Barry Gingell

Barry Gingell (December 2, 1954 – May 29, 1989) was an American internist, nutritionist, computer scientist and AIDS activist. He served as a medical director for the Gay Men's Health Crisis and an advocate for experimental drugs during the AIDS epidemic in the 1980s.

Life and career A native of Johnson City, New York, Gingell received a Bachelor of Science degree from Syracuse University and a medical degree from New York University. He interned at the New York University School of Medicine before practicing medicine in the Bronx and the Lower East Side of Manhattan. Gingell was critical of several federal agencies such as the National Institutes of Health and the FDA because of their slow pace of introducing new drug therapies to combat HIV/AIDS and their restricted access.

In 1987, Gingell became medical information director of the non-profit organization Gay Men's Health Crisis, where he created a newsletter about AIDS therapy called Treatment Issues.

In 1988, Gingell testified before the House Subcommittee on Human Resources and the Presidential Commission on experimental drugs to treat AIDS.

Gingell died of AIDS at St. Vincent's Hospital in New York City on May 29, 1989. He was 34.