Mark Harrington (HIV/AIDS activist)

Last updated
Mark Harrington
Born1959or1960(age 64–65)
San Francisco, California, United States
Alma mater Harvard University
Occupation(s)HIV/AIDS activist, researcher
Known forHIV/AIDS activism, founding of the Treatment Action Group
Awards

Mark Harrington (Born in 1959or1960, [1] in San Francisco) is an HIV/AIDS researcher, a staunch activist for HIV/AIDS and tuberculosis awareness, and the co-founder and policy director of the Treatment Action Group (TAG). [2] [3] [4] After graduating from Harvard University in 1983, Harrington spent time exploring and did not commit to one specific career. [1] [5] When the AIDS epidemic became personal for Harrington, and close friends were being infected with HIV (he himself was diagnosed in 1990), he decided to take action and joined the group, AIDS Coalition to Unleash Power or ACT UP. [5] As part of the Treatment and Data Committee of ACT UP, Harrington fostered relationships with government officials associated with AIDS research. [3] [6] Eventually differences in opinions on how to best advocate for HIV/AIDS research led to Harrington and other members of ACT UP leaving to start their own group, TAG. [2] [3] With TAG, Harrington was able to create influential and meaningful policy regarding HIV/AIDS research and he worked closely with the NIH, WHO, and other government organizations. Over the years Harrington has distinguished himself as an adept scientist and reputable researcher in his own right. [4] [1] [7] Currently he is published in multiple scientific journals and continues to be an advocate for those with HIV and TB around the world. [4] [7]

Contents

Personal life

Harrington grew up in the suburbs of San Francisco where he lived with his liberal-minded and well-educated family. He is the eldest of four children. His father Richard was a lawyer and his mother Judith is a painter. His father was a local celebrity for his work defending conscientious objectors during the Vietnam War, including a role as lead attorney in the Supreme Court case: Negre V. Larsen. [1] [5] [8]

Harrington began his college career at Harvard after graduating from Lowell High School in 1977, expecting to follow in his father's footsteps and study law or public policy. It was in his first year at Harvard that Harrington discovered he was gay. At the time Harvard was not a welcoming environment towards the LGBTQ+ community. Being openly gay and also succeeding in the professional world was not something that Harrington felt he could do given the times and his situation. In 1979 Harrington took some time off from Harvard to realign himself, which entailed taking a half-year trip to Europe, before returning in 1981. He finally graduated in 1983 as a visual and environmental studies major. [5]

After Harvard, Harrington spent three years working at The Coffee Connection in Cambridge, Massachusetts. [5] Over the next few years he dabbled in many artistic endeavors and was involved in three relationships. In 1985 he met New York native, Jay Funk and this led to his translocation to New York in 1986 even though the relationship did not last much longer after the move. [1]

Harrington found out that he was living with HIV in 1990. [6]

AIDS Activism

Early Activism and ACT UP

Harrington first became involved in HIV/AIDS activism after a close friend was diagnosed with HIV in 1988. [5] His interests in social change and power dynamics, which he explored during his time at Harvard, led to him joining the AIDS activism group ACT UP. [6] As a member of ACT UP Harrington worked on the Treatment and Data Committee with Iris Long, Jim Eigo, and others. [3] The Committee was successful in expediting the process of accessing certain experimental AIDS drugs and others still in the process of being approved by the FDA. [5] Much of Harrington's own work and ideas also centered around better communication with AIDS research groups. Harrington's efforts proved fruitful as he and others on his committee would dine with the director of the NIAID, Anthony Fauci, to work together to discuss future plans for research. Harrington and his counterparts who worked directly with scientists and researchers were well versed in academia and science so as to keep up with these professionals they dealt with on a daily basis. In the late eighties, Fauci even proposed hiring Harrington, as he was "dazzled by his brilliance". [9] As the relationships between certain members of ACT UP and officials within the government grew, there began to be infighting with other members of ACT UP. [3]

In Let The Record Show: A Political History of ACT UP New York, 1987-1993, Sarah Schulman writes, "Scanning the interviews I conducted with a wide range and demographic of ACT UPers, the two names that emerge most often in reference to internal leadership are clearly Maxine Wolfe and Mark Harrington...these two were repeatedly named as profound influences." [10] Schulman also writes, "These are the two people most often blamed with ACT UP's downfall and self-defeat, and the two most frequently named at the center of ACT UP's victories and strengths."

