HISstory, HERstory, THEIRstory, OURSTORY: Storytelling as Resilience - Commemorating National Native HIV/AIDS Awareness Day

This year, National Native HIV/AIDS Awareness Day (NNHAAD) is on Wednesday, March 20. On this day, we pause to recognize the impact of HIV among Native populations and highlight the critical work happening in communities around the country to engage Native people, including American Indians, Alaska Natives, and Native Hawaiians, in fully ending the HIV epidemic.

The Indian Health Service, the Minority HIV/AIDS Fund, and HHS provided support to Kua`aina Associates, which partnered with the Northwest Portland Area Indian Health Board to produce OURSTORY, a celebration of life told through traditional oral/storytelling—the backbone of Indigenous knowledge transfer. This year we are highlighting three videos featuring Sophina Calderon, Brad Lum, and Lisa Tiger, from HISstory, HERstory, THEIRstory, OURSTORY: Storytelling as Resilience, an initiative aimed at increasing awareness and knowledge of HIV and breaking down the barriers of HIV/AIDS stigma in Indigenous communities through the tradition of storytelling.

News from the CFAR

Duke CFAR presents at CROI 2024

The Conference on Retroviruses and Opportunistic Infections (CROI) was established in 1993 to provide a forum for basic scientists and clinical investigators to present, discuss, and critique their investigations into the epidemiology and biology of human retroviruses and associated diseases. The synergy of basic science and clinical investigation has been a major contributor to the success of the meeting. CROI has facilitated the presentation of important discoveries in the field, thereby accelerating progress in HIV and AIDS research. The best and most consequential original research defines the science at CROI, including research in HIV, hepatitis viruses, SARS-CoV-2, mpox, and other viral infections and their related conditions.

CROI 2024 was held March 3-6, 2024 in Denver, Colorado and featured presentations by several Duke CFAR investigators and trainees. Please join us in congratulating the following presenters, with abstracts and posters linked below:

Philippe Rascle – Oral presentation: MHC-E Presentation Mediates SIV-Specific NK Cell Responses in SIV-Infected Rhesus Macaques

Danielle Nettere – Poster presentation: HIV-1 Coinfection Skews iNKT Cells Toward Anergy and Exhaustion in People With Hepatitis C

Song Young Oh – Poster presentation: IgG and Fc Receptor Genetic Variation Associates With Functional Antibody Responses in HVTN 108

Shanti Narayanasamy – Poster presentation: IgG Responses Are Associated With Severe Disease and Mortality in AIDS-Associated Talaromycosis

Vu Quoc Dat – Poster presentation: Triple Screening for Invasive Mycoses in Patients With Advanced HIV Disease in Vietnam

Nguyen T Hao – Poster presentation: Histoplasmosis in Advanced HIV Disease: A Multi-Center Prospective Diagnostic Validation Study

Nguyen Quang Dieu – Poster presentation: Ultra Xpert in Blood and Urine and Myco/F Lytic Blood Culture in Patients With Advanced HIV Disease

Nguyen T M Thu – Poster presentation: Clinical Relevance of the CRAG Semiquantitative Scores in CRAG-Positive People with AIDS

Valerie Yelverton – Poster presentation: Variation in Viral Load Testing and Outcomes in Telehealth HIV Care During COVID-19

Mitchell Martin – Poster presentation: Maturation Pathway of a Rhesus V3-glycan Broadly Neutralizing Antibody Lineage

If we missed a presentation, please email Lizzy Knippler for inclusion in our next newsletter!

Read CROI highlights from HIV.gov:

CDC’s Dr. Mermin Discusses HIV & STI Prevention Highlights from CROI 2024

Key Community Takeaways From CROI 2024

HIV Self-Test Kits and Prevention Tools: CDC’s Dr. Neblett Fanfair on 2024 CROI Highlights

HIV Treatment Research and Key Takeaways: Dr. Dieffenbach’s Final Update from CROI 2024

DUSON article highlights work by Dr. Brandon Knettel focused on suicide prevention among people living with HIV in Tanzania

An article from the Duke University School of Nursing details a new mental health collaboration and discusses Dr. Knettel's current work:

Duke University School of Nursing (DUSON) Assistant Professor Brandon Knettel, Ph.D., was recently awarded a grant by the Duke Global Health Institute (DGHI), where Knettel holds a secondary appointment as assistant research professor, to fund travel for East African scholars partnering with each other and Duke to impact mental health care in the region. The year-long grant will allow scholars from the University of Global Health Equity (UGHE) in Rwanda, Kilimanjaro Christian Medical Center (KCMC) in Tanzania, Moi University in Kenya, and Makerere University in Uganda to attend workshops at each of those institutions to learn about focused areas of expertise. The two-day workshops will include a combination of didactic training; visits to research and clinical sites to learn about existing services; collaborative planning for capacity building and funding opportunities; and professional networking.

