Let there Be Hope Medical Research Institute

iMy introduction to Let There Be Hope (LTBH) and its outstanding research was through Dr. Michael Scalaro. Working as a physician in the Greater Los Angeles area I had the privilege to work directly and indirectly with Dr Scalaro through patient care. As I began to find out more about LTBH and the organizations efforts to develop treatments for infectious diseases and cancer I began participating in fund raising and public awareness. I had the honor of being asked to be a Board Member some years later and have continued to lend support whenever possible. Although my time with the organization is limited, as I have been working out of the country for the past seven years, I know this very dedicated group of individuals will continue to expend exceptional energy for these medical breakthroughs.

As a healthcare provider and honorary board member I cannot express how this organization has helped with it's research and commitment to helping eradicate HIV/AIDS as well as concomittantly helping ALL adverse medical conditions (i.e. cancers); I heartily endorse this organization and will do everything within my scope of ability to help their onging research achieve it's ultimate goal of finding cures for these horrible maladies

Let there Be Hope has always been at the forefront of the fight against HIV and Aids. I have purchased paintings created by Michael Scolaro at fundraisers and donated money whenever possible. My closest and best friends have been helped by Let there Be hope. I have been privileged to know the people that have been dedicating their lives to this great cause. Let there Be Hope is and always has been a clear path for those of us who want to help but just don't know how.

I have known Dr. Scolaro since 1988. His drive and dedication against HIV/AIDS has never diminished. Let There Be Hope Foundation is a product of his relentless commitment towards the fight against AIDS.

In any research the caliber of the people involved must be of exceptional dedication and intelligence . Dr. Michael Scolaro has exhibited a kind of genius as well as an endless drive toward achieving in the progress of HIV and other cancer research.

This organization has made great strides in research with very limited resources because of the efforts of the founder without compensation and the dedication of volunteers and interested parties. For example the founder allowed the organization to utilize his medical practice facilities, staff and resources without payment. This allowed LTBH to conduct a number of projects at minimal cost.

Funding is now the key for future growth.

I have personally been involved with Let there Be Hope Medical Research since its inception. I can not speak highly enough of this organization.

Dear Reader,

This is the most important work in the world.

The global destruction cause by these viruses is immeasurable; both of these programs need to be as fully supported as is possible.
Everyone knows the cure is so close yet just out of reach.

I personally have many friends that are living with HIV and have been, for the most part living reasonably comfortable lives. But I don't fool myself that they also endure days, weeks and months of agonizing pain and fear. Whoever is reading these comments and is in a position to help - I beg you to please make that difference.

Thank you and God bless you.

Melanie Ramsey

I have been working in a clinical laboratory base in Beverly Hills where most of our clients are HIV practice. The laboratory shared the building with Dr Michael Scolaro who is the founder of the Let There Be Hope Foundation and i personally had witnessed the dedication that Dr Scolaro have for the Foundation and to his patients. I also had daily contacts with HIV patients who come in for their lab works who all express their hope of finding a cure for the disease.

I have known and worked with Dr.Scolaro since 1990. When there was no AZT or hope for HIV patients. I remember him working late in to the night trying to save his patients.This was at the time when some other doctors would tell me in private that we should not spend any money on an incurable disease! But Dr. Scolaro would never stop trying to save lives and giving hope to people who had none.Let there be hope as it name applies is truly an organization based on the same principals that we should never stop trying to help people even when there is no hope. I am proud to have known Dr. Scolaro and to be associated with Let There Be Hope Foundation.

For seventeen years I have watched Doctor Scolaro and his amazing group of scientists work toward ending the AIDS pandemic. The scientists involved have completely committed their lives to this end. Most recently they have been working on a treatment that attacks the HIV reservoirs, stopping the disease before it can spread. Success here could really mean an end to AIDS. This dedicated group has been working continually over this period, regardless of whether or not there was proper funding. The cost /benefit ratio of this group is like no other I have ever seen. There is virtually no overhead with every dollar going into actual research. The money they require to take the next steps through human clinical trials are extremely small when compared to the promise which they offer. I look forward to the end of this terrible disease in my lifetime and I believe that Let There Be Hope will very possibly be the organization that is finally able to achieve this goal.

I am so honored to be acquainted with Let There Be Hope, it is an extraordinarily unique organization with deep roots in the medical community and also committed to the groups for which it serves, and supports. It has much more good work to do and I hope you will join me in spreading the word of Let There Be Hope.

Michael Scolaro's dedication to combating the HIV virus has never flagged. His commitment to finding a cure has not diminished in the 25 years I have known him. Indeed, with the inception of Let There Be Hope, his quest has embraced ever more-promising leads. This is an organization of impressive creativity with keen, realistic leadership.

