Dr. Matthew Mimiaga, director of the UCLA Center for LGBTQ Advocacy, Research & Health (C-LARAH), leads $8.8 million project HIV prevention project funded by the National Institutes of Health
Tag: HIV
Study Finds Low Awareness of PrEP, the Highly Effective Medication that Protects Individuals from HIV
A study led by researchers at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health found that just under 20 percent of HIV-uninfected patients visiting Baltimore sexual health clinics were aware of pre-exposure prophylaxis medication (PrEP), a daily regimen that decreases a person’s risk of contracting HIV from sex by more than 90 percent.
ACTG TO PRESENT 24 NEW STUDIES AT CROI 2021
The AIDS Clinical Trials Group (ACTG), the largest global HIV research network, will present four oral and 20 scientific spotlight sessions at the Conference on Retroviruses and Opportunistic Infections (CROI 2021) held virtually, March 6-10.
Vaccine development software shows promise in influenza effort, could help defeat coronavirus
A novel computer algorithm that could create a broadly reactive influenza vaccine for swine flu also offers a path toward a pan-influenza vaccine and possibly a pan-coronavirus vaccine as well, according to a new paper published in Nature Communications.
Harnessing the Power of Proteins in our Cells to Combat Disease
A lab on UNLV’s campus has been a hub of activity in recent years, playing a significant role in a new realm of drug discovery — one that could potentially provide a solution for patients who have run out of options.
Rutgers Expert Available to Comment on Higher COVID-19 Rates Among Nonwhite LGBTQ Population
Lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer (LGBTQ) people of color are disproportionately experiencing the impact of COVID-19. “We can’t treat the LGBTQ community as a monolith and must attend to the diversity within this population,” says Perry N. Halkitis, dean…
The US Must Address the Rising Rates of HIV infections among Latinx Sexual and Gender Minorities, Says New Analysis
In 2019, the U.S. rolled out a new initiative aimed at ending the HIV epidemic by the year 2030. In a new analysis published in The Lancet, Carlos Rodriguez-Diaz, an Associate Professor at the George Washington University, suggests that initiative will fail unless the U.S. addresses the rising rates of HIV infection in Latinx sexual and gender minority populations.
Vanderbilt, Zambia Researchers Find Delirium in Hospitalized Patients Linked to Mortality, Disability in Sub-Saharan Africa
Delirium, a form of acute brain dysfunction, is widespread in critically ill patients in lower resourced hospitals, and the duration of delirium predicted both mortality and disability at six months after discharge, according to a study published in PLOS ONE.
Human immune cells have natural alarm system against HIV
Researchers at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis have identified a potential way to eradicate the latent HIV infection that lies dormant inside infected immune cells. Studying human immune cells, the researchers showed that such cells have a natural alarm system that detects the activity of a specific HIV protein. Rather than attack the virus based on appearance, this strategy is to attack the virus based on what it is doing — vital activities that are required for the virus to exist.
Research finds people diagnosed with HIV in New York State were more than twice as likely to die from COVID-19
New research out of the University at Albany and the AIDS Institute at the New York State Department of Health found that through the middle of 2020, people diagnosed with HIV infection were significantly more likely to contract, be hospitalized with and die from COVID-19.
Study finds new evidence of health threat from chemicals in marijuana and tobacco smoke
Scientists at Dana-Farber Cancer Institute and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention have uncovered new evidence of the potential health risks of chemicals in tobacco and marijuana smoke.
Scientists at Texas Biomed aim to test therapeutic effects of CBD/THC against HIV-induced neurological disorder
The National Institutes of Health (NIH) awarded Professor Mahesh Mohan, D.V.M., Ph.D., and collaborators more than $3.5 million over five years to investigate the effects of cannabinoids on Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) associated neurocognitive disorder (HAND). This research project aims to evaluate whether delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) and Cannabidiol (CBD) alone or in combination can potentially alter DNA methylation, which is a biological process that can create a change in the expression of certain genes.
Tip Sheet: Celebrate holidays safely, COVID-19 vaccines, challenges in HIV vaccine trials — and new insights on evolution
SEATTLE – Dec. 2, 2020 – Below are summaries of recent Fred Hutch research findings and other news with links for additional background and media contacts.If you’re following the American Society of Hematology’s annual meeting (virtual, Dec. 5-8), see our media tip sheet highlighting Fred Hutch presentations and activities, including those by current ASH president Dr.
