Duke CFAR Newsletter - February 26, 2025
In this newsletter:
News from the CFAR
Upcoming Events
Funding opportunities
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(Keith Haring artwork © Keith Haring Foundation) | |
Keith Haring was a street artist and activist who used his art for social impact. Openly gay, his pieces celebrated queer love and highlighted the discrimination and violence faced by the LGBTQ+ community. After Haring's diagnoses of HIV and - subsequently - AIDS, his paintings often centered on the subject and reflected his passion for raising awareness about AIDS. Haring sadly passed from AIDS-related complications in 1990, but his "profound commitment to AIDS activism stands as an emblematic testament to the potential of art to catalyse positive transformation." | |
Futurum talks with Dr. Thuy Le about her research and career
An article by Futurum highlights research by Thuy Le and her collaborators to diagnose the fungal infection talaromycosis earlier to save lives.
Futurum Careers is a free online resource and magazine aimed at introducing 14-19-year-olds worldwide to the world of work in STEM (science, tech, engineering, maths, medicine) and SHAPE (social sciences, humanities and the arts for people and the economy). We love how Futurum presented this conversation, including a glossary section, "Talk like an infectious diseases researcher", and a section to meet Dr. Le.
Check it out!
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Fungi are everywhere, and can be used in food, medicine, and even building materials. However, fungal pathogens, or disease-causing fungi, cause a variety of human diseases, ranging from mild athlete’s foot (an itchy skin infection between the toes) to life-threatening diseases like talaromycosis.
Talaromycosis is an invasive fungal infection found in Southeast Asia, caused by breathing in a type of fungal pathogen called Talaromyces marneffei. Healthy people are unlikely to develop the disease, but for individuals with a weakened immune system caused by medical conditions, such as human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), it can be fatal. Up to one in three individuals with talaromycosis will die of the disease, even after receiving treatment.
Unfortunately, early symptoms are non-specific, often mild and difficult to spot, and methods of diagnosing talaromycosis take so long that the disease has often spread throughout the body by the time a patient has been diagnosed. “As with cancer, the earlier you diagnose talaromycosis, before it becomes disseminated to multiple organs, the better the treatment outcome for the patient,” says Dr Thuy Le of Duke University School of Medicine. Dr Le is developing several rapid non-culture-based tests to make an early diagnosis of talaromycosis, with the aim of reducing the number of deaths caused by the disease.
How is talaromycosis currently diagnosed?
Due to its initially vague, non-specific symptoms, patients do not seek care for talaromycosis until the disease has reached its advanced stage. In addition, the disease is diagnosed by a slow process called culturing. Culturing allows microorganisms to multiply in a nutritious media over time and reach a level that can be observed by eyes, and can be identified in a laboratory with the help of a microscope and some chemical reactions. This process is relatively fast for most bacteria, which take one to five days to identify. However, in the case of the fungus Talaromyces marneffei, this process is substantially slower. “It can take up to a whole month to grow Talaromyces marneffei in culture, so the diagnosis is often not made until talaromycosis is already at an advanced stage, when treatment is least effective,” says Dr Le.
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What is Dr Le’s team doing differently?
“Aside from the decades-old culture method, we apply methods that are used for many other pathogens but that haven’t been used for this disease,” explains Dr Le. “We look for specific protein antigens being released by this fungus during infection, or the fungus DNA itself.”
Many pathogens release large amounts of protein antigens that fight against the immune response of the host (the person or animal with the disease). The host’s immune system responds to the antigens by producing antibodies and triggering other immune cells to fight back. To find specific protein antigens being produced by Talaromyces marneffei, the researchers followed laborious but logical procedures. Read more.
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We love this section of the article, inspiring the next generation of researchers!
Read the full article.
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DGHI Article - 'People are Dying' Without U.S. HIV Funding | |
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Understanding the impact of a decision on individual lives isn’t always easy to see. It's an experience Emily Smith, a professor at DGHI, wanted to shed light on. In this interview on Smith’s Substack, she talks with colleague Dorothy Dow about the instability seen in Moshi, Tanzania since the U.S. State Department paused foreign aid programs last month. Dow's work focuses on helping adolescents living with HIV stay on track with their medications to stay healthy as that future is now in limbo.
