October 10-17, 2017
Four Signs That You Should Beware Quebecois Wildlife -- and Children ....
Kudos ...
... to the HIV Medicine Association (HIVMA) for showing excellent sense in their BoD selections.
HIVMA members are dyed in the wool Good Guys. Not surprisingly, our CFAR is well represented among HIVMA leaders.
For example, THREE CFARians were recently named to the HIVMA Board of Directors including incoming HIVMA Chair Melanie Thompson (past HIVMA Chairs have included Carlos del Rio and Wendy Armstrong), HIVMA representative to the Infectious Disease Society of America (IDSA), Igho Ofotokun, and CFAR Virology Core Co-Director Colleen Kelley.
Yay us!
... and to the Infectious Disease Society of America (IDSA) for having awarded a highly prestigious IDSA Society Citation to Wendy Armstrong.
First awarded in 1977, the IDSA Citation is "given in recognition of exemplary contribution to IDSA, an outstanding discovery in the field of infectious diseases, or a lifetime of outstanding achievement."
As outlined by the IDSA, Wendy's award was made because she "has tirelessly spearheaded multiple initiatives for IDSA and HIVMA, including: improving fellowship education, assessing and enhancing the current workforce, and growing the specialty. A past chair of the IDSA Training Program Directors Committee, she co-authored a national, cross-sectional study identifying important factors influencing residents' choice of specialty that has provided critical insights and laid the foundation for future work by the Society."
Read More About It
In Other News ...
... to
Eugene Huang (10/10) and
Kirk Elifson (10/12)
May your next year be Hurricane-free.
Russians are among the highest consumers of alcohol in the world, drinking an average of 15.1 liters (almost 4 gallons) per person, per year. (By comparison, the WHO estimates that people in the USA drink an average of 2.4 gallons/person/year). Unfortunately, Russians -- particularly Russian women -- are also experiencing an emerging epidemic of Hepatitis C infection (HCV) to go along with an already established HIV epidemic. What happens when HIV, HCV, and alcohol mix? Nothing good.
Fortunately, Ralph DiClemente has new R01 funding from NIH/NIAID (R01AA025882) to adapt, implement, and evaluate a computer-based alcohol reduction intervention for alcohol-using HIV/HCV+ Russian women in clinical care. If the project is successful, the intervention will slow both HIV and HCV disease progression while reducing alcohol use in a highly vulnerable population.
Although influenza is one of the most easily prevented miseries a person with HIV can get, needle phobic people with HIV are understandably tempted to skip their annual flu shot. Nadine Rouphael has good news for the future about that.
With funding from NIH (U01EB012495), Nadine served as Emory site PI on a recently completed a Phase I trial of "microneedle" influenza vaccine patches that can be applied to your hand (see photo). Findings from the trial showed that participants, and their immune systems, really love the patch: they are painless, can be self-administered, and look to be highly effective in generating immunity to influenza. Up with microneedles! Down with Flu!
Read More About It
Bulletin Board...
HIV Research Awardees sought: Network News
Descriptions of newly funded HIV research that appear in Network News are based on a periodic search of the NIH RePORTer. It is not a perfect system. Awards get missed.
If you are the PI of an HIV-related award that is funded by an organization other than NIH or you are not the contact PI of a multi-PI NIH award, PLEASE write the Network News Editor (Kimbi Hagen) at cfar@emory.edu to let us know about your HIV funding!
Government News...
At the end of August NIH posted a policy (NOT-OD-17-101) describing current plans for the Next Generation Researchers Initiative that is designed to help alleviate what has become an increasingly brutal competition for federal funding by all but the most well-established scientists.
What some investigators may not realize is that the new Policy not only applies to "Early Stage Investigators" (ESI), it also applies to "Early Established Investigators" (EEI), thereby broadening the scope of scientists for whom the Policy is designed to advantage.
Are you one of these? ...
- Early Stage Investigator:
- You finished school or your post-grad clinical training within the past 10 years AND you have not been the PI on an R01-equivalent (i.e. an 'independent investigator' level) award.
- Early Established Investigator:
- You are within 10 years of receiving your first R01 equivalent award as an ESI AND you are at risk for losing all your NIH funding or have only one active NIH award.
If you said yes to either of the above, Read the Notice, it applies to you.
Focus On...
Bridging the Sciences
On October 26th CFAR's HIV Cure Scientific Working Group and France-Atlanta will co-sponsor, "Bridging the Sciences: Advances in HIV, Viral Hepatitis and Emerging Viruses".
Registration is $10 (students/post-docs with ID) or $50 (others). On a first-come, first-serve basis, CFAR will subsidize the registration fee for Emory and Morehouse School of Medicine attendees.
Click here to register your interest in attending the conference.
(Do this even if you have already registered to attend)
The one day high-level science symposium talking place at the Emory Conference Center will feature outstanding French and American researchers and key opinion leaders to discuss overarching themes in human viral infections. Interactive sessions will present basic and clinic research focusing on advances in virology, therapeutic drug development and practical considerations for management of clinically relevant viruses including HIV, HBV and HCV, as well as other emerging viruses including Zika, Ebola, Dengue, and Chikungunya. Participants will be updated on key features of these human viral infections, their epidemiology, pathophysiology, and virology, as well as on emerging preventive and therapeutic strategies.
• Symposium Agenda
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