Reminder: CFAR Pilot Grant LOIs due Feb 19th

The CFAR Developmental Core Pilot Awards fund scientific studies for 1 year to provide opportunities for training and mentoring of Early Stage HIV/AIDS investigators, as well as seasoned investigators new to the HIV/AIDS field. Required letters of intent are due February 19th, and applications are due May 1st. See the Duke CFAR Website to learn more.

News from the CFAR

Duke Today article highlights key discovery: Scientists See an Ultra-Fast Movement in an HIV-1 Surface Protein

A recent article by Karl Leif Bates and video produced by Veronique Koch describe the findings that could be key to a new vaccine approach:

As the HIV virus glides up outside a human cell to dock and possibly inject its deadly cargo of genetic code, there’s a spectacularly brief moment in which a tiny piece of its surface snaps open to begin the process of infection.

Seeing that structure snap open and shut in mere millionths of a second is giving Duke Human Vaccine Institute (DHVI) investigators a new handle on the surface of the virus that could lead to broadly neutralizing antibodies for an AIDS vaccine.

Being able to attach an antibody specifically to this little structure that would prevent it from popping open would be key. Their findings appear February 2nd in Science Advances.

The moving part is a structure called envelope glycoprotein, and AIDS researchers have been trying to figure it out for years because it is a key part of the virus’ ability to dock on a T-cell receptor known as CD4. Many parts of the envelope are constantly moving to evade the immune system, but vaccine immunogens are designed to stay relatively stable.

Postdoctoral researcher Ashley Bennett (left) and Associate Professor Rory Henderson of the Duke Human Vaccine Institute with 3D printed models of the molecules they study on the HIV virus.

“Everything that everybody, including our group, had done to try to stabilize this (structure) is unlikely to block the movement we observed in this study,” said lead author Rory Henderson, a structural biologist who is an associate professor of medicine in DHVI. “It’s not that we did anything wrong based on what we knew; it's just that we didn't know it moves this way until now.”

Postdoctoral researcher and study co-author Ashley Bennett offers a play-by-play: As the virus feels for its best attachment point on a human T-cell, the host cell’s CD4 receptor is the first thing it latches onto. That connection is what then triggers the envelope structure to pop open, which in turn, exposes a co-receptor binding site “and that’s the event that actually matters.” Read more.

Read the full article.

The Duke CFAR thanks Rita McDaniel for her years of work in research community engagement at Duke!

Rita McDaniel has been a familiar face and vital voice at Duke and in the community for years and served as the Senior Advisor for the Duke Collaborative Community Council (D3C), helping to get the group up and running starting in June 2022. Rita will be stepping away from her role with the D3C to attend to personal and family needs. 

While we are sure we will continue to see Rita around town and in the HIV advocacy space, we would like to thank Rita for her decades of work in research community engagement with the Duke CFAR. She served for many years as a member of the Duke HIV Research and Treatment Community Advisory Board, and her many years of experience and advocacy were invaluable as we started the new D3C. The Duke CFAR and the D3C would like to wish Rita all the best and to thank her for her tireless efforts in HIV research community engagement and in HIV advocacy.

Rustbelt CFAR Webinar - Antiretroviral Clinical Pharmacology: Playing the Long Game

Tuesday, February 13, 2024 | 4pm EST | Webinar

The Sex and Gender Scientific Working Group of the Rustbelt Center for AIDS Research is excited to invite you to a presentation by one of our Rustbelt CFAR 2023 Developmental Grant Awardees:

“Antiretroviral Clinical Pharmacology: Playing the Long Game”

Aaron Devanathan, PharmD, PhD is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Pharmacy and Therapeutics at the University of Pittsburgh School of Pharmacy. He received his PharmD from the University of Pittsburgh and completed his PGY1 Pharmacy Practice Residency at UNC Hospitals. He earned a PhD in Pharmaceutical Sciences and completed the UNC-Duke Collaborative Clinical Pharmacology T32 Postdoctoral Training Program at the UNC Eshelman School of Pharmacy before returning as faculty at the University of Pittsburgh in 2022. His research focuses on the clinical pharmacology of antiretrovirals and their disposition into biological matrices with the goal of understanding how antiretroviral pharmacology affects inflammatory processes related to HIV-associated comorbidities.

