Michael Gottlieb, pioneer in the fight against AIDS

Full Frame

Michael Gottlieb

In 1981, Dr. Michael Gottlieb and his colleagues at the UCLA School of Medicine in Los Angeles reported to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control the first five cases of an opportunistic infection that would soon come to be known as Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome — AIDS. Soon after, 40 more cases of young men in their early 30s suffering from fevers and extreme weight loss appeared. Now, 60,000 new cases of HIV are reported in the United States alone every year.

Michael Gottlieb, pioneer in the fight against AIDS

Dr. Michael Gottlieb joins Full Frame’s Mike Walter to discuss what he’s witnessed of the HIV/AIDS epidemic from the front lines since the very beginning.

An associate clinical professor of medicine at the David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA, Gottlieb co-founded the American Foundation for AIDS Research (AMFAR) with the late actress Elizabeth Taylor and Dr. Mathilde Krim. He is also the medical advisor to the Board of the Global AIDS Interfaith Alliance.

One of the most renowned HIV and AIDS specialists in world, Gottlieb has witnessed the evolution of the disease both biologically and socially. He was at the forefront of AIDS research when on July 25, 1985, it was announced that Hollywood icon Rock Hudson was dying from the disease. He treated Hudson at the time and continues to see patients in private practice today.

Dr. Michael Gottlieb joins Full Frame’s Mike Walter to discuss what he’s witnessed of the HIV/AIDS epidemic from the front lines since the very beginning.