Awards
November 27, 2024
Researchers awarded new grant to test implementation strategies to scale-up transitional care among youth living with HIV in Kenya
Categories: Awards, HIV and Co-Infections, Research
As more children and adolescents living with HIV survive into adulthood, maintaining successful and uninterrupted transitions into adult HIV care clinics has become a priority in the HIV/AIDS research community. Adolescents having “grown up” under pediatric HIV care may experience deep loss of their support system and feel less prepared to assume responsibility for themselves in adult care. The transition is a vulnerable point when adolescents are at risk of disengagement from HIV care altogether. It is critical that they maintain uninterrupted HIV care to stay healthy, maintain low viral load, and reduce further transmission.
Since 2016, Global WACh investigators Drs. Irene Njuguna, Kristin Beima-Sofie, Grace John-Stewart, and Dalton Wamalwa have led efforts to engage the Ministry of Health and local communities in Kenya in the development of the Adolescent Transition Package (ATP), a healthcare worker toolkit that includes structured educational materials and tracking tools to facilitate the transition process. (more…)
November 26, 2024
Dr. Arianna Means awarded grant to develop a researcher-friendly tool to improve translating evidence into practice
Categories: Awards, Implementation Science, Research
It is estimated that it takes an average of 17 years for 14% of clinical research to translate into practice. Many evidence-based interventions (EBIs), including biomedical interventions or practices that have demonstrated ability to improve health behaviors, health outcomes, or health-related environments, fail to translate into policy and practice.
There are several cultural, organizational, political and operational barriers that prevent effective uptake of EBIs. There may be serious constraints in policymakers’ preferences and priorities, the ability to supply the workforce training needed, and communication gaps between researchers and policymakers, among many other factors.
Dr. Arianna Means, Assistant Professor in UW Global Health, who is a trained epidemiologist and implementation scientist, is launching a new project in early 2025 to help close the gap between what scientists know can optimize health and what they do in practice (often referred to as “the know-do gap”) by identifying and addressing the barriers that slow or halt the uptake of EBIs. (more…)
October 7, 2024
Laurén Gómez awarded IAS New Investigator Award for research identifying motivators of initiating PrEP in pregnancy
Categories: Awards, HIV and Co-Infections, PrEP, Research
Congratulations to Laurén Gómez, Senior Research Coordinator with Global WACh and current PhD student in UW Epidemiology, for receiving the International AIDS Society’s (IAS) New Investigator Award in PrEP and ARV-based prevention research for the abstract, “Motivations of pregnant women initiating PrEP within antenatal care enrolled in a randomized trial to improve adherence: the mWACh-PrEP study.”
The award recognized six early-career investigators who presented top-rated work at HIVR4P, the 5th HIV Research for Prevention Conference, held from October 6-10, 2024 in Lima, Peru and virtually. (more…)
Dr. John Kinuthia and Julia Dettinger receive IAS award for high-impact paper on PrEP delivery during pregnancy
Categories: Awards, HIV and Co-Infections, Publication, Research
Congratulations to Dr. John Kinuthia (Affiliate Associate Professor, UW Global Health; Head of Research and Programs, Kenyatta National Hospital) and Julia Dettinger (former Research Scientist with Global WACh) for receiving the Journal of the International AIDS Society’s (JIAS) HIV Prevention Impact Award for the co-authored article, “Risk-based versus universal PrEP delivery during pregnancy: a cluster randomized trial in Western Kenya from 2018 to 2019.”
