ACRIA was founded as the Community Research Initiative on AIDS (CRIA) in December 1991 by a group of physicians, activists, and people living with HIV who were frustrated by the slow pace of government and academic AIDS research. Under the pioneering leadership of prominent AIDS physicians and researchers like Drs. Joseph Sonnabend and Mathilde Krim, and following the lead of trailblazers like Michael Callen of the PWA Coalition, this truly dynamic group brought an activist approach to the study of new treatments for HIV and AIDS. Since that time we have contributed to the development of more than a dozen medications that have received FDA approval, helping countless thousands of HIV-positive people live longer, healthier lives.