Academy Exchange

Hello-

My name is Scott Perkinson and I am a recently retired Medical Laboratory Scientist in Clinical Microbiology and Diagnostic Virology.

I have the unique perspective of being in Clinical Laboratory Medicine over 40 years and being a PWH since 1977. I started out in a hospital laboratory and observed in real 

time the clinical outcomes of early 1980's treatments. I moved into Diagnostic Virology doing NIH on RSV with Hep-2 cells, and then went further into research with the 

USDA/Agricultural Research Service in Pediatric Nutrition and GI at the Children's Nutrition Research Center where we investigated gut growth and development and NEC 

in Brazilian Children. During my research years I stayed very close to the ID docs and was on the clinical trialsof Viracept. I specifically avoided AZT and Crixivan as was 

very concerned witth my looks at the Houston Ballet! About my activism- I started with being on the board of the KS/AIDS foundation where I provided education and

laboratory services in a thursday night STI clinic. Houston was at least 1/2 homophobic due to religiosity and stigma so we had our work cut out for us.

In 1985 the AIDS foundation was interviewed by a coffee table magazine for enlightened readers, where I posed with my boyfriend holding him on a bridge view of the 

downtown Houston Skyline. An article suggesting seronegative men were finding each other and coupling up. This press 1 day after publication was passed around 

the classroom of my boyfriend an English teacher in an economically disadvantaged school and the uneducated/frightened parents pulled their kids out of school

because their were rumors that my boyfriend could give their children AIDS. This blew up into a national news story and we had media camped out at our apartment for 

several weeks because the homophobic administration re-assigned my boyfriend to an administration role. This was not acceptable to us because they were not only

trying to educate concerned parents about HIV/AIDS transmissions but they let the pastors/preachers/uninformed whip up a frenzy making us feeling marginalized and

unsafe.So we contacted the ACLU. It took 4 months but eventually my boyfriend was returned to his classroom. Since the I have been an unapologetic AIDS activist.

Political with the DNC, State Advocacy on LGBTQIA+ issues and now on the Advisory Council of Washington County New York State Office of the Aging.

Sincerely

Scott Perkinson MLS(ASCP)cm