In the interview, Dow cites an analysis by amfAR, the Foundation for AIDS Research, which estimated that for each day of the stop order, 15,000 people in Tanzania alone were not able to access medications provided by the U.S. President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR) that allow people living with HIV to avoid HIV-related illnesses and prevent transmitting the virus to their partners. Thirty babies a day contracted HIV in the country because medications preventing mother-to-child transmission were not allowed to be distributed, according to the report.
Learn more and view the interview.
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From SOM News - What Comes Next: Vaccines | |
Kevin Saunders, PhD, is the Norman L. Letvin, MD Distinguished Professor in Surgery and the Duke Human Vaccine Institute (DHVI). He is also the associate director of DHVI. He said vaccine research has entered the rational design phase: “We’re working with molecules we’ve computationally designed.”
We are no longer working in the dark. We understand better how the vaccines work and how to fine-tune them to do what we want. In traditional vaccines, we would give a sub-unit of a pathogen and an immune response would occur. People would be protected, but we didn’t know why.
Today, we know what types of immune responses are protective. We are using computational protein engineering to design molecules that can give that kind of response. We’re using AI and machine learning to help us.
On the back end, we can look at the specific immune response using high-tech science to see whether the vaccine did what it was supposed to do. We’re sequencing the antibodies to see if they are the correct ones and if they are binding to the correct sites.
Messenger RNA (mRNA) technology means vaccines can be manufactured quickly, which has increased the number of vaccine candidates that can be tested.
There are so many things to be excited about right now. HIV vaccines have taken a major step forward in the last year or so. Coronavirus vaccines are taking off, and we’re all working hard to come up with a vaccine that has durable protection. We’re also working on vaccines that create immunity at sites, such as mucosal tissues in the nose, to prevent transmission of respiratory viruses. And there’s been a shift in cancer vaccines; Duke seems to be making some real progress there.
Duke is one of the forerunners in the field. Right now, we have three really different programs that are all being spearheaded by groups at Duke: a pan-coronavirus vaccine, a pan-influenza vaccine, and an HIV vaccine.
Read the article.
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Register by March 5th for Quantitative Methods for HIV Researchers Assay Workshop series
Mondays in March & April 2025 | 1-4pm ET |Virtual
Registration is now open for Assays Workshops, the third part of Quantitative Methods for HIV Researchers workshop series. These FREE virtual workshops are 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.
In Part III of this workshop series attendees will be introduced to the basics of bioinformatics and statistical analysis for RNA-seq and single cell RNA-Sequencing. Specific topics will include STAR, DESeq2, Seurat for single cell RNA-sequencing analysis, normalization, dimension reduction, and clustering. The workshops will be virtual on Mondays from 1 – 4PM. Attendance in Part I/ Part II workshops or other demonstrated competence in R is required.
REGISTER HERE by 5pm EST on Monday, March 5, 2025
Workshop topics
- March 10: Introduction to high-throughput sequencing
- March 17: Bioinformatics for RNA-seq
- March 24: Bioinformatics for scRNA-seq
- March 31: Statistical Analysis for RNA-seq
- April 7: scRNA-Seq: Overview of tools; Using Seurat for QC, Transformations, and Normalization
- April 14: scRNA-Seq: Dimension reduction, Clustering, Cluster Annotation, Visualization, and Pseudo-bulking
Learn more and register for the workshops.
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Immunology for Quants Seminar Series: Probing cellular circuits in lung regeneration and disease
Wednesday, March 5, 2025 | 12pm ET | Zoom
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The Immunology for Quants (I4Q) Seminar Series is primarily targeted at faculty, staff and students working in quantitative fields who are interested in learning more about immunology and immunology assay platforms, but all are welcome.
The lecture format will be informal and typically consist of discussing or answering questions relating to immunology figures or whiteboard sketches of immune processes or assays.
Upcoming Seminar Details
Title: Probing cellular circuits in lung regeneration and disease
Speaker: Aleksandra Tata, PhD
Dr. Tata is currently an Assistant Professor in Division of Surgical Sciences, Department of Surgery with a secondary appointment in the Department of Cell Biology. Dr. Tata received her PhD in Molecular Medicine from the Institute of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology at the University of Ulm, Germany. She completed a postdoctoral fellowship at Harvard Medical School and came to Duke University as a Research Scholar where she was promoted to Assistant Research Professor in Cell Biology. Dr. Tata’s research has focused on cellular interactions and emergence of distinct transitional cell population during lung regeneration and in pathogenesis of human lung disease. Her research also aims to develop ex vivo human relevant models that closely recapitulate cellular composition and molecular aspects of healthy and disease human lungs.
