searcHIV
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searcHIV is a multi-site, multi-disciplinary working group focusing on investigating the biosocial implications of curing HIV infection. mission of searcHIV is Develop a theoretical framework about HIV cure research and early implementation using historical, conceptual and ethical data, Determine HIV cure stakeholder perspectives on cure research and early implementation.
searcHIV
4y ago
The searcHIV project was completed on May 31st, 2019. Even though the grant has ended, many of the ideas and activities will move forward. We started this project with the intention of exploring HIV cure research in the United States, South Africa, and China. We used a wide variety of tools – ethical, anthropological, historical, sociological, and social media – to consider how ongoing HIV cure research may affect people living with HIV and the broader HIV movement. The project contributed to the development of International AIDS Society HIV cure strategic priorities, generated many manuscrip ..read more
searcHIV
4y ago
By Alice Zhang
People living with HIV (PLHIV) often face stigma that is multilayered and multifactorial. The stigma that they face can be associated with misconceptions about HIV, but it can also be linked to marginalized behaviors and identities. For men who have sex with men (MSM) who live with HIV, they can face a significant amount of stigma arising from their HIV status and their sexual identity. MSM living with HIV in China still encounter a great deal of stigma and discrimination over these identities.
How might a HIV cure impact MSM and HIV stigma in China? A recent paper published by ..read more
searcHIV
4y ago
By: Meredith Blumberg
With some recent claims circulating in the media about HIV ‘cures,’ it is important to restate that, currently, there is no cure for HIV. With daily antiretroviral therapy (ART), the HIV virus can be effectively suppressed and people with HIV can live long and relatively normal lives. Furthermore, if a person takes medication daily and suppresses their HIV virus to below detectable levels, they can drastically reduce their chance of passing on HIV to their partners. Despite the effectiveness of ART medication, there still remains many negative aspects of living with HIV ..read more
searcHIV
4y ago
By: Meredith Blumberg
On September 25th, the 2017 PrEP Summit was held at the JB Duke Hotel in Durham, NC. The event was co-hosted by the UNC and Duke Centers for AIDS Research (CFARs).
This summit served as an overview of the progress that has been made in North Carolina on promoting and researching PrEP. PrEP is an HIV prevention medication that, when taken daily, can significantly lower a person’s risk of contracting HIV; it is 99% effective at preventing HIV transmission when used correctly and consistently. The FDA approved the first medication for PrEP in 2012; since that time t ..read more
searcHIV
4y ago
By Karine Dubé, David Palm and Jeff Taylor
Carl H. June, MD delivered the keynote speech at a University of Washington conference on engineered T cells for cancer and HIV. Dr. June is the Richard W. Vague Professor in Immunotherapy in the Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine at the Perelman School of Medicine, Director of the Center for Cellular Immunotherapies and Director of Translational Research in the Abramson Cancer Center, and Director of the Parker Institute for Cancer Immunotherapy, at the University of Pennsylvania. The annual Cell and Gene Therapy meeting, organi ..read more
searcHIV
4y ago
By Karine Dubé
The International AIDS Society (IAS) 2017 conference was held in Paris, France in July 2017. A HIV Cure and Cancer Forum took place before the conference to explore the interconnectedness of HIV and cancer in the hope of accelerating the pace of discovery in HIV cure research. Below are some highlights from the forum and the main IAS 2017 meeting.
Highlights from the 2017 HIV Cure and Cancer Forum:
Biomedical Sciences:
Monsef Benkirane, fro ..read more
searcHIV
4y ago
by Drs. Karine Dube and Joseph D. Tucker
How do key stakeholders understand the risks and benefits associated with participating in an HIV remission research study? This was the core question asked in our team’s research study published in PLoS ONE. Much of HIV remission research to date has focused biomedical science, and with good reason. There are still many biological hurdles to identifying an HIV cure.
At the same time, people living with HIV (PLWHIV) have an important place in the long journey towards an HIV cure. During the 1980s, PLWHIV were at the forefro ..read more
searcHIV
4y ago
9 HIV Cure Myths Debunked
by Allison Mathews, PhD
A few months ago, a man living with HIV reached out to the 2BeatHIV project to learn more about HIV and HIV cure research. The 2BeatHIV project is a research project at UNC Chapel Hill that uses crowdsourcing to identify new ideas from community members, organizations, and businesses about ways to engage the public about HIV cure research. He told us that he was scared to get on medication because of all of the myths he heard about what the medicine could do to him. Specifically, some people told him that a bee sting could cure HIV. Unfortunat ..read more
Announcing New HIV Grant – Acute Infection: Lived Experiences and Ethical Challenges in HIV Research
searcHIV
4y ago
by Adam Gilbertson, PhD
The searcHIV and 2beatHIV teams are proud to announce funding for a new R21 grant led by our own Stuart Rennie and Adam Gilbertson. The focus of this project will be the ethical issues concerning HIV treatment and cure studies that involve participants who have been diagnosed during acute infection. A better understanding of acute HIV infection is essential to public health, impacting both HIV transmission and potential advances in HIV cure clinical research. Acute HIV infection refers to the earliest stages of HIV infection, the short window of time right after a pers ..read more
searcHIV
4y ago
By Karine Dubé
Every year, before the Conference on Retroviruses and Opportunistic Infectious (CROI), HIV treatment and cure advocates gather to discuss updates around HIV cure science. Highlights from the CROI 2017 Community HIV Cure Research Workshop are below.
Maureen M. Goodenow, new Director of the Office of AIDS Research (OAR) at the National Institutes of Health (NIH), emphasized the need to ensure a robust and sustainable HIV cure research agenda. Dr. Goodenow underlined the role of community engagement in HIV cure research efforts, including valuing community perspectives arou ..read more