This article has been reposted from UNC’s Institute of Global Health and Infectious Disease website. To see the full article, please click here.   1) What is CFAR? Swanstrom: “UNC CFAR is one of 19 NIH Centers for AIDS Research (CFAR) programs across the US that promote high quality AIDS research projects, providing administrative and shared support. It enhances and coordinates expertise, resources, and services, not otherwise readily obtained through more traditional funding mechanisms. “Comprising UNC, the RTI and FHI 360, the consortium significantly adds to the breadth of HIV research. RTI is focused on both contract and grant-funded research, largely domestic but expanding into international work. FHI 360 has almost an exclusively international contract and research portfolio, along with an international service mission largely supported by USAID and charitable foundations. The complementary strengths of these institutions–combined with UNC’s strengths as a major research university with five health affairs schools: Medicine, Public Health,

The Davidson Amendment to defund HOPWA was defeated 282-144 in Wednesday night’s vote. This is a significant win and demonstrates the power of our community.  HOPWA, or Housing Opportunities for Persons With AIDS program, helps over 50,000 households secure housing and supports more than 100,000 more with essential services. Defeating the Davidson Amendment means we’ve helped to safeguard this lifeline, and prevented thousands of people living with HIV from facing houselessness.  While this initial victory was pivotal, the fight for adequate HIV funding (including increased funds for HOPWA) continues. This vote showed that there were 144 members of Congress who did not and do not see the vital importance of programs like HOPWA. We must keep the momentum going and continue to reach out to representatives and tell them the life-saving nature of these services. Let’s take a moment to celebrate this success and the power of solidarity, while staying

Under the leadership of Mina Hosseinipour, MD, MPH, the NIH’s National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (NICHD), has funded the project “Preventing Infant Infections with Implementation Science in Malawi.” (PRI3SM). The program, in partnership with the Republic of Malawi’s Ministry of Health, comprises three studies to address gaps in prevention services, striving for the elimination of vertical transmission of HIV, aligned with an integrated training framework that highlights ‘homegrown’ early investigators as leaders of the projects. UNC CFAR Developmental awardee, Maganizo Chagomerana, MS, Ph.D., is among UNC-Project Malawian faculty in leadership on the project (L-R) Tisungane Mvalo, MD; Michael Herce, MD, MSc; Agatha Bula, PhD, MPH, RNM; Maganizo Chagomerana, PhD; Friday Saidi, MD; Mina Hosseinipour, MD, MPH; Sarah Rutstein, MD, PhD; Charity Nakanga, MBBS, MSc; and Lameck Chinula, MD. UNC-Project Malawian faculty in leadership roles include Friday Saidi, MD (OB/GYN), Lameck Chinula, MD (OB/GYN), Tisungane Mvalo, MD (Pediatrics), Mitch Matoga, MBBS, PhD candidate (Implementation Science),

UNC School of Medicine researchers Angela Wahl, PhD, Balfour Sartor MD, J. Victor Garcia, PhD, and colleagues created a germ-free mouse model to evaluate the role of the microbiome in the infection, replication, and pathogenesis of HIV and Epstein-Barr virus, the virus that can cause mononucleosis and other serious diseases. Recent research has shown that the bacteria and other microbes in our gut play a supporting role in immunity, metabolism, digestion, and the fight against “bad bacteria” that try to invade our bodies. However, new research published in Nature Biotechnology by Angela Wahl, PhD, Balfour Sartor, MD, J. Victor Garcia, PhD, and UNC School of Medicine colleagues, has revealed that the microbiome may not always be protective against human pathogens. Angela Wahl, PhD Using a first-of-its-kind precision animal model with no microbiome (germ-free), researchers have shown that the microbiome has a significant impact on the acquisition of Epstein-Barr virus (EBV)

The 7.5-million grant from the NIH National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases will help researchers pinpoint specific factors that lead to a better immune response through HIV vaccination. Kristina de Paris, PhD, Associate Director, UNC CFAR’s HIV/STD Core, and professor in the Department of Microbiology and Immunology and colleagues were awarded a grant for their project entitled “Determinants of HIV broadly-neutralizing antibody precursor induction in infants. The grant, sponsored by the NIH National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID), will provide them with $7.5 million in funding over the next five years. Using the grant, the research team will study changes in the infant rhesus macaque’s antibody response after receiving different HIV vaccine components called adjuvants. They will also be studying the interactions between host immunity and naturally occurring bacteria in the microbiome, in response to vaccination. “Our goal is to identify innate and microbial factors that impact B

UNC CFAR was well presented at the 2023 HPTN Annual Meeting! UNC CFAR’s Associate Director, the HIV Prevention Trials Network (HPTN’s) Principle Investigator Myron Cohen, and UNC CFAR’s Clinical Core Director Joseph Eron provided key leadership roles during the 2023 HPTN Annual Meeting in Washington DC. The week-long event gathered more than 800 registered in-person and virtual attendees to celebrate the progress and consider future research to reduce the acquisition and transmission of HIV. The HPTN Annual Meeting brought together hundreds of researchers, collaborators, community representatives, and government health officials to engage in meaningful discussions regarding the Network’s scientific agenda and current and planned HIV prevention research studies. The HPTN Community Working Group weekend sessions featured best practices for community engagement, community advisory board involvement, and study participant recruitment and retention. The plenary sessions at the meeting covered a variety of topics, including: Biomedical agents for HIV prevention Sexually transmitted infection (STI) prevention among communities