CFAR Special Funding RFP addressing intersection of HIV and Monkeypox - rolling deadline

The Duke Center for AIDS Research (CFAR) is soliciting applications for grants of up to $60,000 Direct Costs for one-year research projects that address the intersection of HIV and the Monkeypox Virus. The purpose of this funding opportunity is to support research aimed at evaluating all issues at the intersection of the current monkeypox outbreak and people living with HIV (PLWH). Proposals on basic biology, pathogenesis/immunology, epidemiology, clinical care, vaccines, and sociobehavioral considerations, will all be considered. For more information, see the RFP.

News from the CFAR

Thank you for helping make the 18th Annual CFAR Fall Scientific Retreat a success!

It was wonderful to see so many of our Duke CFAR members gathered in-person at the JB Duke Hotel last Thursday, September 22nd.

The retreat was energizing from start to finish, with a welcome from Dr. Georgia Tomaras and an update on the many CFAR successes in the past year. Keynote speaker Dr. Brian Mustanski kicked us off with a presentation on how implementation science can help us end the HIV epidemic by ensuring that effective interventions are implemented successfully and equitably. We then heard some inspiring remarks from José Romero, one of the Co-Chairs of the new Durham-Duke CFAR Collaborative Community Council; they reminded us to keep centering humanity within our HIV research, and to think about who we still need to be reaching - particularly non-English speakers. Drs. Priyamvada Acharya, Thuy Le, and Lance Okeke kept us engaged with their TED-Style talks, where we heard about the shapeshifting nature of HIV-1, the "10 Commandments of Research Success," and the urgency of addressing disparities in PrEP access and uptake. Before lunch, we practiced our own effective communication skills with an interactive workshop that had us talking across disciplines and cutting out jargon.

After lunch, attendees mingled with each other and visited the poster presenters who represented the breadth of research across the Duke CFAR. We were then treated to early career oral presentations by Saman Baral, MS, Hayley Cunningham, MD, Katelyn Faircloth, BS, and Orlando Ferrer, MS. The new Director of the Duke Global Health Institute, Dr. Chris Beyrer, delivered the plenary address and spoke about the challenge of HIV incidence, reminding us of the work still ahead to combat the HIV epidemic and address disparities globally and in our community. Dr. Susanna Naggie closed out the day and had us all looking forward to next year's retreat.

Thank you to everyone who helped make the Fall Scientific Retreat a great success!

Stay tuned for more highlights from the retreat!

Newly defined biomarker may accelerate clinical trials for vaccines to prevent HIV-1 infection: CFAR members contribute to Nature Medicine article

Several Duke CFAR Immunology Core members from the Montefiori and Tomaras labs are co-authors on a new paper in Nature Medicine, Neutralization titer biomarker for antibody-mediated prevention of HIV-1 acquisition.

A blog post written by Elena E. Giorgi of the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Center summarizes some of the key takeaways:

"A new biomarker appears to be an effective surrogate endpoint to reliably predict the ability of broadly neutralizing monoclonal antibodies to prevent acquisition of HIV-1. Broadly neutralizing antibodies (bnAbs) are defined by their ability to neutralize multiple genetically distinct viral strains.



Findings from Gilbert et al., in the August 22, 2022 Nature Medicine issue, build on the proof-of-concept Antibody Mediated Prevention (AMP) trials first published in March 2021 showing that a broadly neutralizing antibody (or bnAb) called VRC01 was effective in preventing the acquisition of some – but not all – HIV strains. Seventy percent of strains circulating in regions where the studies were conducted – sub-Saharan Africa, the U.S., and South America – were resistant to VRC01, and the original report noted no statistical difference between the VRC01 arms and the placebo arm in overall prevention of HIV acquisition.

'A single HIV-1 broadly neutralizing monoclonal antibody, such as VRC01, will not be sufficient to provide high protection against HIV-1 acquisition because many strains are resistant,' said Dr. Peter Gilbert, one of the paper’s co-first authors. 'Therefore, bnAb cocktails will be needed, and although there is a rich pipeline of these antibodies under development, we first needed a biomarker that would enable us to compare cocktails and select the best candidates to advance to efficacy trials.'

Dr. Gilbert and co-first author Dr. Yunda Huang are researchers with the HIV Vaccine Trials Network (HVTN), based at Fred Hutchinson Cancer Center in Seattle. The study was conducted with collaborators from the HIV Prevention Trials Network (HPTN)... The HVTN and HPTN expect to leverage these study results in planning and seeking approval for an AMP-sequel, large-scale efficacy study."

Read the blog post and access the full-text paper.

Inter-CFAR Antiretrovirals for Prevention Working Group Webinar: Supporting PrEP Use for women in the global context and US Deep South

Monday, October 3, 2022 |12pm EDT

The Inter-CFAR Antiretrovirals for Prevention Working Group invites you to participate in its upcoming webinar!

