Celebrating Pride Month this June

June is LGBTQ+ Pride Month—a time to recognize and celebrate LGBTQ+ communities, honor the history of Pride, and commit to working together to ensure continued progress. It is impossible to talk about the history and current realities of the HIV epidemic without recognizing the advocacy and activism of LGBTQ+ individuals. We also cannot ignore the detrimental role that discrimination, stigma, and systemic inequality play in our fight against HIV. This month – and every month – we recognize the many contributions of LGBTQ+ individuals to our world, our country, and in the fight against HIV. We affirm our commitment to promote an inclusive environment that allows everyone to thrive and our commitment to protect against discrimination. Learn more about ways to observe Pride Month at Duke Health.

News from the CFAR

Chris Beyrer quoted in article "U.S. Progress in HIV Fight Continues to Trail Many Other Rich Nations"

Christopher Beyrer, MD, MPH was quoted in an NBC News article on the new HIV surveillance report recently published by the Centers for Diseases Control and Prevention.

From the article:

New HIV infections continue to ebb only modestly in the United States, while many other wealthy Western nations have posted steep reductions, thanks to more successful efforts overseas to promptly diagnose and treat the virus and promote the HIV prevention pill, PrEP.

In a new HIV surveillance report published Tuesday, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimated that new HIV transmissions declined by 12% nationally between 2017 and 2021, from 36,500 to 32,100 cases.

By comparison, according to estimates by the Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS, between 2015 and 2021, the annual infection rate plunged by more than 70% in the Netherlands, 68% in Italy and 44% in Australia. United Kingdom health authorities recorded about 2,700 diagnoses in England in 2021 — a drop of approximately one-third since 2017 and one-half since 2015.

Experts told NBC News that the U.S. remains so far behind in combating HIV because of the nation’s lack of a national health care system and sexual-health clinic network; fragmented and underfunded public health systems; and poorer synchronization between government, academia, health care and community-based organizations. 

These experts also pointed to factors such as racism, inadequate adoption of evidence-based treatment for opioid use disorder, state laws criminalizing HIV exposure and medical mistrust in people of color.



“HIV in the United States is very much a disease of those who are most disenfranchised in society,” Dr. Boghuma Titanji, an infectious disease specialist at Emory University, said... Dr. Chris Beyrer, director of the Duke University Global Health Institute, remarked that many of the nations that have seen such precipitous declines “don’t have to deal with the really sharp health disparities and lack of access” that have colored the U.S. HIV fight.

The article also highlights disparities in recent HIV transmission, the threat of anti-LGBTQ legislation, the disproportionate impact of HIV in the South, and the future of the U.S. HIV epidemic.

Read the full article.

Harvard CFAR Grand Rounds: Cardiovascular Disease in People with HIV: Novel Mechanisms and New Prevention Strategies

Friday, June 9, 2023 | 12-1pm EDT | Webinar

Steven K Grinspoon, MD (presenter) is a Professor of Medicine at Harvard Medical School, Chief of the MGH Metabolism Unit, and Director of the Nutrition Obesity Research Center at Harvard. He has had a long-standing interest in the metabolic and immune complications of HIV disease. He chaired the American Heart Association State of the Science Conference on Cardiovascular Disease in HIV-infected patients. His work has suggested significant cardiovascular disease in people with HIV (PWH) and highlighted the relative contributions of traditional risk factors, including diabetes and excess visceral fat accumulation, and of nontraditional risk factors, including inflammation and immune activation, using novel PET and CT techniques linking arterial inflammation to high-risk vulnerable plaque. In this regard, he leads the 7700 participant, global NIH-funded REPRIEVE study to prevent cardiovascular disease in HIV. In addition, he has shown efficacy of strategies to improve ectopic adipose tissue, leading the development of an FDA approved strategy for visceral fat reduction.

Register for the webinar.

AETC Webinar: Language Matters: Person Centered Language in HIV Scientific Communications

Friday, June 9, 2023 | 12-1pm EDT | Webinar

The New England AIDS Education and Training Center Presents: Language Matters:

Person Centered Language in HIV Scientific Communications.

Language has been a central theme in efforts to dismantle stigma around HIV. Empowering language remains an important focus for all medical/dental and all organizations conducting research because language perpetuates stigma, and as studies continue to bear out, stigma helps perpetuate the HIV epidemic. In this event you will learn that language evolves, and no doubt will continue to do so, so it is important that medical researchers keep up.

Objectives:

1. Learn about the evolution of language in HIV research, publications, media, and research proposals.

2. Learn why it is important to use “people first” language.

3. Avoid the pitfalls of using improper language in your research proposals, journal article submissions, and other communications.

4. Provide you with resources and guides to help you use inclusive language and non-stigmatizing language in your scholarly works.

Register for the webinar.

Rustbelt CFAR Webinar: Barrier to an HIV Cure in Women

Thursday, June 15, 2023 | 4pm EDT | Webinar

Dr. Cameron and Dr. Chappell from the Sex and Gender Scientific Working Group, in conjunction with the End the HIV Epidemic Scientific Working Group, of the Rustbelt Center for AIDS Research are thrilled to host a lecture by Dr. Sara Gianella Wiebel, MD at 4PM ET on Thursday, June 15, 2023 - “Barrier to an HIV Cure in Women”

Dr. Gianella is an infectious disease physician and world-renowned expert in clinical and translational virology, molecular biology and immunology and is passionate about conducting studies involving women, transgender persons, and other under-represented populations. 

