AUSTIN, Texas -- It's a disease health experts are calling "locally endemic."
HIV, which can lead to AIDS, often goes without symptoms at the onset, which poses a threat to those who are HIV-negative.
One pill has the power to stop HIV in its tracks - but like the disease, it is not exclusive to the LGBTQ community.
It is called Truvada, or PrEP (pre-exposure prophylaxis), and it prevents the HIV virus from making copies of itself once it is in the body.
"People who are at risk can take this medication daily and prevent getting HIV," said Dr. Cynthia Brinson of Central Texas Clinical Research.
PrEP is being hailed as a game-changer in the fight against HIV.
Advocates of the treatment are aware of critics who argue PrEP promotes promiscuity, but it is not slowing down progress in the fight against the disease which has claimed so many lives over the past four decades.
It is a battle with which Dr. Brinson has been on the front lines, committing painstaking research which has led to advances in treatment in prevention, such as PrEP.
"By improving the side effects of the medication, decreasing the number of pills people have to take, and really significantly normalizing people's lives who have HIV," she said.
Austin Pride organizers have honored Dr. Brinson, who is straight, as this year's parade grand marshal in observence of her work.
"I'm so honored and thrilled and really grateful that they would consider me for that role... I'm so excited to see everybody," said Dr. Brinson.
Dr. Brinson is leading a march for a community - on multiple fronts.