March 19, 2025

Researchers present the latest scientific discoveries in HIV research at CROI 2025

Researchers from the US and Kenya at CROI 2025.

Global WACh researchers and collaborators participated in this year’s Conference on Retroviruses and Opportunistic Infections (CROI), held from March 9th-12th in San Francisco, CA. They shared the latest discoveries in the HIV and Co-Infectious Through the Lifecycle research portfolio related to health outcomes among children exposed to HIV and ART in utero, HIV acquisition and prevention during pregnancy and breastfeeding, and preventative therapies to treat tuberculosis among people living with HIV.

 

Dr. Irene Njuguna presenting at CROI 2025 on March 10th.

Dr. Irene Njuguna, researcher with appointments at Global WACh and Kenyatta National Hospital, presented a symposia talk titled, “HIV Care Continuum in Children: successes, gaps, and the future” in the “Filling the Gaps: Challenges and Opportunities in the Care of Children and Youth With Perinatal HIV” symposium.  The talk highlighted evidence-based opportunities for intervention to improve HIV testing, treatment initiation and viral suppression among children living with HIV and summarized key research gaps.

 

Dr. John Kinuthia presenting at CROI 2025 on March 11th.

Dr. John Kinuthia, obstetrician gynecologist and Head of Research and Programs at Kenyatta National Hospital, gave a plenary talk titled, “HIV in Pregnancy and Breastfeeding.” The talk highlighted significant progress in accelerating PrEP treatment to pregnant and breastfeeding women, including contribution from GWACh PrEP work in Kenya, and evidence-based models to improve uptake.

Both talks highlighted the significant contribution of PEPFAR in accelerating access to HIV care in low resource settings.

Eight poster abstracts developed by our researchers and collaborators are listed below. Click on the titles to learn about the projects and findings. Global WACh is honored to have participated this year to share our findings, and our team looks forward to next year’s conference.

Title	Presenting Author	Authors
Comparing Telomere Length Between Children Who Were and Were Not Exposed to HIV in Kenya	Jillian Neary University of Washington	Jillian Neary, Irene Njuguna, Tiffany Pan, Daniel Matemo, Fiona McBride, Alvin Onyango, Maureen King’e, Prestone O. Owiti, Celestine Adogo, Dalton Wamalwa, Dan T. A. Eisenberg, Grace John-Stewart
HIV Exposure Does Not Affect Cytomegalovirus Acquisition Risk in a Setting of Optimized Maternal ART	Emily Begnel University of Washington	Emily R. Begnel, Mi-Suk Kang Dufour, Kerusha Govender, Jing Hu, Elisabeth McClymont, Ednah Ojee, Prestone Owiti, Judith Adhiambo, Eliza Mabele, Bhavna H. Chohan, Dara A. Lehman, John Kinuthia, Dalton Wamalwa, Soren Gantt, Jennifer Slyker
HIV Exposure Affects Gut Virome Richness but Not Diversity Among Kenyan Infants	Emily Begnel University of Washington	Emily R. Begnel, Rabia Maqsood, LaRinda A. Holland, Ednah Ojee, Prestone Owiti, Judith Adhiambo, Eliza Mabele, Soren Gantt, Bhavna H. Chohan, John Kinuthia, Dalton Wamalwa, Efrem S. Lim, Dara A. Lehman, Jennifer Slyker
Inflammatory Cytokines in ART-Naive Kenyan Children Diagnosed With HIV at Hospital Admission	Emily Begnel University of Washington	Lasata Shrestha, Irene Njuguna, Elizabeth M. Obimbo, Lisa Marie Cranmer, Emily R. Begnel, Daisy Chebet, Judith Adhiambo, Kenneth A. Tapia, Barbra Richardson, Hellen M. Okinyi, Cheryl Day, Grace John-Stewart, Dalton Wamalwa, Jennifer Slyker
Impact of Offering PrEP Choice on HIV Incidence in High-Risk Pregnant Women in Kenya	Tessa Concepcion University of Washington	Tessa Concepcion, John Kinuthia, Felix Abuna, Eunita Akim, Lauren A. Gomez, Emma Mukenyi, Nancy Ngumbau, Jerusha Mogaka, Ben Ochieng, Monisha Sharma, Grace John-Stewart, Jillian Pintye
Prenatal PrEP Exposure and Language Development Among Children at 5 Years	Laurén Goméz University of Washington	Laurén A. Goméz, John Kinuthia, Felix Abuna, Sarah Benki, Mary Marwa, Salphine Watoyi, Bilhah Aomo, Nancy Ngumbau, Ben Ochieng, Anna Larsen, Joshua Stern, Barbra Richardson, Grace John-Stewart, Jillian Pintye
STI Testing Is Associated With Lower PrEP Discontinuation Among Women Initiating PrEP in Pregnancy	Jerusha Mogaka University of Washington	Jerusha Mogaka, Felix Abuna, Eunita Akim, John Kinuthia, Lauren A. Gomez, Mary Marwa, Chelsea Morroni, Aamirah Mussa, Nancy Ngumbau, Celestine Adogo, Peter Okoth, Salphine Watoyi, Barbra Richardson, Grace John-Stewart, Jillian Pintye
Weekly Rifapentine and Isoniazid (3HP) vs Isoniazid Preventive Therapy (6H) Among People With HIV	Dickens Onyango Kisumu County Department of Health	Dickens Onyango, Jerphason Mecha, Lilian N. Njagi, Samson Aoro, John Kinuthia, Grace John-Stewart, Sylvia LaCourse