HIV/AIDS has undoubtedly shaken the world. This deadly disease has brought fear among many. Thankfully, there are organizations and associations that keep on working to find a cure and solution to this medical problem. Among them is the AIDS Research Alliance of America (ARAA).

ARAA is a national community-based 501(c)(3) non-profit medical research institution that strives to find a cure for HIV/AIDS, as well as discover medical strategies to prevent new infections and better treatments for those who are already infected with the virus and the illness. 
Founded in 1989, it has, since its inception, conducted more than 150 clinical and pre-clinical studies that range from alternative therapies that utilize comprehensive approach to HIV care to the first in-human HIV vaccine trial. The institution is known to be responsible for fast-tracking half of today’s anti-HIV treatments to the market.

ARAA was first established as Search Alliance by a group of Southern California philanthropists and physicians including Paul Joseph Rothman, M.D. and Matthew Rushton. Search Alliance was primarily developed to speed up the discovery and development of effective treatments for HIV and its complications.

The organization was able to pool data and identified promising experimental regimens through the help of physicians who were experimenting on potential treatments in their own, private practices. The organization’s staff designed the studies and coordinated data collection, and analyzed and published the results.

In 1995, the organization changed its name to AIDS Research Alliance of America. Following the name change, it centralized all of its research activities in one licensed facility in Los Angeles. This allowed the organization to identify and manage data and strategies with a staff equipped with adequate experience and abilities, while maintaining affiliations and partnerships with private physicians, academicians, and scientists from different research institutions all over the world.

The organization is currently led by Chief Executive Officer Carolyn H. Carlburg, J.D. and Medical Director Stephen J. Brown, M.D.