The award was announced at HIVR4P, the 5th HIV Research for Prevention Conference, held from October 6-10, 2024 in Lima, Peru and virtually. (more…)
August 29, 2024
New study aims to evaluate a novel pediatric TB diagnostic tool and treatment response
Categories: Awards, HIV and Co-Infections, Research
Investigators Dr. Sylva LaCourse (UW), Dr. Tony Hu (Tulane University), and Dr. Vidalis Nduba (KEMRI CRDR)
A new five-year study titled “CRISPR-TB for pediatric TB diagnosis and treatment response” funded by the National Institutes of Health will support an evaluation of a CRISPR-based technology to target and detect Mycobacterium tuberculosis cell-free DNA (cfDNA). The study’s findings may provide a deeper understanding of its potential to diagnosis pediatric TB early and accurately and improve treatment responses. (more…)
August 27, 2024
New award will support building pre-award research administration capacity at Kenyatta National Hospital in Kenya
Credit: Karolina Kaboompics/Pexels
Congratulations to the research administrative team at Kenyatta National Hospital (KNH) and UW/Global WACh for receiving a National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID) G11 award to build pre-award grants management processes at KNH by leveraging an over 30 years long collaborative research partnership between KNH and UW. (more…)
August 23, 2024
Dr. Ruchi Tiwari receives NIH Postdoctoral Fellowship to study the association of maternal factors and child neurodevelopment in Kenya
Categories: Awards, Gut Health and Child Survival, Research
Congratulations to Dr. Ruchi Tiwari for receiving an NIH F32 Postdoctoral Fellowship Award that aims to enhance the research training of promising postdoctoral candidates who have the potential to become productive, independent investigators. This funding will allow her to continue training at Global WACh under the mentorship of Dr. Christine McGrath (Associate Professor, Global Health and Adjunct Associate Professor, Epidemiology) and faculty within the Gut Health and Child Survival scientific priority area.
Dr. Tiwari plays a leading role in pediatric studies on gut health and malnutrition in Kenya alongside investigators at the Kenya Medical Research Institute (KEMRI). These studies involve understanding the effects of breast-milk derived nutrition supplements (human milk oligosaccharides or HMOs) on infant health outcomes. She will leverage her skills to assess how maternal factors that can be changed or controlled (e.g. stress, infection, and inadequate nutrition during and after pregnancy) influence child neurodevelopment at 2 years of age, with an important focus on the difference in the composition of HMOs by those factors. (more…)
August 9, 2024
Researchers present the latest science at the International Workshop on Pediatric HIV and AIDS 2024 in Germany
Categories: Awards, HIV, mHealth, PrEP, Research
Global WACh researchers attended the 25th International AIDS Society Conference (AIDS 2024) held from July 22-26 in Munich, Germany. This year’s theme was “Put people first” — a call on the global HIV response to unite behind this simple principle and think of solutions from the point of view of those most affected. Researchers also attended the 16th International Workshop on HIV Pediatrics, a pre-conference event focused on the prevention and treatment of paediatric HIV infection with the overall objective to stimulate research that will advance prevention and treatment strategies for infants, children, and adolescents.
15 poster abstracts and one oral presentation from collaborative University of Washington and University of Nairobi/Kenyatta National Hospital studies featured the latest evidence related to health outcomes among children with different exposures to HIV, influential factors to early child neurodevelopment outcomes, key considerations for mobile reproductive health services for women living with HIV, implementation strategies for PrEP, and more. In addition to presenting research findings, some members received acclaimed awards at the conferences. (more…)
May 20, 2024
New grant supports scaling up integrated PrEP delivery to Kenyan pregnant and postpartum women
Categories: Awards, HIV, Implementation Science, Research
Pregnancy is a high risk time for acquiring HIV. PrEP is a safe and effective prevention strategy to reduce women’s risk of acquiring HIV in pregnancy and postpartum and consequently vertical HIV transmission, improved health outcomes for both mother and child. In Kenya, this daily oral medication is being delivered in some regions during these life stages integrated into maternal and child (MCH) clinics, but scale-up has been sub-optimal.
Researchers from Global WACh and Kenyatta National Hospital have co-led implementation science studies focused on delivering integrated PrEP in routine MCH care, testing strategies to optimize delivery in western Kenyan counties. These represented the first and largest projects to deliver PrEP integrated into MCH clinics. Integrated PrEP delivery is now ready for scale up more broadly, which will require new implementation strategies to facilitate scale up. (more…)
March 6, 2024
New study aims to promote perinatal mental health screening and reduce the burden of perinatal mood and anxiety disorders in Kenya
Categories: Awards, HIV, Mental Health, Research
Multiple Principal Investigators Drs. John Kinuthia, Amritha Bhat, and Keshet Ronen
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