The History of the Hope Clinic

In the early to mid 1900’s diseases like whooping cough, polio, measles, influenza and rubella killed hundreds of thousands of infants, children and adults in the United States.  As vaccines were developed and became widely available, rates of these diseases declined until today, most of them are nearly gone from this country.  The Hope Clinic is part of the Division of Infectious Disease at Emory School of Medicine.  The clinic is an international Center of Excellence in clinical research in infectious disease, treatment, and prevention.  Our vision is to improve the health of our patients and communities through infectious disease research, training, education and service.  We conduct human research studies of public health importance that include research for the following: HIV/AIDS, tuberculosis, seasonal and pandemic influenza, Clostridium Difficile, Norovirus, Staphylococcus aureus, Zika, HPV and others.

The Hope Clinic first opened it’s doors in 2002 and was originally located in the heart of downtown Decatur at the corner of Church and Commerce Street.  The clinic was originally owned by a family practice doctor for many years until The Hope Clinic was established.  The space was limited with only 4 exam rooms and a lab that was the size of a large closet and located across the street from the clinic.  The original Executive Director of the clinic was Dr. Fienberg followed by Dr. Del Rio between 2004 – 2006.  The clinic staff averaged around 15 employees during this time.  Dr. Mulligan became the Executive Director in 2006 and remains the director of The Hope Clinic today.  

As The Hope Clinic obtained additional research funding we started to outgrow the original space.  Our sponsorship comes from the NIH, CDC, biomedical industry, Georgia Research Alliance, industry resources, and philanthropic contributions (including the AIDS Vaccine 200 annual bike ride).  Additionally, The Emory-CDC HIV/AIDS Clinical Trials Unit and the Vaccine and Treatment Evaluation Unit are two major NIH grants awarded to the Hope Clinic.  In 2013 we moved to our current location at 500 Irvin Court Suite 200 Decatur, GA 30030.  We have grown to 65 employees and a much larger space that includes 10 exam rooms, a pharmacy, large conference room and a large space dedicated to our lab.  The clinic is continuing to grow and we are currently renovating to create more office space and an additional large conference room.  

For our clinical trials, we rely on motivated community members to volunteer for our studies.  We like to say that our volunteers are our heroes and their commitment is instrumental in advancing health and preventing diseases.  As a nonprofit organization we rely on the private philanthropy of individuals, corporations and foundations to continue our vital work.  We hope you will consider supporting us in an area that interests you.  Please join us in our quest to improve health and defeat life threatening infections, whether as a study volunteer, an advocate, or a donor.  To find out how you can get involved visit our website and come watch us grow!