I have known and respected Dr. Michael Scolaro as teacher, mentor and role model since my social work intership days in a community mental health center, when I was a graduate student at U.S.C.
I was a staff member in the late 1990s at his HIV/AIDS medical clinic and a board member for Let There Be Hope. I found in Dr. Scolaro a person of the greatest integrity and humanity with unique and unusual diagnostic abilities and a passion to help people with AIDS. His research work to find a "cure" for HIV/AIDS has been consistent and evolving. With respected colleagues, Scolaro has moved ahead on the quest. It has been his lifetime career. I am 73 now and have known Michael for 40 years. He is unusually bright and very special. I would support his work in any way I can, and suggest you do the same. Maxine Borowsky Junge, Ph.D., LCSW, ATR-BC, HLM

I have worked with Doc Scolaro and understand his passion. This is indeed a cause that should concern us all. HIV/Aids is not selective. We should all be concerned and supportive. This foundation could ultimately be the one lifeline that may help you or a loved one in securing a cure.

I have had HIV for over twenty-seven years, and maybe longer than that. And back in the early nineties, when I had given up on therapies, and I had my partner was dying, I went to Let There Be Hope in a last ditch effort to keep us both alive. Mark had already been sent home from the hospital, having exhausted conventional medical attention, and was expected to live only a month to six weeks. I was in much better shape, having never had an opportunistic infection, but my T-cells were dangerously low.

Dr. Scolaro used the resources of Let There Be Hope to find an alternative therapy developed in Russia to help keep my partner alive for almost another years. With me, he applied to mix and match the different HIV medicines, some of which had only just been approved, insisting that the virus was probably mutating to fast for any one or two prescribed therapies to do the job of lower HIV to acceptable levels.

This therapeutic approach, known now as "the cocktail," is the recognized treatment for AIDS around the world; at the time, it was controversial. But Dr. Scolaro's insistence on keeping voluminous scientific records covering his clinical applications helped prove to other doctors that Let There Be Hope was saving lives, and led many others to follow his example.

Let There Be Hope's efforts did not stop with treatment; we have always been looking for a cure. And a way to rebuild the immune system. The thought behind this search was that whatever we discovered through research could be applied, perhaps, to other viruses (which are presently much harder to restrain than bacteria). For example, we know the thymus plays a critical role in maintaining the immune system, and that HIV attacks it, so why not consider thymus transplants? We worked very hard on this and lots and lots of other ideas, many of which could still have applications today.

Let There Be Hope specialized in salvage cases, and expanded its reach to include other "incurable" illnesses, which, in reality, are only sicknesses for which we have yet to find a cure. Some of these maladies, like Parkinsons, are only poorly understood. Sometimes, even today, patients are largely left to shift for themselves. Let There Be Hope has always put a great emphasis on explaining to patients everything that can be known about their individual diseases, and helping them obtain something more than comfort.

Patients were not charged by Let There Be Hope for anything. One hundred percent of Let There Be Hope's budget went to care and research.

This is a great organization trying desperately to save lives. i have been involved with LTBH and DR Scolaro for at least fifteen years, and they are the largest reason why my dearest friend is winning the fight with HIV.

Dr. Michael Scolaro is a man of vision and passion. He has taken a career in cutting edge medicine and research and continues on his quest to erradicate the resevoirs of HIV that modern medicine still has yet to reach. The current treatment is suppression, thus slowing progression of this pandenmic disease. LetThereBeHope is working on methods to complete erradicate the virus completely, giving a new life to those that are affected by this condition. I fully applaud Dr. Scolaro and his organization and have faith that he will achieve his goal of changing history with this fascinating research.

I have known the Executive Director of Let There Be Hope Medical Research for over 40 years. During that time, Michael Scolaro's dedication to finding a cure for HIV has been a personal crusade in which he has enlisted the help of talented medical professionals and committed citizens. He has been tireless in following leads and inaugurating research. Nothing has had a higher priority in his life.
While detail-oriented, his goal is the grand one of all medical research--the elimination of disease and the improvement of life's quality.
Sincerely,
Harry Hughes

Dr. Scolaro's pioneering clinical work and laboratory research have already made a difference in many, many lives. By supporting LTBH, you can ensure he will help many more.

The development of Anti-viral medications have extended the lives of patients with HIV very well so far. People who are HIV pos now test undetectable for the virus.

Although the virus is still harbored in the reservoirs that continually spit them out for the drugs to eliminate in the blood stream. The research of Let There Be Hope seems to go one step further buy bring drugs into the reservoirs that harbor the virus. This will eliminate the virus completely and allow people to stop the medications that cause so many untoward side effects. It seems to me that LTBH has a handle on eliminating this disease completely from the system. I’m very encouraged by what I read of their research and believe in supporting them whole heartedly .

I’m a health care provider and have seen a disease that was once a death sentence, turn into one that is manageable with medications.

Now I want to see it eliminated completely in my lifetime.

Having known members of the staff affiliated with LTBH for many years, and their dedication to find the means to eliminate infectious HIV reservoirs, which persist despite all current treatment approaches, I am writing to give my personal endorsement to their important research efforts. Helping them raise funds to continue with the preclinical studies necessary to move into human trials is critical, and I fully support their efforts