Another local official got a presidential nod this week: Dr. Grant Colfax, Director of HIV Prevention and Research for San Francisco's Department of Public Health, has been appointed by President Obama to head up the Office of National AIDS Policy. Colfax, a graduate of Harvard Medical School who did his residency in town at UCSF, was celebrated by local HIV/AIDS organizations yesterday for his work on the front lines of the pandemic.
Describing Dr. Colfax as "one of the nation's leading public health policy experts," the President said discussed the new role in a statement:
Grant Colfax will lead my administration's continued progress in providing care and treatment to people living with HIV/AIDS. Grant's expertise will be key as we continue to face serious challenges and take bold steps to meet them. I look forward to his leadership in the months and years to come.
The role of the National AIDS office is to coordinate with other agencies and international groups to make sure the U.S. has an integrated response to the global prevention, care and treatment efforts. At SFDPH, the HIV-negative Colfax grew the department's HIV testing and treatment support efforts by shifting the focus to regular testing and more immediate treatment for those who are HIV-positive.