Learn more about I4Q.
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The Science of Soul: A Black Women and Family Health Symposium
Friday, March 14, 2025 | 1:30 - 3:30pm ET | Duke University School of Nursing, 307 Trent Dr.
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This dynamic symposium brings together academic researchers, community advocates, and Grammy nominated artist and HIV advocate Raheem DeVaughn to explore the intersection of health, science, and the arts in advancing the well-being of Black women and families. Through engaging TedX style talks, speakers will highlight key health challenges and innovative solutions that empower communities.
Attendees will gain actionable strategies to enhance advocacy, foster community engagement, and drive meaningful change. This gathering serves as a catalyst for collaboration, ensuring that research and lived experiences inform policies and practices that promote holistic health and equity.
This is open for faculty, staff, students and community members. Seats are limited - register today.
Register for the symposium.
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Keystone Symposia Meeting - HIV Cure: Antiretroviral Therapy-Free Control of HIV Infection
April 7-10, 2025 | Durban, South Africa
Join Keystone Symposia in exploring HIV Cure this April in South Africa! This meeting, which focuses on eradication and durable remission, is unique from any other in the Keystone Symposia lineup in that it not only directly addresses the need for a curative intervention in LMICs, it is also being held in one such country, organized by and drawing key participation from stakeholders from these hard-hit regions.
There’s still time to participate as a poster presenter!
Poster Abstract Deadline: Monday, March 17, 2025
Learn more and register for the meeting.
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Proposals due March 12th - Emerging Research Pilot RFP for HIV-affected Adolescents
We are excited to share a funding opportunity through the Prevention and Treatment through a Comprehensive Care Continuum for HIV-affected Adolescents in Resource-Constrained Settings - Implementation Science Network (PATC³H-IN).
🌟 Announcing the Emerging Research Pilot (ERP) Request for Proposal (RFP)! 🌟
The ERP Program, through PATC³H-IN, is dedicated to designing and implementing future research to address emerging scientific priorities.
The first ERP RFP has opened for applications, focusing on scientifically meritorious research projects.
🔍 High Priority Areas Identified for Funding:
- Youth Engagement in Research and/or Clinical Practice
- Long Acting Injectables (LAI) for Treatment and Pre-exposure Prophylaxis (PrEP)
- Mental Health
All proposals must include one or more PATC³H-IN-affiliated investigators on the team. Investigators who are not affiliated with PATC³H-IN are required to identify a PATC³H-IN-affiliated investigator and provide a letter of support. Please see the Clinical Research Centers (CRCs) page for more information on investigators to contact.
📅 Key Dates:
- March 12, 2025: Proposal submissions due
- June 12, 2025: Scientific merit review
- June 30, 2025: Notification of award
To view the entire RFP requirements, please visit the PATC³H-IN website.
Learn more about the PATC³H-IN opportunity.
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Funding opportunities for global health researchers | |
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On behalf of the Fogarty International Center at the U.S. National Institutes of Health (NIH), the following funding opportunities, notices and announcements may be of interest to those working in the field of global health research.
NCI Seeks Applicants for HIV Research in LMICs
The office of HIV and AIDS Malignancy (OHAM) at the National Cancer Institute is planning to issue a new Notice of Funding Opportunity announcement (NOFO) to solicit applications from eligible institutions of higher educations for specialized centers to conduct research on malignancies in people with HIV in Low- and Middle-Income Countries (LMICs) and to support early- and mid-career investigators from the United States (U.S.) and LMICs interested in malignancies in people with HIV.
New mHealth Opportunity from Fogarty
The overall goal of the program is to develop an evidence base for the use of mHealth technology to improve clinical and public health outcomes and strengthen mHealth research capacity in LMICs.This NOFO provides support for up to two years for technology development and feasibility studies, followed by a possible transition to expanded research support for validation, larger-scale feasibility, and effectiveness studies.
Upcoming deadlines for Fogarty Funding Opportunities
Funding opportunities on which Fogarty is a partner:
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