Advocates Archive - J
[please choose the first initial of the Advocate's last name]
A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z
Amy Stapleford Jackson
Chapel Hill, NC, USA
"IRMA has gathered together people who are doing great work in the fields of sexual health, scientific research, medicine, HIV prevention, and microbicide advocacy and by pooling these resources is making important strides advocating for safe, effective rectal microbicides."
Amy is a many-talented and busy advocate. Among several projects, she works with a scientist to develop novel formulations for user-friendly, safe sexual lubricants which could someday also deliver microbicides. She also serves as the Sexuality Education Coordinator at the Sinclair Institute.
Her current pet project is an informative venture: "the creation of a table of information about common lubricant ingredients…so that there's an easy resource from which folks can learn what scientists know and don't know about the ingredients in their lubes." She became interested in IRMA's work after she shared her lube findings with some rectal microbicide advocates, and was excited to be asked to join IRMA's Lubricant Safety Working Group and IRMA.
Amy feels IRMA's work is especially important because of the dialogue it encourages and nurtures between people of disparate fields with a common interest. "Microbicides are a natural extension of what people already do: use lubrication during sex," she says: "If a microbicide could be found which would be safe and non-toxic for the user and would also reduce transmission rates for HIV (and hopefully other STIs), people will have an amazing tool for reducing sexual risk while also increasing sexual health and pleasure."
In her advocacy work Amy hopes to spread her knowledge and enthusiasm with sexual health professionals and consumers, with the goal of making lubes safer, more pleasurable, and someday a vessel for microbicides.
Much of Amy's free time is spent invested in her projects, but when she isn't working Amy enjoys Sudoku, audio books, and savoring good food and wine.
[Posted August 2011
Rajeev Kumar Jain
Bhopal, India
Rajeev Kumar Jain is from Bhopal in the Indian state of Madhya Pradesh. He received his PhD from the Central Drug Research Institute (CDRI) in Lucknow, India and presently resides there. He is currently job hunting for a postdoctoral position in branches related to microbicide development.
Rajeev first became involved with IRMA after attending the Microbicides 2008 conference held in New Delhi at the end of February 2008. He believes that rectal microbicides are an important priority with regards to the AIDS agenda because HIV infection via unprotected anal sex is a very serious concern. Accordingly, he feels that every person related to IRMA should try as best they can to find out measures to prevent HIV transmission. Having done extensive research in fields related to microbicides and spermicides, Rajeev has had numerous publications with regards to topical prophylactic contraceptives and hopes to continue on the path to discovering the ideal topical HIV prevention agent.
When he is not in the laboratory, Rajeev enjoys reading, watching TV, and keeping up with the news.
[Posted August 2008]
Rick Jones
Amsterdam, Netherlands
IRMA Steering Committee Member
Born in the USA but a resident of Europe (Amsterdam) for the last 18 years, Ricky Lee Michael Anthony Jones became interested in IRMA (and is a member of the Steering Committee) because of his status as a gay, HIV-positive man and because of a desire to protect his partners.
As an advocate for HIV-positive individuals, Rick volunteers as a coordinator for a café for people with HIV/AIDS where people can “come together and talk freely about their status and not be worried about being stigmatised or discriminated against.” Volunteering at this café is just one way in which Rick attempts to help the world open their eyes and see that people with HIV/AIDS are people with needs and desires like anyone else. He is also a co-coordinator for Poz and Proud, a group of volunteers from the Dutch HIV Association working towards a better quality of life for gay men living with HIV by organising different activities by and for gay men with HIV and giving PLHIV a face and a voice.
His personal interests include massage, singing, reading, computers, and hiking in the woods.
“It is imperative that morality not get in the way of protecting human beings and life; people of every sexual orientation have practiced anal sex since the beginning of time. The time for bigotry is over. We need to help others who are not infected stay that way.”
[Posted September 2009]
