The professor of human service studies will deliver the Elon University Distinguished Scholar Award Lecture on Tuesday at 6:30 p.m. in the LaRose Digital Theatre.
Tuesday, March 8
Cynthia Fair, “Learning to Live: 25 years of pediatric HIV”
LaRose Digital Theatre, Koury Busines Center, 6:30 p.m.
Elon University Distinguished Scholar Award Lecture
A former social worker at the National Institutes of Health, Fair has seen the HIV epidemic unfold firsthand, working with children with perinatally-acquired HIV in the early 1990s, and presently studying the experiences of adolescents who were not expected to survive into adulthood.
She aims to ultimately promote the well being of adolescents and young adults as they “learn to live” with HIV as a chronic, not terminal, illness.
The professor of human service studies at Elon has focused the bulk of her academic research on the changes in the HIV/AIDS epidemic over the past 20 years.
Her research has resulted in dozens of papers and book chapters published in well-respected academic publications. She has made presentations at national and international conferences. In addition, those interested in increasing their education or improving the quality of life of young people living with HIV have sought Fair’s expertise.
As the drugs developed to treat HIV improved, the impact the disease had on families evolved and Fair’s extensive research reflects that. She has examined the stigma experienced by HIV-infected women and their uninfected family members as well as healthy HIV disclosure procedures.
Fair is the 16th recipient of the Distinguished Scholar Award, which recognizes a faculty member whose research has earned peer commendation and respect, and who has made significant contributions to his or her field of study.