Register for the webinar.

Inter-CFAR Antiretrovirals for Prevention Working Group Webinar: Building Clinical Workforce Capacity to Deliver PrEP

Monday, June 19, 2023 | 12pm EDT | Webinar

Zoom Information

https://harvard.zoom.us/j/97013223992?pwd=cG1qUWZFNmVMeFhUblI4WGt4RW55QT09 

Passcode: AFP

HANC Webinar: Payment to Research Participants: Regulations, Stakeholder Perspectives, and Data

Thursday, June 22, 2023 | 1-2pm EDT | Webinar

This interactive talk examines the topic of participant payment in research, including a brief review of the federal regulations, how payment decisions are currently made, perspectives of the different stakeholders in the research process on the topic of payment, and data from hypothetical HIV studies where ethically appropriate payment amounts were provided and compared between IRB members, people living with HIV, and researchers.  We will end with our proposal for a way forward on payment decision making in research.

About the Presenter: Brandon Brown is a Full Professor in the Department of Social Medicine, Population and Public Health at the University of California, Riverside (UCR) School of Medicine (SOM). His primary research interest is around ethical issues in the conduct of HIV research. He has received funding from both private and federal organizations, working closely with community partners in every step of the research process. Dr. Brown received additional training as a HIV Prevention Trials Network (HPTN) Scholar, a Resource Center for Minority Aging Research Scholar, trainee at the Fordham HIV Research Ethics Training Institute (RETI), and visiting scholar at the Hastings Center for Bioethics. With more than 150 publications, Dr. Brown is an avid collaborator and while he is a highly sought-after epidemiologist for the media, he prefers to spend his free time outside working on his small farm. 

Register for the webinar.

NIH-sponsored Meeting: Pharmacy-Centered HIV Research: Current Landscape and Future Frontiers



June 28th & 29th, 1-5pm | Virtual

We are pleased to announce the upcoming National Institutes of Health (NIH) sponsored meeting titled, “Pharmacy-Centered HIV Research: Current Landscape and Future Frontiers.” This meeting will bring together researchers, pharmacists and other pharmacy-involved professionals, community members, and federal partners to discuss research opportunities in how pharmacies are used to provide HIV testing, prevention, and care. The meeting will take place through a virtual format on Wed June 28^th and Thu June 29^th 2023, from 1:00pm-5:00pm ET each day.

The meeting is co-sponsored by the NIH Office of AIDS Research (OAR) and the National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH), in partnership with the Fogarty International Center (FIC), the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (NIAAA), the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA), the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (NHLBI), the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID), the Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (NICHD), and the National Institute on Minority Health and Health Disparities (NIMHD).

Learn more and register.

Registration open for the 40th Annual Symposium on Nonhuman Primate Models for AIDS



October 10-13, 2023 | University of California Davis

The 40th Annual Symposium on Nonhuman Primate Models for AIDS will take place on October 10 -13, 2023, at the University of California Davis. This scientific forum is a unique, world class opportunity to exchange the latest scientific perspectives, research findings, and emerging technologies for HIV/AIDS and other infectious diseases.

The nonhuman primate model is integral to studies that make breakthrough discoveries of causes, preventions, treatments and cures possible. With 38 million people currently estimated to be living with HIV worldwide, it is imperative to develop better treatments and interventions to prevent and/or cure HIV infection. Join us and add to the shared vision and collaborative work to end HIV/AIDS.

This symposium is designed to be an in-person event. For those who cannot attend in person, a hybrid format with virtual attendance to the keynote presentation and scientific sessions is available. Registration, Abstract Submission, and Early Scientist Investigator (ESI)Travel Award Applications are now open!

Learn more about the conference.

Duke Center for HIV Structural Biology - Collaborative Development Awards Opportunity due June 30th

The Duke Center for HIV Structural Biology (DCHSB) invites proposals for an HIV research funding opportunity (Collaborative Development Awards - CDA). Early-career HIV investigators and investigators new to HIV research from under-represented racial and ethnic groups are encouraged to apply.

The program is intended to broadly support HIV-related structural studies (including structural biology, molecular biophysics, structural bioinformatics, and others) aligned with the goals of the Center.

Applications must be submitted electronically no later than June 30, 2023, 5 p.m. EST

The award covers one year of funding up to $175,000 in total costs. Applications will be peer-reviewed by a panel convened by the Center’s investigators. Proposals will be evaluated on scientific merit, rigor, quality of project, and impact on HIV structural science. Our intent is to complete reviews and start funding by October 1, 2023.

For project-related questions, please contact Whitney Beck, Scientific Program Leader.

Learn more and apply.

Duke Aging Center and the Duke/UNC ADRC Request Applications for Microbes in Alzheimer's Disease Pilot Awards

The purpose of these $85,000 pilot awards is to stimulate and support collaborative, innovative research on the potential role of microbes or pathogens in the development of Alzheimer’s disease (AD). Principal investigators must be faculty at Duke University to be eligible for funding consideration. Please view the complete RFA for details.

Timeline:

• RFA released 6/2/23
• LOI due 7/10/23
• Invitations to apply issued by 7/28/23
• Full applications due 9/28/23
• Funding decisions will be announced by 12/4/23, with funding available 1/8/24

These awards are made possible by generous support from Dr. Leslie Norins (Duke Med ’62) and Ms. Rainey Norins, and The Benter Foundation

Learn more and apply.

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