580 California St., Suite 400
San Francisco, CA, 94104
Key research themes
1. How effective and safe are intravaginal rings delivering antiretrovirals and contraceptives for biomedical HIV prevention and multipurpose protection?
This research theme investigates the development, clinical testing, and user acceptability of intravaginal rings (IVRs) that deliver antiretroviral drugs for HIV prevention, often in combination with contraceptives (multipurpose prevention technologies, MPTs). IVRs offer sustained, user-controlled, discreet delivery methods that can improve adherence compared to daily or coitally-dependent products. Research focuses on assessing efficacy in reducing HIV incidence, safety profiles, drug release properties, and participant experiences to optimize design and adherence.
Key finding: This large phase 3 randomized controlled trial demonstrated that monthly use of a silicone vaginal ring containing 25 mg dapivirine resulted in a 27% reduction in HIV-1 seroconversion compared to placebo, with higher efficacy... Read more
Key finding: This preclinical development work introduced a core-matrix MPT intravaginal ring capable of delivering multiple active pharmaceutical ingredients (MIV-150, zinc acetate, carrageenan, and levonorgestrel) for simultaneous... Read more
Key finding: This Phase 1 trial with low-risk U.S. women assessed acceptability and adherence to a 3-month vaginal ring releasing dapivirine and levonorgestrel used either continuously or cyclically. Although participants endorsed the... Read more
Key finding: Follow-up on participants who seroconverted while using the dapivirine vaginal ring showed no negative impact on clinical outcomes or antiretroviral treatment response compared to placebo. Resistance-associated mutations were... Read more
2. What novel nanotechnology and microfluidic-based platforms have been developed for point-of-care HIV molecular diagnostics and targeting HIV reservoirs?
This theme focuses on the development of advanced nanotechnologies and integrated microfluidic devices that enable rapid, sensitive, and low-cost detection of HIV viral nucleic acids at the point of care, particularly in resource-limited settings. Additionally, it encompasses innovative nanoformulations targeting latent HIV reservoirs unreachable by conventional antiretroviral therapy (ART). Research aims at improving diagnostic sensitivity (including early infant diagnosis), treatment monitoring, and ultimately, eradication of HIV reservoirs.
Key finding: This review highlights recent advancements in microfluidic 'lab-on-a-chip' platforms integrating sample preparation, isothermal nucleic acid amplification, and detection, offering inexpensive, rapid, and sensitive HIV... Read more
Key finding: The study surveys diverse nanomaterial-based biosensing approaches employing electrochemical, optical, and field-effect transistor principles for HIV detection. These nanosensors leverage gold nanoparticles, quantum dots,... Read more
3. How are antibody-mediated prevention strategies and biomarkers advancing towards effective HIV vaccine and passive immunization trials?
This area addresses the progress in antibody-mediated HIV prevention (AMP), focusing on how broadly neutralizing antibodies (bnAbs) and associated biomarkers help predict efficacy against HIV acquisition. It covers analyses of serum neutralization titers integrating bnAb concentration and virus sensitivity, enabling rational design and assessment of bnAb regimens and informing vaccine strategies aimed at inducing similar protective responses.
Key finding: Using data from AMP trials, this study established that the predicted serum neutralization 80% inhibitory dilution titer (PT80), which combines bnAb serum concentration and virus-specific neutralization potency, correlates... Read more
4. What are the emerging biomedical and biotechnological therapeutic approaches aiming to achieve HIV functional or sterilizing cure?
This research theme explores cutting-edge biotechnologies including gene editing, RNA interference, stem cell therapies, and therapeutic vaccines designed to eradicate or control HIV reservoirs. The aim is to overcome limitations of lifelong antiretroviral therapy by either sterilizing cure (complete elimination of replication-competent virus) or functional cure (durable viral control without treatment). The theme also reviews challenges in reservoir targeting, delivery systems, and immunotherapeutic strategies.
Key finding: The review synthesizes recent progress in genome editing tools (ZFN, TALENs, CRISPR-Cas9) targeting latent proviruses, gene therapy to disrupt HIV entry receptors (e.g., CCR5), and immunotherapeutic approaches for inducing... Read more
Key finding: This article reviews biotechnological advances including stem cell transplantation with CCR5 Δ32 mutation, zinc finger nuclease-mediated CCR5 disruption, RNA interference strategies, and CRISPR/Cas9-mediated genome editing as... Read more