Rwanda lost a million people to genocide in the 1990s, including many of the nation’s medically trained professionals. And in Tanzania, as recently as 2018, there were no psychiatrists or psychologists at KCMC, one of the largest hospitals in the country.

“Historically, mental health just hasn’t been a part of the health system and hasn’t been prioritized,” said Knettel, who has worked in Tanzania since 2009. But that is changing. The East African community has seen improvement in quality of life and fewer preventable deaths from things like malaria and HIV/AIDS, so now, mental health is the logical next step, Knettel said. But it needs support. The African and Duke scholars, who have begun collaborating with help from NIH grants, will work together not just to train new mental health care workers, but also to change how the care is delivered. The travel grant will facilitate that collaboration.

Inspired by the work of the late Paul Farmer, a Duke alumni and founder of UGHE in Rwanda, Knettel said these collaborative efforts among the four partner sites will build capacity in the region and address health inequities and social injustice.

One such program, led by Knettel and funded by the National Institute of Mental Health, focused on suicide prevention in Tanzania using a nurse-led strategy where three questions are added to a nurse’s patient inquiry. If patients’ responses to these mental health screening questions indicate they need further assessment, they can be seen immediately by a mental health provider via telehealth. If the patient agrees, they can then be directly connected to a mental health provider for treatment. Building the care into the existing system is not only cost-effective, it provides access to patients who might not ever seek help for serious mental distress. But catching more patients means more providers will be needed; supporting the local institutions in their training efforts is imperative to increasing capacity, a main goal of the partnership. “The need is so great that these providers, as soon as they come out of their training, they are just overwhelmed by the need already,” Knettel said.

Read this story on the DUSON website and learn more about Dr. Knettel's work on the IDEAS for Hope project website.

Dr. Knettel is also the Associate Director for the newly launched Duke Center for Global Mental Health within the Duke Global Health Institute. The Center's Director is CFAR investigator Eve Puffer Ph.D., Associate Professor of Psychology and Neuroscience and Global Health.

Learn more about the launch of the Duke Center for Global Mental Health.

Provide input on NIH and NIAID strategic plans for HIV research

There are two RFIs that have now been released. The public is always encouraged to respond to NIH RFIs.  

1) NIAID: Request for Information (RFI): Inviting Comments and Suggestions on NIAID’s Strategic Plan - Responses are due before midnight on May 27, 2024 and need to include the respondent’s name and contact information and sent as an attachment by e-mail to: NIAIDStrategicPlanRFI@niaid.nih.gov.

2) NIH Office of AIDS Research (OAR): Published a Request for information (RFI) seeking comments on their proposed new framework for prioritizing HIV research at NIH. This proposed revision will serve as the basis for the fiscal year 2026-2030 NIH Strategic Plan for HIV and HIV-Related Research to guide future investments in this area.Respondents are invited to propose changes to these Goals or to the research priorities within each Goal. The OAR Data Hub shows the current relative investment in HIV research, which may be useful. The due date for submission of responses is March 28, 2024. 

DC CFAR Developmental Core Lecture Series: My Path to Independence in HIV Research featuring Dr. Anthony Fauci 

Thursday, March 21, 2024 | 4-5pm ET| Zoom

Please join us for the DC CFAR Developmental Core Lecture Series: My Path to Independence in HIV Research. Each hour-long session in this series will showcase prominent researchers from across the country and autobiographical accounts of their careers in HIV research, specifically their pathways to career and research independence.

Our next lecture will feature Dr. Anthony Fauci, Distinguished University Professor in the Division of Infectious Diseases at Georgetown University School of Medicine and former Director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases at the National Institutes of Health (NIH). Dr. Fauci will discuss his perspectives on pursuing a research career in HIV-related science. We plan to follow his 30-minute presentation with a 30-minute Q&A session. We kindly ask that participants submit questions for Dr. Fauci in advance in the registration form linked below. Questions can be submitted in the chat box during the session as well.

Register for the session.

CFAR-wide Webinar: Improving Informed Consent for Adolescents and Young Adults in HIV Research

Monday, March 25, 2024 | 3:30-4:30pm ET| Zoom

Please register and join us for the next CFAR wide webinar on Monday March 25th.

Presenter: Dr. Suzanne Day 



Title: Improving Informed Consent for Adolescents and Young Adults in HIV Research: Practical, Consensus-Based Strategies from Low- and Middle-Income Countries

Register for the webinar.

HANC Webinar: Barriers to HIV Care and Prevention for Women in the U.S.

