Hansel Emory Tookes III, MD, MPH, is a tenured professor of medicine at the University of Miami Miller School of Medicine. He is the founder of the IDEA Lab, whose mission is to implement, disseminate, educate and advocate for the health of people who use drugs. His lab also houses the IDEA syringe services program — the first legal program in Florida. Dr. Tookes spent five years advocating in the Florida legislature for the creation of the program as an evidence-based HIV prevention intervention. In 2016, he succeeded, and the pilot was signed into law. Today, Dr. Tookes serves as medical director of IDEA and successfully passed the Infectious Disease Elimination Act of 2019, authorizing statewide expansion of syringe services programs. As a physician at Jackson Memorial, one of the largest public hospitals in the nation, Dr. Tookes attends on the HIV service as well as the Ryan White clinic. He is an advocate for health equity and has extensive experience working with both patients of low socioeconomic status and individuals who use drugs. His research interests include structural/systemic interventions and innovative approaches to HIV prevention and treatment. He is a member of the HIVMA Board of Directors.