Dr. Devanathan’s CFAR Development Grant focuses on developing analytical methods to quantify antiretroviral concentrations for PrEP and his methods are currently being developed for use in vaginal and cervical tissues. 



Register for the webinar.

DGHI Event - Youth Got a Friend in Me: Peer-Led Interventions to Improve Adolescent Mental Health

Tuesday, February 20, 2024 | 12-1pm EST| 040 Trent Hall & Zoom

Many countries in sub-Saharan Africa have far too few trained specialists to address the burden of mental health issues, especially among the region’s growing adolescent population. In the U.S., as well, the increasing demands for mental health care are stretching the capacity of providers with specialized training. Both in the U.S. and globally, researchers are assessing how non-specialists such as peers can be trained to fill the gap, and many of these interventions are showing promising results. In this Think Global event, mental health experts and sub-specialists working in Tanzania, Zimbabwe and Kenya will explore the evidence supporting a handful of such interventions, which are being implemented to help address mental health issues such as alcohol dependency and stigma surrounding HIV among adolescents. 

Speakers include CFAR Clinical Core Co-Director Dorothy Dow, MD, MSc, a physician-scientist whose research focuses on prevention and treatment of HIV in pediatric populations including prevention of mother-to-child transmission and adolescent and young adult populations. Her current projects target the intersection of HIV treatment adherence and mental health. She is co-director of the Duke Center For AIDS Research Clinical Core, member of the Adolescent HIV Prevention and Treatment Implementation Science Alliance (called AHISA), co-developer of Sauti ya Vijana (SYV-The Voice of Youth), a peer-led, group based mental health intervention for YLWH in Tanzania, and co-chair of IMPAACT 2016, Evaluating a Group-Based Intervention to Improve Mental Health and ART Adherence Among Youth Living with HIV in Low Resource Settings.

Other speakers include Florence Jaguga, MBChB, MMed, the Head of the Alcohol and Drug Abuse Rehabilitation Services Department at the Moi Teaching & Referral Hospital in Kenya, and Primrose Nyamayaro, Ph.D., MRes, a mental health researcher based in Zimbabwe.

Eve Puffer, Ph.D., M.A., (moderator) is a global mental health researcher and a licensed clinical psychologist. Her research focuses on developing and evaluating integrated community-based interventions to promote child mental health, improve family functioning, and prevent HIV risk behavior.

Learn more and register for the Zoom.

CFAR-wide Webinar - HVTN Vaccine Strategy Update

Monday, February 26, 2024 | 3:30-4:30pm EST| Zoom

The UNC CFAR is excited to have Dr. Larry Corey present on “HVTN vaccine strategy update” at the next CFAR wide webinar. Registration is required.

Register for the webinar.

CERI Virtual Workshop - Gender Equity in Research

Friday, March 1, 2024 | 12-1:30pm EST| Zoom

Speakers: Dane R. Whicker, PhD and Keisha Bentley-Edwards, PhD

The Center for Equity in Research and the Duke Clinical & Translational Science Institute will be sponsoring a transformative workshop focused on the core principles of gender equity in research. Participants will explore the profound impact of a diverse participant pool, emphasizing the significance of LGBTQI+ representation in research.

This training delves into the ethical considerations of using sexual orientation and gender identity data (SOGI)as an inclusion or exclusion criterion, shedding light on potential impacts and implications. Practical best practices are highlighted, encompassing the use of accurate language, implementing a two-step method for gender data collection, and addressing interpersonal communication mistakes with recovery strategies. Participants will leave equipped with essential tools for conducting scientifically robust and ethically sound research in a more inclusive and respectful manner. The workshop is ideal for faculty, research staff, trainees, students, and community researchers who seek to develop more equitable research.

Participants who attend for more than 60 minutes are also eligible to receive RCR-200 credit. This session is also offering 1 Continuing Education Credit: ANCC, Attendance, JA Credit - AH through Duke Continuing Medical Education. Participants can claim both credits if eligible.

Register for the workshop.