Founding TAG

Issues within ACT UP such as a divided organization, a lack of funding, and tension on how to best allocate time and resources ultimately led to a split in the organization. [3] In response, Harrington along with 20 other members of ACT UP left the organization in 1992 to form their own group known as the Treatment Action Group, or TAG. [2] To Harrington, the split did not represent a failure on ACT UP's part. Instead, it was a necessary and foreseeable event as the organization was not destined to last. [6]

Work with Treatment Action Group (TAG)

The foundational principles of TAG were to foster the relationships between activists and researchers (both public and private), serve as a watchdog for ethical practices, and support research that led to the best possible treatments. [3] Harrington and his fellow founding members of TAG hoped for a new era to HIV/AIDS activism, and activism in general: one in which the government was not an enemy, but a partner. Harrington points out that the most important part to the work of TAG was to make researchers more aware of the needs of the people whom their research impacts, in this case people with HIV/AIDS, and also for people in general to be more educated on the work of researchers. TAG was the middle man between the two. [6]

The first major policy victory for Harrington and TAG, was the report: AIDS Research at the NIH: A Critical Review. [3] Drafted in 1992 by Harrington and another TAG member, Gregg Gonsalves, the report outlined certain suggestions the NIH should take to better allocate resources towards and handle HIV/AIDS research. The NIH listened to these suggestions and incorporated them into the NIH Revitalization ACT of 1993, signed into effect by President Bill Clinton. [2] [3] The act restructured and strengthened the NIH AIDS research program and created the Office of AIDS Research to oversee all forms of HIV/AIDS research in the United States. [3]

Another important moment for Harrington was his 1992 "Pathogensis and Activism" speech given at the Eighth International AIDS Conference in Amsterdam. [2] Here Harrington explained to the world TAG's platform of cooperation instead of continuing trends of antagonism. [1] Along with this, he used his own HIV infected lymph nodes to explain some of the mechanisms behind HIV and urge other people with AIDS to take part in research trials. [2] [1] His speech also doubled as a public "coming out" with his status as HIV-positive, one which many were not aware of. [1]

Other notable accomplishments for Harrington and TAG were the papers: The Crisis in Clinical AIDS Research(1993), Rescuing Accelerated Approval: Moving Beyond the Status Quo(1994), and Problems with Protease Inhibitor Development Plans(1995). The first was his own paper which highlighted poor standards in clinical trials conducted by the US Department of Defense, ACTG, and other organizations. The other two papers were significant during the development of protease inhibitors. [2]

Current Work

Harrington has been involved in numerous boards, councils, and committees for the NIH, FDA, and World Health Organization (WHO). [4] [7] Namely he was on the FDA Antiviral Drugs Advisory Committee and the NIH AIDS Research Program Evaluation Working Group. This group helped restructure the NIH yet again to better allocate resources for HIV/AIDS research. [2]

Harrington has begun to focus his efforts on the global AIDS pandemic. After receiving the grant money from the MacArthur Foundation, Harrington felt that it would be best served to help combat HIV infections in countries that are largest and most devastatingly hit. [6] Harrington and Gregg Gonsalves are the only two AIDS activists to ever receive a MacArthur Fellowship, commonly but unofficially known as the "Genius Grant". The two worked together and were members of ACT UP and TAG. [11]

In 2007 he received a $4.7 million grant from the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation which he used for expanding initiatives to educate AIDS activists in Africa on the dangers and truths of TB, and increase government intervention. His work on tuberculosis began in 2002, and continues to present day. Harrington hopes to get more emphasis put on tuberculosis as it is characteristically a disease of the poor and marginalized so it has not gotten the same attention as the indiscriminate HIV virus did. [4]

Most recently Harrington worked with New York State Ending the Epidemic Task Force whose goal was to end AIDS in New York by 2020. [7]

He writes papers for journals such as Lancet, PLoS Magazine, and Science. [2]

Awards

Works

Related Research Articles

The management of HIV/AIDS normally includes the use of multiple antiretroviral drugs as a strategy to control HIV infection. There are several classes of antiretroviral agents that act on different stages of the HIV life-cycle. The use of multiple drugs that act on different viral targets is known as highly active antiretroviral therapy (HAART). HAART decreases the patient's total burden of HIV, maintains function of the immune system, and prevents opportunistic infections that often lead to death. HAART also prevents the transmission of HIV between serodiscordant same-sex and opposite-sex partners so long as the HIV-positive partner maintains an undetectable viral load.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">ACT UP</span> International AIDS activism, direct action and advocacy group