Wednesday, March 27, 2024 | 1pm ET| Zoom

The Office of HIV/AIDS Network Coordination’s Women’s HIV Research Collaborative (WHRC) invites you to participate in an informative discussion on how different social and structural barriers impact women’s access to HIV care. Some of these barriers are:

  + Homelessness

  + Domestic violence

  + Sexual violence

  + Food insecurity

  + Exclusion from research

As a part of this discussion, attendees will learn about these barriers and how to address them.

Moderator: Dázon Dixon Diallo DHL, MPH, Founder and President of SisterLove Inc., is a recognized visionary and advocate in the struggle for human rights through sexual and reproductive health, rights and justice, and the fight against HIV, STIs and Gender-based Violence. Dázon is Founder and President of SisterLove, Inc, established in 1989, the first Sexual and Reproductive Justice organization focused on women and HIV in the southeastern US.

Webinar speakers

Nakeitra L. Burse, DrPH, CHES,  Executive Director of Six Dimensions LLC, established Six Dimensions in an effort to strategically respond to the health needs of communities. As a native Mississippian, she is well aware of the impact of poor health on the environment, the economy, and the overall quality of life of individuals and communities. She is also acutely aware of the impact that systems have on individual and community health.

Brian Minalga, MSW, Deputy Director of the Office of HIV/AIDS Network Coordination (HANC) is is first and foremost a member of the community. Having worked in the fields of HIV, social work, education, and youth development in locations ranging from Seattle to Detroit and Namibia to Niger, Brian brings a global and interdisciplinary perspective to HANC. Brian directs the Legacy Project, focusing on the inclusion of underrepresented communities in clinical trials. 

Liesl Nydegger, PhD, MPH, CHES, Assistant Professor, Department of Health, Behavior and Society, Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, earned her PhD (2015) in health promotion sciences with a concentration in global health and MPH (2011) in health promotion, education, and evaluation from the School of Community and Global Health, Claremont Graduate University.

Register for the webinar.

Save the Date: 2024 Mathews Lecture with Dr. John Wherry

Thursday, May 16, 2024 | 4-5:15pm ET| Great Hall of the Trent Semans Learning Center

“Molecular Mechanisms of CD8 T-Cell Exhaustion”

E. John Wherry, PhD

Chair, Department of Systems Pharmacology & Translational Therapeutics

Richard and Barbara Schiffrin President's Distinguished Professor  

Director, Institute for Immunology

Co-Program Leader, Immunobiology Program, Abramson Cancer Center

Co-Director, Parker Institute for Cancer Immunotherapy

Please mark your calendars and plan to attend on Thursday, May 16th, 2024, 4:00-5:15PM. Great Hall of the Trent Semans Learning Center, with a reception to immediately follow.

Scholarships open for the 5th HIV Research for Prevention Conference (HIVR4P 2024)

October 6-10, 2024| Lima, Peru & Virtual

Scholarship submissions for HIVR4P 2024, the 5th HIV Research for Prevention Conference, are now open! You are eligible for a scholarship if you are at least 18 years old on 6 October 2024, working, volunteering or studying in the area of HIV prevention and require support to attend HIVR4P 2024. For more information about the scholarship programme, types of financial support, how to apply and the Journalist Fellowship Programme, visit the HIVR4P 2024 scholarship page. 

Scholarship applications will be accepted until April 10th.

Learn more about HIVR4P 2024 and conference scholarships.

8th Translational HIV Vaccine ESI Conference

October 21, 2024| New Orleans, LA

The HIV Vaccine Trials Network (HVTN) will host the 8th Translational HIV Vaccine Early Stage Investigator (ESI) Conference in New Orleans, Louisiana on October 21, 2024, prior to the NHP AIDS Symposium.

This conference is intended for ESIs who focus on translational HIV research in non-human primates (NHPs), or clinical HIV and TB research, and are within 10 years of completing their terminal research degree (PhD, MD, DVM), medical residency, or equivalent. Investigators will participate in career mentoring and networking designed for ESI working in translational HIV research. Past attendees have stated that the Conference has increased their skills and knowledge for career development and provided them with a venue to form new collaborations. 

There is no fee to attend the ESI conference. Attendees will also be invited to an NIH-sponsored pediatric-oriented meeting on Tuesday, October 22.

Registration is now open at the following link: 2024 ESI Conference Registration

The HVTN will provide a limited number of travel awards to attend this conference. This award will cover airfare, hotel, registration fees for the NHP AIDS Symposium, ground transportation, and per diem. The application is now open at the following link, and the deadline to apply is Wednesday, May 15, 2024: 2024 ESI Conference Travel Award Application

Learn more and register for the ESI Conference.

