Aerosmith Guitarist Joe Perry Rocks Out On Capitol Hill

WASHINGTON, DC (WUSA) -- The auditorium at the Capitol Visitor's Center had a one-of-a-kind performance by Aerosmith's Joe Perry.

The legendary rock star and leading research scientists joined forces for a campaign, Rock Stars of Science, Sept. 24, 2009.

Perry jammed with Dr. Francis Collins, Director of the National Institutes of Health in Bethesda, Md., and Rudy Tanzi, Professor of Neurology at Harvard University.

I've played the guitar since high school but I've never played with a genuine rock god!" says Collins.

The Campaign, Rock Stars of Science, is an effort to raise awareness about the importance of scientific research.

It also hopes to give science a cooler image so more young people will choose it as a career. As Collins says, the science community is more than just a "mysterious geek."

Joe Perry says he always wanted to be a marine biologist before he got his career as a guitarist. CLICK ON THE VIDEO TO WATCH THE INTERVIEW.

Perry says his band gets better with years of rehearsing and guitar playing. And the study of science is the same kind of dedication.

"You can get that feeling, real feeling of satisfaction of energy of that adrenaline rush from being a scientist as well as being a rock star...obviously it's two different things..but there are similarities," Perry says.

The Rock Stars of Science campaign stresses continued funding for biomedical research, so scientists of today and tomorrow can find treatments and cures for diseases like Alzheimer's, cancer, and HIV/AIDS.

The campaign also happened on the same day when news arrived of some modest success with an HIV vaccine tested in Thailand.

"So rather than the end of the road, it's the beginning of something we're excited about," says Dr. Anthony Fauci, a leading expert on HIV/AIDS research and the Director of National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, NIH.