NIH Re-Funds ACTG for the Next Seven Years
The AIDS Clinical Trials Group (ACTG), the largest global HIV research network, has been re-funded for the next seven years by the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID), part of the National Institutes of Health (NIH), and collaborating NIH Institutes.
Arnhold Institute for Global Health to Host Mount Sinai World AIDS Day
The Arnhold Institute for Global Health at the Icahn School of Medicine Mount Sinai will host a virtual event on World AIDS Day.
World AIDS Day During COVID-19: AU Experts Offer Insights
World AIDS Day During COVID-19: AU Experts Offer Insights What: How have lessons from the HIV/AIDS pandemic inform our response to COVID-19? What has been the impact of COVID-19 on people living with HIV/AIDS and HIV research? AU experts are…
January 2021 highlights from AJPH
Highlights from January 2021 issue of AJPH. Better use of HIV prevention funds could substantially cut new infections; Study explores link between natural disasters, onset of headaches, digestive and back problems; Backpack medicine a promising way to reach people who are homeless during COVID-19; Successful contact tracing programs require a sustainable workforce
Faculty Receives Grant to Examine the Effect of HIV on Children’s Epigenetic Patterns
Rutgers School of Public Health instructor, Stephanie Shiau, has been awarded a Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health & Human Development of the National Institutes of Health R21 grant to examine the effect of HIV infection and/or exposure during pregnancy on epigenetic patterns in children.
Albert Einstein College of Medicine Researchers Receive $5 Million NIH Grant to Study HIV and HPV Cancers in Africa
A team of scientists from Albert Einstein College of Medicine has received a five-year, $4.9 million grant from the National Institutes of Health (NIH) to establish a research center to investigate HIV- and human papillomavirus (HPV)-related cancers in Africa.
LEADING HUMAN IMMUNOLOGY AND INFECTIOUS DISEASE EXPERTS TO JOIN UM SCHOOL OF MEDICINE’S INSTITUTE OF HUMAN VIROLOGY
Robert C. Gallo, MD, the Homer & Martha Gudelsky Distinguished Professor in Medicine at the University of Maryland School of Medicine (UMSOM) and Co-Founder & Director of the UMSOM’s Institute of Human Virology (IHV), announced today that a team of leading scientists in human immunology, virology and stem cell biology, led by Lishan Su, PhD joined IHV on October 1 with academic appointments in the UMSOM Department of Pharmacology. As part of the Maryland E-Nnovation Initiative Fund (MEIF) to recruit top research faculty and a donation to IHV from the Charles Gordon Estate, Dr. Su has been named the Charles Gordon Smith Endowed Professor for HIV Research. Dr. Su will also head IHV’s Division of Virology, Pathogenesis and Cancer.
Alcohol Use Increases among People Living with HIV during Stay-at-home Order
Researchers at Louisiana State University Health Sciences Center in New Orleans honed in on one population particularly at risk during the pandemic: people living with HIV with at-risk alcohol use. They surveyed 80 people living with HIV in Louisiana during that state’s stay-at-home order, recruiting participants from the ongoing longitudinal Aging in Louisiana: Immunosenescence, HIV and Socioenvironmental Factors-Exercise (ALIVE-Ex) study.
Antiretroviral therapy can’t completely stop accelerated cell aging seen in HIV
Untreated HIV infection is linked with epigenetic changes suggesting rapid aging. A new study by UCLA researchers shows that antiretroviral therapy given over two years was unable to completely restore age-appropriate epigenetic patterns, leaving patients more susceptible to aging-related illnesses.
CWRU and UH Researchers Secure $4 Million in NCI Funding to Investigate Relationships between HIV and Lung Cancer in East Africa
Researchers with the Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine and University Hospitals Cleveland Medical Center have secured $4 million in funding from the National Institutes of Health (NIH)/National Cancer Institute (NCI) to establish an HIV-associated Malignancy Research Center focused on lung cancer in East Africa.
HIV Up Close: Unprecedented View of Virus Reveals Essential Steps for Causing AIDS
Accomplishing a feat that had been a pipe dream for decades, scientists at University of Utah Health and University of Virginia have recreated in a test tube the first steps of infection by HIV (human immunodeficiency virus), the virus that causes AIDS (acquired immunodeficiency syndrome). Doing so has provided up-close access to the virus—which is otherwise obstructed from view deep within the cell—and enabled identification of essential components that HIV needs to replicate within its human host. The research publishes in the journal, Cell.
