Belmont University College of Pharmacy raised $2,527 for the Nashville AIDS Walk and participated for the sixth consecutive year, sponsored by Nashville Cares on September 23. Team Captain Associate Professor, Pharmaceutical, Social and Administrative Sciences Dr. Edgar S. Diaz-Cruz led faculty and students who joined hundreds of community participants to benefit families impacted by HIV/AIDS in Middle Tennessee. Diaz-Cruz celebrated the outstanding efforts of his team noting that Belmont University Pharmacy was recognized for raising the third largest overall team donation. Diaz-Cruz said, “This type of event provides a real-world experience for our students to be an active part of the community for an important health cause. I am proud of our students!”

In addition to teaching biochemistry and pharmacology, Diaz-Cruz teaches an elective course in HIV prevention and treatment that provides students with in-depth awareness of the role that pharmacists can play in ending the HIV/AIDS epidemic. An added benefit to the completion of this course is a certificate in “HIV Testing and Counseling” from the Tennessee Department of Health.