The Barbara Mc Clintock Project to Cure AIDS: Act Up’s Detailed Plan for an All Out Research Effort to Find a Cure for AIDS

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The reporting and discussion of the basic science of AIDS research is currently conducted at
meetings around the world throughout the year, including the International AIDS Conference,
Gallo Conference, Keystone Conference, AIDS Clinical Trials Group Meetings, Biological
Response Modifiers Meetings and the Antimicrobial Agents in Chemistry Conference, to name
only a few. Researchers in one field, eg. molecular biology, usually do not attend conferences
in other fields, i.e., virology; researchers from related fields whose work may be relevant often
do not even attend conferences focused on AIDS.
Basic science research has minimal coordination even within one institution in the U.S., let alone
within the country or across the world. Since the complexity of AIDS requires that a diverse
group of scientists, including immunologists, virologists, molecular biologists, biochemists,
nutritionists, herbologists, etc., interact on a regular basis, a central location is essential to
facilitate the cross-fertilization of ideas. The inclusion of sophisticated global
telecommunications equipment will allow affiliated researchers from around the world to be
contacted quickly for the dissemination and sharing of information and ideas.
2. Will researchers be willing to relocate to be part of the Project?
Currently many scientists do exactly this -- sometimes for better pay, more opportunity, or to
be part of more interesting research projects. It is not unusual for scientists to seek out visiting
professorships, post-doctoral fellowships and the like, which can require several years of
commitment. One year sabbaticals are common, with scientists moving their families to other
parts of the country or to another part of the world. For many scientists, the opportunity to
focus their work in a concerted effort and to dialogue with other creative minds, using the best
equipment and facilities available, would be extremely enticing.
In the past, scientists have even been willing to relocate under trying circumstances. During the
Manhattan Project, for example, entire families were moved to a central location which, for
security reasons, was physically remote (a precaution not needed for the McClintock Project,
which would be located in an area with a high incidence of AIDS). Living conditions were
strictly regulated: people were put under surveillance, their travel restricted, and so on.
Similarly, during the Apollo project, "When the Space Task Group in Hampton, Virginia was
required to move to Houston, Texas, here was a reaction: 'I was so upset about going to Texas.
I wouldn't even let them send me the free subscriptions to their goddanged newspaper. It was
my intention never to go to Houston.'...[In the end]...Houston it was, and off they went, 700
engineers and their families. Almost everyone in the Space Task Group did." [Murray, C. and
Cox, C.B., Apollo, The Race to the Moon].
Robert Oppenheimer had similar experiences when recruiting for the Manhattan Project.
Travelling across the country, he relied on researchers' "sense of interest, the urgency and
feasibility of the Los Alamos mission. It aroused great misgivings because of the very severe
restrictions...But there was another side to it. Almost everyone realized that this was a great
undertaking. Almost everyone knew it was an unparalleled opportunity to bring to bear the basic
knowledge and art of science for the benefit of his country. Almost everyone knew that this job,
if it were achieved, would be part of history. The sense of excitement, of devotion...in the end
prevailed." [Stoff]. Surely this would also apply to the task of finding a cure for AIDS.