‘Repliclones’ Fuel Perplexing Persistence of HIV in the Blood of Some Patients on Medication
In a new study, infectious disease researchers show that HIV viremia isn’t always nonadherence to medication or resistance to the drugs. Instead, the patients are victims of what the scientists have dubbed “repliclones” – large clones of HIV-infected cells that produce infectious virus particles.
Chicago Center for HIV Elimination awarded $5 million for community COVID-19 testing and prevention
The Chicago Center for HIV Elimination, housed at the University of Chicago, has been awarded $5 million over two years through the National Institute of Health’s (NIH) RADx Underserved Populations program to support a COVID-19 testing project to engage two disenfranchised populations.
Study Explores Link Between Methamphetamine Use And Risky Sexual Behavior
Recreational use of the illicit drug methamphetamine has long been associated with increases in overall impatient and risky behavior. Now, a new study by Johns Hopkins Medicine researchers affirms that meth use increases not only sexual desire but also, specifically and measurably, the risk of casual sex without a condom for those who have an increase in sexual desire.
HIV drugs could prevent diabetes, study suggests
Patients taking drugs called NRTIs to treat HIV and hepatitis B had a 33% lower risk of developing diabetes.
$111 Million NIH Grant Awarded to Prevent and Treat HIV-Associated Cancers
The widespread use of antiretroviral therapy to suppress the HIV virus has helped tens of millions of people with HIV live healthier, longer lives—but an unfortunate consequence of people living longer with HIV is an increased risk of cancer. For 25 years, the AIDS Malignancy Consortium (AMC) has led national and international efforts to prevent and treat of HIV-related cancers. Now, Montefiore Health System and Albert Einstein College of Medicine have received a five-year, $111 million grant from the National Cancer Institute (NCI) to lead this research consortium.
Medical mistrust grounded in structural and systemic racism affects HIV care for Black women in the US South
For Black women in the southern United States, mistrust of the health care system that is grounded in structural and systemic racism is a key factor affecting participation in HIV prevention and treatment services, reports a study in the September/October issue of The Journal of the Association of Nurses in AIDS Care (JANAC). The official journal of the Association of Nurses in AIDS Care, JANAC is published in the Lippincott portfolio by Wolters Kluwer.
UM School of Medicine’s Institute of Human Virology Recruits Top HIV/AIDS Epidemiologist Shenghan Lai Along with Team of Researchers
IHV announced today that Shenghan Lai, MD, MPH and Hong Lai, PhD, MPH, in addition to three staff members, and two more to add, have joined the Institute of Human Virology. The faculty began their positions on April 1 with Professor and Associate Professor academic appointments in the UMSOM’s Department of Epidemiology & Public Health.
Beating HIV and COVID-19 may depend on tweaking vaccine molecules
In a new Immunity study, researchers at La Jolla Institute for Immunology (LJI) show that one way to improve the body’s immune response to vaccines is to factor in antigen valency. Valency refers to the number of antibody binding sites on an antigen.
MS Drug May be Used to Inhibit HIV Infection and Reduce Latent Reservoir
A multiple sclerosis drug may be used to block HIV infection and reduce the latent reservoir, according to research published in PLOS Pathogens by a team at the RGeorge Washington University.
Penn State College of Medicine study explores the association of malaria, HIV with anemia during pregnancy
Pregnant women from sub-Saharan Africa with malaria and human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) have a higher prevalence of anemia than pregnant women without infections according to Penn State College of Medicine researchers. The findings may have implications for reducing the risk of death in pregnant women and preventing low birth weights and neurocognitive impairment in their children as a result of anemia.
Short-Term Use of HIV-Prevention Medication Protects At-Risk Men on Vacation
Men at particular risk for HIV are very likely to consistently take prevention medication during vacations when their odds of contracting the virus are higher, according to a new study.
