Treatment Pioneer To Speak At Worlds AIDS Day

GULFPORT, FL – A pioneering St. Petersburg doctor who helped lead clinical trials for an important HIV/AIDS drug will be the featured speaker at a local World Aids Day 20017 event.

Dr. Robert J. Wallace, known to the community as “Dr. Bob,” will give a presentation on the history of his HIV/AIDS practice on Thursday, Nov. 30 at the Gulfport Public Library, 5501 28thAve. S.

Before his presentation, Wallace will show the video “Tapestry; the Faces of AIDS.” Produced in 2015, the short film features interviews and footage detailing his personal history as an AIDS treatment provider from the beginnings of the epidemic to the present.

Wallace has concentrated on HIV/AIDS since he opened his St. Petersburg practice in 1987. He participated in every clinical trial possible to help stop the spread of HIV. Wallace attended every HIV conference related to the treatment of HIV/AIDS he could.

While Wallace devoted his practice to HIV/AIDS treatment, his patients also contributed to his efforts in stopping the spread of the diseases. In a trial known as FTC 303, Wallace’s St. Petersburg office had more patients enrolled than any other practice in the world, according to his website.

Wallace was a lead investigator in the trial until joining Gilead Sciences in 2001. The drug he studied in clinical trials would become known as Emtriva, a key component the four once-daily HIV/AIDS medications available today.

Aside from his clinical work, Wallace was the first medical director for the State of Florida Disease Management Program, also known as Positive Healthcare, from 1999-2000. Also, he was one of the founding board members of the organizations that would become The American Academy of HIV Medicine.

Wallace founded his current practice, the non-profit Love the Golden Rule, in 2014. The practice, also known as The Clinic at 721, focuses on Hepatitis C, HIV/AIDS, primary care and obesity. According to Wallace, more than 400 Floridians have been cured of Hepatitis C at the clinic.

The event is sponsored by the LGBTQ Resource Center, a project of the Circle of Friends of the Gulfport Public Library. For more information about the resource center, the Circle of Friends or the library, visit www.mygulfport.us/gpl or www.facebook.com/gulfportlibraryfl.

Worlds AIDS Day 2017 is Friday, Dec. 1. For more information, visit http://www.worldaidsday.org/.

Image courtesy of Love the Golden Rule, Inc.