Registration open for the Assays Workshops - Quantitative Methods for HIV Researchers

Mondays in March and April | 1-4pm ET | Hock Plaza

The Quantitative Methods for HIV Researchers workshop series is designed to provide HIV researchers with the quantitative skills necessary for analysis of large, complex data sets resulting from assays such as single-cell RNA-seq, flow cytometry, fMRI, etc. These NIH-funded workshops are open to graduate students, postdocs, medical fellows, staff and faculty. Non-Duke-affiliated applicants are welcome.

Each workshop in the Assays series will focus on one assay type, and you are encouraged to sign up for as many as you like. Attendance in Part I / Part II workshops or other demonstrated competence in R is required. The workshops will be taught in person at Hock Plaza on Mondays from 1 – 4PM.

Register for the workshops by February 26.

Immunology Core Workshop - Visualizing and Interpreting Macromolecular Structural Models

Friday, March 29, 2024 | 9am-12pm EDT| TSCHE Classroom 3 (In-person interaction) or Virtual Webinar (observation only)

Macromolecular structure visualization is an essential step in understanding protein function at the atomic level. Directly visualizing macromolecular interactions, macromolecule shape, and small molecule interactions can provide important mechanistic insight into structure-function relationships that can in turn drive experimental design.

This full-day workshop will equip researchers with the skills necessary to identify already determined macromolecular structures, prepare theoretical structures, and visualize those structures using popular tools in structural biology. Importantly, all tools and databases needed for this work are well maintained and available freely to academic researchers.

Learn more and register for the workshop.

More offerings from the Immunology Core

Apply to the Emory T32 Postdoctoral Fellowship

The Emory Training Program in Translational Research to End the HIV Epidemic is now accepting applications! The T32 program focuses on translational HIV science at the epicenter of the United States HIV epidemic in the South and was built around research activities in three major focus areas including 1) Laboratory-based basic science, vaccine, and cure research, 2) Patient-centered clinical research, and 3) Public health and implementation science.

Interested and eligible candidates must complete an online interest form on or before April 12, 2024 to be connected to one of the Program Directors, Drs. Ann Chahroudi, Colleen Kelley, or Patrick Sullivan, to discuss their application. Full applications are due May 3, 2024. 

Learn more and submit an interest form.

Unitaid Call for Proposals for PMTCT

Call for Proposals: Accelerate demand and adoption of tools and integrated delivery strategies for elimination of vertical transmission of HIV, syphilis, hepatitis B and Chagas in endemic areas

Unitaid is pleased to announce this Call for Proposals aimed at catalyzing uptake of country-led and context-specific intervention packages to eliminate vertical transmission and improve maternal and newborn health.

Learn more.

Apply to be a Fellow of the NIDA-funded HIV and Drug Abuse Prevention Research Ethics Training Institute

Summer training & research funding available for early career investigators! The Fordham HIV and Drug Abuse Prevention Research Ethics Training Institute (RETI) offers ethics training and a $30,000 small grant award to conduct a mentored research project (MRP) that will contribute to evidence-based HIV and drug abuse research ethics policies and procedures. RETI fellows make a 2-year commitment that includes two in-person summer programs in 2022 and 2023 including fully funded travel, lodging, and meals.

Visit the RETI website page for the application requirements and form. Applications are due March 1, 2024. Applicants will be notified of award decisions by April 30, 2024.

Learn more and apply.

Hypothesis Fund seeks high risk, high reward ideas

The Hypothesis Fund is setting up a network of incredible scientists and empowering them to look for really bold ideas. The Hypothesis Fund was founded by David Sanford in 2022 to support breakthrough research that increases our adaptability against systemic risks to the health of humans and the planet. Duke CFAR is pleased to announce our very own Dr. Wilton Williams as one of the Scouts for this Fund.

For more information about the fund's unconventional approach to making grants, visit their website or read more from the Science article, New funding effort will deploy a corps of scientist ‘scouts’ to spot innovative ideas.

Learn more about Hypothesis Fund.

RFA: HIV Cure-Related Research in Africa

NIAID has partnered with CRDF Global to fund African institutions carrying out HIV cure-related research in Africa. Please share with all who may be interested!

The RFA is for one-year $150,000 grants to African institutions, with up to $25,000 subawards to non-African collaborators. Applications are due April 15, 2024.

Learn more and access the RFA.

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