Mount Sinai’s Arnhold Institute for Global Health Partners with NYC Health + Hospitals on COVID-19 Unit for Research at Elmhurst (CURE-19)
Collaboration Brings Together Clinicians and Researchers on the Front Lines of COVID-19 to Support Innovative Solutions for Health Disparities
New Sugar-based Signature Identifies T Cells Where HIV Hides and Persists Despite Antiretroviral Therapy
Wistar scientists may have discovered a new way of identifying and targeting hidden HIV viral reservoirs during treatment with antiretroviral therapy (ART).
Rutgers Expert Can Discuss Global Climate Change Mortality Study
New Brunswick, N.J. (Aug. 3, 2020) – Rutgers University–New Brunswick Professor Robert E. Kopp is available to discuss a major study released today on the global consequences of climate change on death rates. The study by the Climate Impact Lab,…
Research News Tip Sheet: Story Ideas from Johns Hopkins Medicine
During the COVID-19 pandemic, Johns Hopkins Medicine Media Relations is focused on disseminating current, accurate and useful information to the public via the media. As part of that effort, we are distributing our “COVID-19 Tip Sheet: Story Ideas from Johns Hopkins” every Tuesday throughout the duration of the outbreak.
Pioneering method reveals dynamic structure in HIV
The method reveals that the lattice, which forms the major structural component of the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), is dynamic. The discovery of a diffusing lattice made from Gag and GagPol proteins, long considered to be completely static, opens up potential new therapies. The method can be applied to biomedical structure.
Faculty Receives Grant to Explore the Impact of COVID-19 on People Living with HIV
Rutgers faculty receive grant to study how the current pandemic impacts people living with HIV, who may be at heightened risk for severe illness from COVID-19 compared to the general population.
HIV Alone Not a Risk Factor for Cavities in Children
Recent studies indicate HIV infection heightens the risk of dental cavities – but a Rutgers researcher has found evidence that the risk of cavities comes not from HIV itself but from a weakened immune system, which could be caused by other diseases.
Medicine and Education Lag in the Delivery of Services to Enhance Health of Sexually Active Adolescent Gay-Identified Men
Young gay sexual minority men – especially Black and Latino youth – have their first sexual experiences at younger ages, emphasizing a need for comprehensive and inclusive sex education, according to Rutgers researchers.
Health, Bioethics Experts and Advocates Publish Guidance for Research on HIV, Co-infections in Pregnancy
The PHASES Working Group, co-led by researchers at UNC-Chapel Hill, Georgetown, and Johns Hopkins, launched ethics guidance at hivpregnancyethics.org, in a project dedicated to ending the evidence gap for pregnant women around HIV and co-infections.
Research News Tip Sheet: Story Ideas from Johns Hopkins Medicine
During the COVID-19 pandemic, Johns Hopkins Medicine Media Relations is focused on disseminating current, accurate and useful information to the public via the media. As part of that effort, we are distributing our “COVID-19 Tip Sheet: Story Ideas from Johns Hopkins” every Tuesday throughout the duration of the outbreak.
New $3.7M grant to support research exploring mysterious link between cancer, HIV/AIDS
Research has found that those living with HIV have a higher risk for certain kinds of cancers—such as lung cancer. Now, with a new five-year, $3.7 million grant from the National Cancer Institute, researchers from Case Western Reserve University hope to find out why.
UAlbany Establishes Center for HIV Research to Address Epidemic
The new Center for Collaborative HIV Research in Practice and Policy at the University at Albany will address the public health and social justice challenges of persons placed at risk for, or living with, HIV and related diseases.
Mount Sinai Researchers Find That COVID-19 Patients with HIV Did Not Experience Poorer Outcomes
Patients with HIV who were hospitalized with COVID-19 did not experience poorer outcomes compared to a similar comparison group of patients.
AACN Honors ‘5B’ Nurses Who Transformed Care for Patients With AIDS
Nurses Alison Moëd and Cliff Morrison will receive AACN Pioneering Spirit Awards for their efforts to transform treatment for patients with AIDS in the early 1980s. Together, they created the San Francisco Model, a patient-centered approach that improved the care for their patients and countless others around the world.
New drug candidate reawakens sleeping HIV in hopes of functional cure
Scientists at Sanford Burnham Prebys Medical Discovery Institute have created a next-generation drug called Ciapavir (SBI-0953294) that is effective at reactivating dormant human immunodeficiency virus (HIV). The research, published in Cell Reports Medicine, aims to create a functional HIV cure by activating and then eliminating all pockets of dormant HIV—an approach called “shock and kill.”