AIDS Coalition to Unleash Power is an international, grassroots political group working to end the AIDS pandemic. The group works to improve the lives of people with AIDS through direct action, medical research, treatment and advocacy, and working to change legislation and public policies.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ritonavir</span> Antiretroviral medication

Ritonavir, sold under the brand name Norvir, is an antiretroviral medication used along with other medications to treat HIV/AIDS. This combination treatment is known as highly active antiretroviral therapy (HAART). Ritonavir is a protease inhibitor, though it now mainly serves to boost the potency of other protease inhibitors. It may also be used in combination with other medications to treat hepatitis C and COVID-19. It is taken by mouth.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Indinavir</span> Chemical compound

Indinavir is a protease inhibitor used as a component of highly active antiretroviral therapy to treat HIV/AIDS. It is soluble white powder administered orally in combination with other antiviral drugs. The drug prevents protease from functioning normally. Consequently, HIV viruses cannot reproduce, causing a decrease in the viral load. Commercially sold indinavir is indinavir anhydrous, which is indinavir with an additional amine in the hydroxyethylene backbone. This enhances its solubility and oral bioavailability, making it easier for users to intake. It was synthetically produced for the purpose of inhibiting the protease in the HIV virus.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Darunavir</span> Antiretroviral medication

Darunavir (DRV), sold under the brand name Prezista among others, is an antiretroviral medication used to treat and prevent HIV/AIDS. It is generally recommended for use with other antiretrovirals. It is often used with low doses of ritonavir or cobicistat to increase darunavir levels. It may be used for prevention after a needlestick injury or other potential exposure. It is taken by mouth once to twice a day.

Treatment Action Group (TAG) is a U.S.-based organization that has been prominent within the movement of HIV/AIDS activism. Being formed in 1991, it has possessed the goals of working with worldwide efforts to increase research on treatments for HIV and for deadly co-infections that affect individuals with HIV, such as hepatitis C and tuberculosis, as well as spur on greater access to and efficient usage of already available treatments. The group additionally monitors research on a possible HIV vaccine and on fundamental science aimed at understanding the pathogenesis of HIV/AIDS.

Gregg Gonsalves is a global health activist, an epidemiologist, an associate professor at Yale School of Public Health and an associate professor (adjunct) at Yale Law School. As well as being co-director of Yale Law School's Global Health Justice Partnership, Gonsalves is the public health correspondent of the progressive magazine The Nation.

Martin "Marty" Delaney was an advocate for HIV/AIDS treatments. In 1985, he founded Project Inform, an education and public policy advocacy group concerned with HIV and AIDS, and continued to lead the organization until 2008. Delaney's efforts to streamline the US Food and Drug Administration's drug approval process have been credited with saving thousands of people from early AIDS deaths.

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References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 "Marked Man". POZ. 1998-02-01. Retrieved 2018-10-19.
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 "Mark Harrington". www.treatmentactiongroup.org. Retrieved 2018-11-09.
  3. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 Victory deferred: how AIDS changed gay life in America, John-Manuel Andriote, University of Chicago Press, 1999 ISBN   978-0-226-02049-5
  4. 1 2 3 4 5 Opar, Alisa (2007-02-28). "Spotlight on... Mark Harrington". Nature Medicine. 13 (3): 270. doi: 10.1038/nm0307-270 . ISSN   1078-8956. S2CID   37029702.
  5. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 "The Alumni - November–December '97 - A Different Person". harvardmagazine.com. Retrieved 2018-10-19.
  6. 1 2 3 4 5 6 "A genius for activism – Treatment Action Group Policy Director Mark Harrington", The Progressive, Dec, 1997, Bob Blanchard
  7. 1 2 3 4 "Mark Harrington - MacArthur Foundation". www.macfound.org. Retrieved 2018-11-09.
  8. ↑ "Richard Harrington Obituary (2019) San Francisco Chronicle". Legacy.com .
  9. ↑ Specter, Michael (2020-04-10). "How Anthony Fauci Became America's Doctor". The New Yorker . New York City: Condé Nast . Retrieved 2020-04-14.
  10. ↑ Schulman, Sarah (2021). Let the record show: A political history of ACT UP New York, 1987-1993. Farrar, Straus and Giroux. p. 170. ISBN   978-0-374-18513-8. OCLC   1182573401.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: date and year (link)
  11. ↑ Staley, Peter (2021). Never Silent. Chicago Review Press. p. 179. ISBN   9781641601429.

Further reading

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