Iona College Provost Presents at 23rd International AIDS Conference

Darrell P. Wheeler joins world’s top experts to advance modern solutions in HIV research and equity of care

September 11, 2020

Leadership, Service, Advocacy

NEW ROCHELLE, N.Y.— Iona College Provost and Senior Vice President for Academic Affairs, Darrell P. Wheeler, Ph.D., MPH, ACSW, presented at the 23rd International AIDS Conference, AIDS 2020: Virtual.

Dr. Wheeler contributed to a session titled “The Impact of NIH HIV/AIDS Research and Discovery at the Intersection of Prevention, Treatment, and Disparities Across the Lifespan,” hosted by Dr. Maureen M. Goodenow, associate director for AIDS Research and director of the Office of AIDS Research (OAR) at the National Institutes of Health (NIH). OAR is dedicated to providing effective leadership in identifying scientific priorities to ensure that NIH maintains a robust and multidisciplinary HIV portfolio.

Dr. Wheeler provided a pre-recorded presentation on “HIV and U.S. Disparities in Care and Engagement Across the Lifespan,” where he joined a distinguished, multidisciplinary panel of HIV scientists and experts for the virtual session, including:

• Jennifer Kates, Ph.D. (Moderator): Senior Vice President and Director of Global Health & HIV Policy, Kaiser Family Foundation, and Chair, Office of AIDS Research Advisory Council
• Lisa Hightow-Weidman, MD, MPH: Professor of Medicine, Division of Infectious Diseases and Health Behavior and Director of the Behavior and Technology Lab, University of North Carolina School of Medicine
• Ernest Hopkins: Senior Strategist and Advisor, San Francisco AIDS Foundation
• Amy Justice, MD, Ph.D.: CNH Long Professor of Medicine and of Public Health, Yale University, Staff Physician, VA Connecticut Healthcare System
• Nittaya Phanuphak, MD, Ph.D.: Executive Director, Institute of HIV Research and Innovation (IHRI), Bangkok, Thailand
• John Sleasman, MD: Dr. Glenn A. Kiser and Eltha Muriel Kiser Professor of Pediatrics, Chief, Division of Allergy/Immunology, and Chief, Division of Pulmonary Medicine at Duke University School of Medicine
• Sunil Suhas Solomon, MBBS, Ph.D., MPH: Associate Professor of Medicine, Division of Infectious Diseases, Johns Hopkins School of Medicine

A live discussion followed the pre-recorded presentations and was moderated by Dr. Kates. The conversation focused on building the capacity of current and future generations of HIV researchers and advocates to address 21st century challenges with 21st century solutions.  

A well-regarded and active scholar, Dr. Wheeler has published and presented extensively in the areas of health and mental health disparities; HIV prevention and intervention; minority health; individual and community resilience; LGBTQ community health and intervention; social justice; and community service. He has also been the recipient of numerous prestigious awards and honors.

“It was an honor to join such a distinguished group of scientists and scholars as part of the AIDS 2020 virtual conference,” said Dr. Wheeler. “Helping to advance research and address the disparities in care in the U.S., particularly in regard to HIV, has been a driving mission of my academic and professional career. This year’s conference brought together the world’s leading experts, and I thank everyone involved for the quick and effective shift to a virtual platform.”

Other NIH activities presented as part of AIDS 2020 included two presentations by Dr. Anthony S. Fauci, National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases: “COVID-19 and the Research Response” and “Ending HIV: Research Progress and Priorities.”

“Resilience” was the theme of the conference and symbolic of the extraordinary circumstances that coincided with AIDS 2020. The conference was originally scheduled to take place at two venues in San Francisco and Oakland, Calif., and detailed arrangements for a gathering of more than 20,000 attendees were in place when the COVID-19 pandemic surged in March. Organizers were forced to switch to a virtual platform, but the event successfully engaged a global audience with thousands of presentations. To learn more about the conference, please visit the AIDS 2020 website.

ABOUT IONA
Founded in 1940, Iona University is a master's-granting private, Catholic, coeducational institution of learning in the tradition of the Edmund Rice Christian Brothers. Iona's 45-acre New Rochelle campus and 28-acre Bronxville campus are just 20 miles north of Midtown Manhattan. With a total enrollment of nearly 4,000 students and an alumni base of more than 50,000 around the world, Iona is a diverse community of learners and scholars dedicated to academic excellence and the values of justice, peace and service. Iona is highly accredited, offering undergraduate degrees in liberal arts, science and business administration, as well as Master of Arts, Master of Science and Master of Business Administration degrees and numerous advanced certificate programs. Iona students enjoy small class sizes, engaged professors and a wide array of academic programs across the School of Arts & Science; LaPenta School of Business; NewYork-Presbyterian Iona School of Health Sciences; and Hynes Institute for Entrepreneurship & Innovation. Iona is widely recognized in prestigious rankings, including The Princeton Review’s 2025 national list of “The Best 390 Colleges” and The Wall Street Journal/College Pulse’s “2024 Best Colleges in America,” which ranked Iona at #66 in the nation overall and #8 in the nation among Catholic schools. Iona’s LaPenta School of Business is also accredited by AACSB International, a recognition awarded to just six percent of business schools worldwide. In addition, The Princeton Review recognized Iona’s on-campus MBA program as a “Best Business School for 2023.” Iona also offers a fully online MBA program for even greater flexibility. In July 2021, Iona announced the establishment of the NewYork-Presbyterian Iona School of Health Sciences, which is now principally located on Iona’s Bronxville campus in collaboration with NewYork-Presbyterian. Connecting to its Irish heritage, the University also recently announced it is expanding abroad with a new campus in County Mayo, Ireland. A school on the rise, Iona officially changed its status from College to University on July 1, 2022, reflecting the growth of its academic programs and the prestige of an Iona education.