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.

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.

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.

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.

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

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.

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.

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.

$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.

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.

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

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.

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 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.”