, and unknowingly passed it on to both of her children. The Glaser family's tragedy inspired the creation of the Pediatric AIDS Foundation in 1988. Since then, we have been at the forefront of the fight against pediatric HIV/AIDS, making remarkable strides in our struggle against an illness that has ravaged the globe. 

The Elizabeth Glaser Pediatric AIDS Foundation has been a Jewelers for Children Legacy Charity since 1999.  Since that time, JFC has provided more than $7 million in support.  This support has included funding prevention of mother to child transmission programs in the Democratic Republic of Congo and Angola, funding 23 Fellowship Programs that provide for two-year programs for the training of young doctors pursuing careers as pediatric clinical research scientists, funding of an Elizabeth Glaser Scientist Award and the funding of three International Leadership Awards, two in Africa and one in The Gambia.

Visit the Elizabeth Glaser Pediatric AIDS Foundation Website

"Thank you Jewelers for Children. I truly appreciate with all my heart that you do what you do because you helped make sure that my baby is OK. He's been cleared of HIV and a lot of that has to do with you. And because of you, I'm still alive and healthy enough to take care of my son. I was supposed to die over ten years ago and I'm still here and I refuse to give up. Thanks for refusing to give up as well."  Tanya, HIV-positive mother of a healthy 19-month old boy. 

Elizabeth Glaser Pediatric AIDS Foundation International Leadership Awards.

Jewelers for Children has contributed to the Foundation’s International Leadership Award Program which selects recipients through a competitive peer review process.  Awardees are internationally based scientists, researchers and public health specialists who have the potential to develop pediatric HIV/AIDS programs, but lack the in-country resources to implement such vital initiatives.  

The 2007 ILA awards, which JFC’s contribution helped make possible, are supporting the work of prominent scientists, researchers, and program leaders in Africa and India over the next three years.  Those recipients are:

Assan Jaye, D.V.M., Ph.D.
Medical Research Council Laboratories, The Gambia, West Africa
“Establishment of a Pediatric HIV Clinical and Research Unit for the Study of Pathogenesis and Treatment of Pediatric HIV-1 and HIV-2 Infection in The Gambia”

Anneke C. Hesseling, M.D., M.Sc.
Senior Clinical Researcher, Desmund Tutu TB Centre, Department of Pediatrics and Child Health and Faculty of Health Sciences, Stellenbosch University, Cape Town, South Africa
“Integrated HIV/TB Prevention Strategies To Reduce Morbidity in HIV-Infected Women and
Their Infants in Highly Endemic Settings: Towards Integrated Comprehensive Maternal and Infant PMTCT Care”

Purnima Madhivanan, M.B.B.S., M.P.H, Ph.D.
Executive Director, Public Health Research Institute, Mysore, Karnataka, India
“Project Kisalaya (“young tender shooter” in Sanskrit): Integrating Traditional Birth Attendants in PMTCT Service Delivery in Mysore District, India”

2006 Jewelers for Children Elizabeth Glaser Scientist Award – Dr. Margaret Feeney, MD, MSc.

Recipients are selected for their knowledge of, innovation in, and dedication to the filed.  Each grant represents a five-year commitment of $ 685,000 in funding and ensures that the long-term efforts of the scientists are devoted specifically to better understanding how HIV/AIDS uniquely affects children.

Dr. Feeney is a pediatrician and Assistant Professor of Pediatrics at the Partners AIDS Research Center of Harvard University and Massachusetts General Hospital.  She has had extensive training in infectious diseases and human immunology, notably with mentorship by Dr. Bruce Walker.  Dr. Feeney is also a former Elizabeth Glaser Pediatric AIDS Foundation Scholar awardee.  Her proposal, The Immune Response to Acute  Prenatal HIV Infection is based upon the hypothesis that the way an infant’s immune system responds to HIV during the initial period when they become infected affects the overall course of the infection during the years to follow.

The 2006 JEWELERS FOR CHILDREN FELLOWS (2004-2006)

MEGAN RELLER, MD
(Children’s Hospital, Boston, Infectious Disease)

Research Project: Optimal Detection of Salmonella Typhi and Paratyphi from the Blood of Children in Pakistan. Typhoid fever is a major tropical infectious disease that is typically diagnosed by analysis of bone marrow culture. While this diagnostic tool relies on a visit to a hospital, most populations affected by typhoid are in poorer countries where patients do not have access to equipped healthcare facilities. Dr. Reller is studying diagnostic tests for typhoid fever that will allow for rapid testing so infected children can be diagnosed earlier.