NIH Funding Opportunities

Notice of Special Interest (NOSI): Interventions to Reduce Chronic Inflammation and Inflammation-Related Morbidity in People Living with HIV/AIDS NOT-AT-24-035

Multidisciplinary Studies of HIV/AIDS and Aging (R21 Clinical Trial Optional) PAR-24-092

Multidisciplinary Studies of HIV/AIDS and Aging (R01 Clinical Trial Optional) PAR-24-091

Expression of Interest due March 31: Point-of-Care Technologies for HIV/AIDS, Co-morbidities, and Emerging Infectious Disease in Low- and Middle-Income Countries

The Center for Innovation in Point-of-Care Technologies for HIV/AIDS and Emerging Infectious Disease at Northwestern University (C-THAN) seeks collaborative research projects to develop novel point-of-care technologies (POCT) aimed at improving diagnosis and treatment monitoring of HIV/AIDS or the detection of emerging or reemerging infectious disease in low- and middle-income countries (LMIC). If successful, projects should be viable candidates for commercial development.

Applicants may be based at domestic or foreign, public or private, or non-profit or for-profit organizations. Teams consisting solely of applicants from LMICs will be given special consideration.

C-THAN is specifically seeking proposals focused on increasing patient access to HIV viral load monitoring which may include the development of novel viral load diagnostics, technology that enables sample collection and/or plasma separation, field testing of assays in development, or implementation studies of current or near commercial tests.

Expression of Interest Due: March 31, 2024

Invitations for Full Proposals: April 29, 2024 

Full Proposals Due: June 2, 2024

Notification of Successful Applicants: August 5, 2024 

Learn more and apply.

NIAD New Innovator DP2 Information Released

The NIAID New Innovator Award website is now available! Awardee profiles and links to funded projects are available (FY19 through FY22). FY23 awardees will be added soon. Details on the program, current NOFO, and a message from Hugh Auchincloss are also available.

The NIAID New Innovator DP2 program has been in place since 2019 to help launch research careers for talented individuals with creative, novel, high-impact research concepts that may be risky or at a stage too early to fare well in the traditional peer review process. The NIAID DP2 program supports Early-Stage Investigators (ESIs) of exceptional creativity who propose novel, original, and insightful research concepts with the potential to produce a major impact, test scientific paradigms, or advance key concepts on broad, important problems in biomedical research of priority to NIAID. ESIs who are either non-independent (postdoc or beyond) or within the first year of an independent research position may apply. (Note this is one of the key differences from the NIH Common Fund DP2 program, which is restricted to ESIs who are already independent.)

The next due date for the NIAID New Innovator Award (DP2) program (PAR-23-198) is October 11, 2024.

For all applicants:

• applicants must have a research or clinical doctorate (including PhD, MD, DO, DC, ND, DDS, DVM, ScD, DNS, PharmD, or equivalent doctoral degree), or a combined research and clinical doctoral degree.
• both U.S. and non-U.S. citizens may apply.
• $300K in direct costs per year for up to five years may be requested.
• applicants must have Early Stage Investigator status.

For newly independent applicants:

• the applicant must be within the first year of a faculty position or equivalent at a U.S. based institution at the time of application submission.

For postdoctoral and other non-independent applicants:

• if selected for award, applicants must transition to an independent faculty position or equivalent at a U.S.-based institution within one year in order to activate the award.

Learn more from the website and PAR.

Interest forms due April 12 for 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.

Apply for the Gilead Sciences Research Scholars Program

The Research Scholars Program supports innovative research from emerging investigators around the world to incorporate new perspectives in our pursuit of scientific understanding and progress. We believe that new, diverse voices and research topics are needed to advance scientific knowledge in areas of unmet medical need and create a healthier world. The program is designed to support any innovative basic, clinical, behavioral, epidemiological, implementation science and community-based participatory scientific research related to HIV.

The HIV program provides a minimum of 4 awards. Each award is funded up to $180,000 USD for two years, to be paid in annual.

Applications will be reviewed and selected by an independent Scientific Review Committee comprised of internationally recognized experts in basic and clinical research in the field of HIV. Gilead’s Research Scholars Program is committed to building a more diverse and inclusive scientific community.

Applicants must meet the following criteria:

• Hold an MD, DO, PhD, or equivalent degree at time of award
• Received your initial faculty appointment within the last 5 years at the time of application
• Have a strong career interest in HIV
• Have a research mentor with extensive experience in their field (co-mentorship is accepted)
• Be able to devote approximately 50% of professional time to research
• Be able to complete the proposed research within the 2-year award period

Q&A Webinar with Scientific Review Committee: June 6, 2024, 12-1 PM Eastern

Application Deadline: July 8, 2024

Learn more and apply.

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