Presenters:

• Christina Psaros, PhD, Associate Director, Behavioral Medicine Program, MGH; Associate Professor in Psychology, HMS; Staff Psychologist, Behavioral Medicine Program, MGH

• Lynn Matthews, MD, MPH, Associate Professor of Medicine, UAB; Associate Professor, Infectious Diseases, Department of Medicine, UAB

Please click the link below to join the webinar:

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

Passcode: AFP

Session 2 of Virtual Interactive Seminar Series: Why Behavioral Interventions Work (or Don't Work)

The Science of Behavior Change: A Mechanism-Focused Approach to Behavior Change Research

Tuesday, October 4, 2022 |9:30-11am ET

Presenter: Talea Cornelius, Ph.D., M.S.W., M.S., Assistant Professor of Medical Sciences (in Medicine), Columbia University

Register for the webinar.

CFAR Immunology Core Workshop: Multiplex Profiling by Luminex

Thursday, October 13, 2022  8:30m ET | Hanes House 131 Auditorium & Zoom

The Luminex platform enables plate-based analysis of multiple analytes in a small sample volume. The first 60 minutes of the half-day CFAR Luminex workshop are for those new to Luminex or those that would like a refresher and covers the principles of the platform, comparisons to other immunoassays, commercial kit options, requesting assays through Duke / CFAR cores, and basic data analysis.

The remaining 2.5 hours of the workshop are for individuals planning to run or develop their own Luminex assays and covers experimental design, assay development and optimization, advanced data analysis, and future directions of the platform.

The workshop will be held in-person and streamed live via Zoom.

In-person registration will be limited to the first 50 registrants that select that option.

Learn more and register for the Luminex workshop.

Travel grant opportunity through the Duke Global Health Institute

The Duke Global Health Institute (DGHI) is pleased to offer travel awards of up to $5000 each to Duke faculty to pursue global health research opportunities in low, lower- and upper- middle-income countries (a listing of eligible countries can be found at the World Bank website) OR focused on health disparities in the American South. These awards are aimed at faculty looking to explore new collaborations by conducting a site visit.

Proposal due dates: October 31, 2022 or earlier

Applications will be reviewed on a rolling basis. If you wish to travel soon, you can submit earlier. 

For questions, please contact Kelly Deal

Learn more about the travel grant and apply.

NIH Funding Opportunities: Catalyst Award for ESIs, NIDA Racial Equity Initiative, HIV Cure Interventions

Catalyst Award for Early-Stage Investigators (ESIs) Pursuing Research on HIV Comorbidities, Coinfections, and Complications (DP1- Clinical Trial Optional) - PAR-23-024

This funding opportunity announcement (FOA) supports research from creative early stage investigators who propose highly innovative, pioneering studies with potential to open new areas of HIV/AIDS research related to coinfections, comorbidities, and complications. Projects should reflect new and novel scientific directions that are distinct from concepts and approaches being pursued in the investigator’s research program or elsewhere. Projects must be consistent with the scientific priorities outlined by the NIH Office of AIDS Research (OAR). These priorities have been described most recently in NOT-OD-20-018.

Notice of Special Interest (NOSI): Opportunities for HIV Cure Interventions at the Time of ART Initiation - NOT-AI-22-056 

This Notice of Special Interest (NOSI) serves to identify new opportunities for cure interventions administered during active HIV infection at or near the start of antiretroviral therapy (ART) or as a potential replacement for conventional ART, with the ultimate goal of achieving a sustained ART-free HIV remission. The first available receipt date is January 7, 2023. Standard AIDS receipt dates apply, and the FOA will be active through September 7, 2025.

NIDA has published a set of HIV/DA FOAs designed under the ‘Racial Equity Initiative | National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA).’

• RFA-DA-23-024: NIDA REI: Reaching Equity at the Intersection of HIV and Substance Use: Novel Approaches to Address HIV Related Health Disparities in Underserved Racial/Ethnic Populations (R34 Clinical Trial Optional) (nih.gov)
• RFA-DA-23-023: NIDA REI: Reaching Equity at the Intersection of HIV and Substance Use: Novel Approaches to Address HIV Related Health Disparities in Underserved Racial/Ethnic Populations (R01 Clinical Trial Optional) (nih.gov)

• RFA-DA-23-013: NIDA REI: Addressing Racial Equity in Substance Use and Addiction Outcomes Through Community-Engaged Research (R01 Clinical Trial Optional) (nih.gov)
• RFA-DA-23-032: NIDA REI: Addressing Racial Equity in Substance Use and Addiction Outcomes Through Community-Engaged Research at Minority Serving Institutions (R01 Clinical Trial Optional)

• RFA-DA-23-028: NIDA REI: Research on Neurocognitive Mechanisms Underlying the Impact of Structural Racism on the Substance Use Trajectory (R61/R33 Clinical Trial Optional) (nih.gov)
• RFA-DA-23-029: NIDA REI: Research at Minority Serving Institutions on Neurocognitive Mechanisms Underlying the Impact of Structural Racism on the Substance Use Trajectory (R61/R33 Clinical Trial Optional) (nih.gov)
• RFA-DA-23-025: NIDA REI: Coordination Center to Support Racial Equity and Substance Use Disparities Research (U24 Clinical Trial Not Allowed) (nih.gov)

A compilation of funding opportunities can be found on the CFAR website.

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