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About the NYU/Bellevue AIDS Clinical Trials Unit

The NYU/Bellevue AIDS Clinical Trials Unit (ACTU), under the direction of Judith A. Aberg, MD, is part of a large NIH-funded network of sites called the AIDS Clinical Trials Group (ACTG). The ACTG is the largest HIV clinical trials organization in the world and plays a major role in setting standards of care for HIV infection and opportunistic diseases related to HIV/AIDS in the United States and the developed world. The ACTG is composed of, and directed by, leading clinical scientists in HIV/AIDS therapeutic research. The ACTG is funded by the Department of Health and Human Services, National Institutes of Health through the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases.

For a list of on-going studies at the NYU/Bellevue ACTU, please visit the clinical trials section of this site or click here

To schedule an appointment with the NYU/Bellevue AIDS Clinical Trials Unit, please call 212-263-6565 or email us.

Study Staff

  • Judith A. Aberg, MD
  • Demetre Daskalakis, MD - Dr. Daskalakis completed his medical school training at NYU School of Medicine. After completing residency and chief residency at Beth Israel Deaconess in Boston, he completed fellowship at Massachusetts General Hospital. He was awarded the Massachusetts Infectious Disease Society's Kass Award for Clinic Excellence as a fellow. He returned to NYU where he developed a strong research interest in the health of men at risk for HIV infection after working at the Partner's AIDS Research Center focusing on the immunology and virology of Acute HIV infection. He developed a program offering HIV testing at New York City bathhouses and continues to develop programs focusing on this at-risk population. Dr. Daskalakis is involved in the AIDS Clinical Trials Group, recently being elected to a national committee. He also is actively involved in acute infection and vaccine research with other groups at NYU. He provides care to HIV patients in the virology clinic at Bellevue Hospital and is involved in teaching resident physicians.
  • Michelle Cespedes, MD - Michelle S. Cespedes, MD is an Assistant Professor of Medicine at New York University School of Medicine and an Investigator at New York University's AIDS Clinical Trials Unit. She received her medical degree from Mount Sinai School of Medicine and completed her residency in Internal Medicine at New York Presbyterian Hospital - Cornell. She completed her Infectious Disease Fellowship at New York University Her research areas of interest are HIV related women's health issues (prevention of mother to child transmission, primary care issues) and complications of HIV treatment (dyslipidemia, metabolic syndrome, opportunistic infections). She is currently the protocol vice-chair of the national AIDS Clinical Trial Group study A5240. Nationally, Dr Cespedes is a member of the Women's Health Committee of the AIDS Clinical Trials Group, HIV Medical Association and the Infectious Disease Society of America.
  • Maura Laverty, RN
  • Janet Forcht, RN
  • Margie Vasquez, RN - Margie has worked at the NYU ACTU (AIDS Clinical Trials Unit) since 1989. Her involvement in HIV care and research dates back to the early 1980’s. She was working as an oncology nurse when she saw some of the first KS (Kaposi Sarcoma) patients at the NYU Cancer Center. Margie has over 30 years experience in nursing with a primary focus in oncology and HIV nursing. She speaks Spanish and English fluently.
  • Karen Cavanagh, RN
  • Susan Brown
  • Megan Mendillo - Megan is the Senior Data Manager with the NYU/Bellevue ACTU. She joined the ACTU in 2006, and is responsible for data collection and reporting as well as QA/QC activities. Before coming to NYU, she worked in tuberculosis research in New Jersey and South Africa. Megan attended Bryn Mawr College and Johns Hopkins School of Public Health.
  • Richardson St. Louis
  • Luis Vargas - As outreach coordinator, Luis talks to patients about the clinical trials being offered by the NYU/Bellevue ACTU. When providers refer patients for specific studies, Luis talks to them about participating in a study for which their provider believes they are. He also gets referrals from Bellevue Hospital's Counseling and Testing team, Case Management team, and Treatment Support Program. Before coming to NYU, Luis was the outpatient HIV counselor at the Bellevue Virology Clinic for 7 years. Before coming to Bellevue, Luis was a senior case manager for Housing Works, an HIV/AIDS activist organization.
  • Emerline Lam
  • Carlos Cuevas