Starting in 1996, the Jonathan Lax Memorial Award Lecture honors the memory of Jonathan Lax, a Philadelphia community leader who made significant contributions to civil rights, gay rights, and HIV activism/therapy. Hosted by The Wistar Institute, the Lax Lecture is a public lecture that brings together leading international HIV scientists to give research updates to local researchers, clinicians, and patient advocates. Mr. Lax was a businessman, inventor, teacher, and one of the best-known AIDS activists in Philadelphia’s clinical research network, working with many groups to try and speed the drug approval process. Perhaps most importantly, he was an advisor, offering the latest available information to those infected with the HIV virus – a tradition the Lecture continues to this day. Today, Mr. Lax’s legacy also includes the Jonathan Lax Center at Philadelphia FIGHT, which started as a clinic with his initial funds in 1996 and now the largest provider of AIDS care in Philadelphia.
