USF Nursing’s LaRon E. Nelson receives 2012 IMPACT HIV/AIDS Champions of Change award

LaRon E. Nelson, PhD, RN, NP, Assistant Professor and Assistant Dean for Global & Community Affairs at the University of South Florida College of Nursing, received the 2012 IMPACT HIV/AIDS Champions of Change award during a special reception at the 2012 International AIDS Conference in Washington, DC on June 25, 2012.

Dr. Nelson was recognized for his contribution to the global fight against HIV/AIDS, and his commitment to empowering and educating others about HIV/AIDS prevention, treatment, and awareness.

“It was great honor to be recognized alongside people who are truly the vanguards in HIV prevention in this country,” Dr. Nelson said. “It was another opportunity to display to the world one example of all the important research being conducted by faculty at the USF College of Nursing. It is also an important example to our current students that they are learning from faculty who are the leaders in their fields.”

During that evening, 14 other activists, scholars, community leaders, and elected officials from around the country were honored. Among those honorees were Magic Johnson of Magic Johnson Foundation, Congresswoman Barbara Lee (D-CA, District 9), and Congresswoman Maxine Waters, (D-CA, District 35).

Dr. Nelson’s research focuses on the primary prevention of HIV and other sexually transmissible infections among socially marginalized groups within African and African Diaspora communities including men who have sex with men (MSM) and African American adolescents parents. His work with MSM is primarily concerned with understanding social and structural factors that influence HIV infection with the goal of generating knowledge that can be used in developing interventions that address social/structural factors as part of integrated local STD/HIV prevention strategies for communities. Dr. Nelson’s work with adolescents is primarily concerned with how co-parenthood and gender equitable/inequitable attitudes intersect to influence the sexual behaviors of Black adolescent mothers and the fathers of their children in the United States and Canada.

This reception marked the beginning of IMPACT’s educational campaign to build awareness around the issue of HIV/AIDS, according to IMPACT’s website. IMPACT is a nonprofit organization whose mission is to engage and build a network of young professionals of color to foster civic engagement, increase knowledge of the political and legislative processes, and enhance economic empowerment opportunities.

For related story visit IMPACT;s website at: “IMPACT Honors 15 HIV/AIDS Champions of Change.”