Global WACh

PrEP


May 26, 2023

Global WACh participates in the DGH LAPIS Symposium

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On May 19th in the Hans Rosling Center, the Learning for Action in Policy Implementation and Health Systems (LAPIS) Initiative–a resource hub aiming to foster collaboration across the Department of Global Health and support the integration of health policy or health systems objectives into research grants and training–held its first event in the Global Health Systems and Policy Implementation Symposium Series.  The event included lightning talk sessions, poster abstract sessions, and opportunities for networking. Multiple centers, programs, and initiatives of the department, including Global WACh, participated in the symposium to showcase their efforts in health systems strengthening, policy implementation research, and education and training. (more…)


August 4, 2022

Laurén Gómez awarded young investigator prizes at the 2022 International AIDS Society Conference

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Laurén Gómez (second to right) stands with other winners selected for the IAS/MSD Prize for Research in HIV Prevention

 

At the 2022 International AIDS Society Conference, Laurén Gómez, a Research Coordinator with Global WACh, was selected as a winner of the Lange/van Tongeren Prize for Young Investigators (co-partnered with ANRS – France Recherche Nord & Sud Sida-HIV Hépatites) and the Prize for Research in HIV Prevention (co-partnered with MSD – Merck Sharpe & Dohme).

The young investigator awards support early career researchers who demonstrate innovation, originality, rationale and quality in the field of HIV research. The prizes are granted to the top-scoring abstract in each of the five tracks: Track A – Basic and translational research; Track B – Clinical research; Track C – Epidemiology and prevention research; Track D – Social and political research, law, policy and human rights; and Track E – Implementation research, economics, systems and synergies with other health and development sectors. The Prize for Research in HIV Prevention is given to the top-scoring abstracts with a focus on prevention research that addresses critical knowledge gaps and links new evidence to program priorities in the response to the HIV pandemic. Laurén received both awards for the Track C abstract titled, “Association of prenatal PrEP exposure with neurodevelopmental and growth outcomes beyond 24 months among Kenyan children.” (more…)


November 1, 2021

Global WACh Graduate Certificate Student Sarah Hicks helps facilitate a virtual workshop to identify best PrEP delivery approaches in maternal-child health clinics in Kenya

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For the required 90-hour Global WACh Certificate capstone, Sarah Hicks, a 2nd year student in the Department of Epidemiology, wanted to use the opportunity to join a HIV research team to understand what goes on “behind the scenes” of a large international study and to build on quantitative data management and processing skills. The PrEP Optimized for Mothers: Efficient PrEP Integration in MCH Clinics (PrEPARE) study, led by investigators Dr. Anjuli Wagner and John Kinuthia from the Department of Global Health, was a natural fit. PrEPARE seeks to identify ways to improve the efficiency of PrEP integration within maternal-child health (MCH) clinics in Kenya through stakeholder engagement, identifying challenges to implementation in the health system, and piloting and evaluating optimized MCH-PrEP approaches that decrease health care workers’ workload and enhance client experiences. (more…)


July 30, 2021

Researchers share latest science at 2021 International AIDS Society Conference

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The International AIDS Society (IAS) Conference is the world’s most influential conference on HIV Science. This biennial conference presents the critical advances in basic, clinical and operational research that moves science into policy and practice.  See a round-up of seven excellent abstracts by Global WACh researchers that were featured at this year’s conference!

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February 23, 2021

Researchers plan to present latest HIV science at virtual CROI 2021

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The Conference on Retroviral Opportunistic Infections (CROI) is an annual forum for scientists and clinical investigators to present, discuss, and critique their investigations into the epidemiology and biology of human retroviruses and associated diseases.  Every year, many Global WACh researchers present their study findings, contributing to the accelerating global progress in HIV and AIDS research.

This year, CROI will be held online from March 6-10, 2021.  We have compiled a list of Science Spotlight presentations and an oral symposia presentation that our researchers are presenting.  See their presentations at the conference and visit our blog next month when we feature the full abstract summaries and authors! (more…)


October 19, 2020

Researchers receive new award for pregnancy and breastfeeding PrEP adherence mHealth intervention

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Congratulations to Dr. John Kinuthia (Affiliated Associate Professor, UW Global Health; Obstetrician Gynecologist, Kenyatta National Hospital) and Dr. Jillian Pintye (Assistant Professor, UW School of Nursing) for receiving a National Institute of Health R01 award!  They are Multiple Principal Investigators of a new five-year randomized trial titled, “mWACh-PrEP: A SMS-based Support Intervention to Enhance PrEP Adherence during Pregnancy and Breastfeeding,” to evaluate the effects of a tailored two-way SMS communication tool on PrEP adherence among Kenyan women during the pregnancy and postpartum periods, when the risk of acquiring HIV is high. (more…)


December 6, 2019

Research Assistant, Anna Larsen, awarded grants to guide journey towards an independent maternal-child HIV research career

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Anna Larsen (second right) with PrIMA Kenya-based study staff members (left to right): Joseph Sila (Data manager), Daniel Odinga (Laboratory Manager), Salphine Watoyi (Data Manager), Marwa Motongori (Data Manager), and Harison Lagat (Study Coordinator)

Anna Larsen, second year PhD student in the Department of Epidemiology and Global WACh research assistant, is the recipient of two notable funding awards that will shape her academic journey towards an independent research career in maternal-child HIV.  She is one of 11 student awardees of the Department of Global Health’s 2019 Thomas Francis Jr. Fellowship and one of an even more limited group of awardees of the National Institute of Health’s (NIH) prestigious F31 predoctoral training fellowship to support her dissertation research.  The awards provide funding support for fieldwork activities and dedicated supervised research training. (more…)


November 25, 2019

New NIH study will test strategies to improve PrEP delivery to women receiving MCH services in Western Kenya

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Left to right: Dr. Grace John-Stewart, Dr. Pamela Kohler, Dr. Anjuli Wagner, Dr. John Kinuthia

In February 2020, Global WACh researchers of ongoing PrEP implementation studies are launching a new five-year study titled, “PrEP in pregnancy, accelerating reach and efficiency (PrEPARE).”  PrEPARE is funded through a National Institute of Health supplement to the AGYW study, led by Global WACh Director, Dr. Grace John-Stewart and Dr. Pamela Kohler (Global Health, Psychosocial and Community Health) to evaluate PrEP adherence among adolescent girls and young women, and a K01 grant awarded to Dr. Anjuli Wagner (Acting Assistant Professor, Global Health).

Principal investigators, Drs. John-Stewart, Kohler, Wagner, and Dr. John Kinuthia (Kenyatta National Hospital, Nairobi, Kenya) will lead the PrEPARE study team that includes Global WACh researchers, Dr. Jillian Pintye (School of Nursing), Dr. Kristin Beima-Sofie (Global Health), Julia Dettinger (Global Health) and Laurén Gomez (Global Health).

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October 18, 2019

Dr. Jillian Pintye awarded grant to evaluate safety of infant PrEP exposure for long-term health outcomes

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Dr. Jillian Pintye (Assistant Professor, School of Nursing) received a National Institutes for Health R01 award to lead a new study titled, “Evaluating Infant PrEP Exposure During Pregnancy and Breastfeeding.”

As the title suggests, Dr. Pintye and collaborators from Global WACh, International Clinical Research Center, Kenyatta National Hospital, and the University of California, San Francisco, will measure levels of pre- and postnatal pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) exposure and its impact on infant health outcomes.  There has not yet been a large-scale safety evaluation of prenatal PrEP use and long-term outcomes beyond 12 months—a feat this new study hopes to achieve.
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