MICHAEL KUZNIEWICZ, MD
(University of California, San Francisco, Neonatology)

Research Project: California Intensive Care Outcomes Project/Assessment of the Performance of Current ICU Risk-Adjustment Models in a Modern ICU Population. Dr. Kuzniewicz developed a new model to evaluate death rates in Intensive Care Units (ICUs) of hospitals through analysis of over 8,000 patients from over 30 ICUs in California. This model will help national regulatory organizations target ICUs with poor quality so improvements can be made to the care of critically ill children.

MARK FRIEDBERG, MD
(Stanford University, Cardiology)

Research Project: Effects of Cardiac Pacing on The Normal Heart in Children. Dr. Friedberg studies the effects of electrical pacing on heart function in children. While much research has been done on the effects of implanted pacemakers in adults, little information is available regarding pediatric patients. The findings of his study will help optimize pacing strategies for different types of congenital heart disease in children.

JOANN LIN, MD
(University of California, Los Angeles, Allergy/Immunology)

Research Project: Investigation of Bone Mineral Density Loss in Children Infected with HIV. Dr. Lin has been studying the prevalence and severity of bone loss in HIV-infected children. Her research will help determine if there is a relationship between bone loss and different types of HIV therapy.

GEORGE JEHA, MD:
(Baylor College of Medicine, Pediatric Endocrinology)

Research Project: Phenotypic Evaluation of Children with Persistent Hyperinsulinemic Hypoglycemia of Infancy and Correlation with Genotype.

BERKELEY BENNETT, MD
(Baylor College of Medicine, Pediatric Emergency Medicine)

Research Project: Randomized, Controlled Trial of Heliox for Infants with Bronchiolitis. Dr. Bennett is studying a treatment for bronchiolitis, a viral respiratory illness that affects 100,000 infants in the U.S. each year, causing significant and sometimes fatal complications in infants.

JEWELERS FOR CHILDREN FELLOWS (2005-2007)

TERESIA O’CONNOR, MD (Baylor College of Medicine, General Pediatrics)

Research Project: Addressing and Educating Parents About Childhood Obesity.Dr. O’Connor is developing methods to address and educate parents about childhood obesity in a primary care setting.  Dr. O’Connor proposes that the primary care pediatric office setting is one of the critical places that obesity prevention needs to be addressed. She will be using the information she obtains from her study to help design future related research projects focused on the prevention of childhood obesity.

JENNIFER MACK, MD (Children’s Hospital, Boston, Hematology/Oncology)

Research Project: Determining Predictors of Parental Understanding of Prognosis in Children with Cancer. Dr. Mack is interested in the field of Palliative Care. Dr. Mack will conduct a study that examines barriers to successful communication between physicians and parents whose children are suffering from life-limiting illness.

LAUREN WEINTRAUB, MD (Stanford University, Pediatric Nephrology)

Research Project: Urinary Profiling as a Monitoring Tool for Renal Allograft Dysfunction.Dr. Weintraub will be designing a method for developing diagnostic tests that would enable physicians to use urine samples to diagnose and treat acute rejection in kidney transplant patients.

ROBERT VENICK, MD (University of California, Los Angeles, Pediatric GI/Liver)

Research Project: Determining the Best Treatments for Children Who Develop de-Novo Auto-Immune Hepatitis (d-AIH).Liver transplantation has become the therapy of choice for many life threatening pediatric liver diseases. Unfortunately, there are numerous potential long-term complications associated with liver transplantation in children. Dr. Venick’s goal is to establish a protocol and standard of care for the treatment of pediatric post-transplant d-AIH, as none exists to date.

HAIG TCHEUREKDJIAN, MD (University of California, San Francisco, Allergy/Immunology)

Research Project: The Role of the Suppression of Regulatory T-Cells in Infants.Dr. Tcheurekdjian’s proposal is testing the hypothesis that the regulatory T cells are responsible for the poor response to immunizations in infants. If regulatory T cells are identified as suppressors of protective responses to childhood immunizations, particularly in children with allergies, Dr. Tcheurekdjian proposes that it might be possible to modify current immunization strategies to improve their efficacy in both low and high risk children.