Low Income Health Program Stakeholder Advisory Committee News

 

Application deadline extended to Friday, April 20th

The California Department of Public Health, Office of AIDS, at the request of HIV advocates and the California legislature, invites stakeholders to apply for membership in a Low Income Health Program (LIHP) Stakeholder Advisory Committee.

Click here for additional details.

Click here for application form and instructions.

Questions?  Please email any questions and completed applications to Daniel Coronado.

The “Basic Research on HIV Persistence” (R01) PA has been renewed and was published this morning. A Parallel FOA utilizing the R21 mechanism was also published under the same title:

(R01)  http://grants.nih.gov/grants/guide/pa-files/PA-12-161.html

(R21) http://grants.nih.gov/grants/guide/pa-files/PA-12-162.html

About HIV RSVP

HIV RSVP is a program matching interested individuals in Los Angeles County with HIV related research at UCLA. We want everyone in Los Angeles who is interested in clinical trials to be able to find one that fits their needs.

What is HIV RSVP?

RSVP stands for Research Study Volunteer Project. It is a UCLA program that matches volunteers with studies that may be of interest to them and that they might be eligible for. To do this, a volunteer must enroll in the RSVP program and once registered, RSVP can match the person with studies based on the answers they give in the registration process.

Joining RSVP does not automatically enter you into any research studies. Once you sign up for RSVP, you will be contacted by RSVP staff any time you might be eligible for a study. We will give you the contact information for that study and it will always be your choice to contact the research team or not to see if you are eligible or not through a more thorough screening.

CLICK HERE to learn more about RSVP.

UCLA was the site of the first reported cases of AIDS in June 1981, and currently has some of the most cutting-edge research on the planet including HIV gene therapy, metabolic disorder therapies, HIV-related cancers and vaccine research.

 

 

The UCLA HIV Research Study Volunteer Project (RSVP) is like a dating site for research study volunteers and investigators, finding their perfect matches.

 

RSVP is open to men, women, transgender men, and transgender women over the age of 18 who are HIV positive or HIV negative. Our studies range from focus groups and surveys to gene and stem cell therapies and everything in-between.

 

RSVP was just launched in March 2012 and we are looking for a logo design for our program. Ideally, the colors of the logo are blue and gold (go Bruins!!!) but can be shown in black and white if needed.  Help us find a great logo and the prize-winning entry receives a t-shirt with your design and a $100 Amazon gift card!

 

Designs should be submitted to Faith Landsman, Director of RSVP, by midnight, April 30, 2012. For more information go to http://www.hivrsvp.ucla.edu/public/pages/design.

The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation is inviting innovators to apply for two grant opportunities:

1.        Grand Challenges Explorations, an initiative to encourage innovative and unconventional global health and development solutions, is now accepting grant proposals for its latest application round. Applicants can be at any experience level; in any discipline; and from any organization, including colleges and universities, government laboratories, research institutions, non-profit organizations and for profit companies.

 

Proposals are being accepted online until May 15, 2012 on the following topics:

o         New Approaches for the Interrogation of Anti-malarial Compounds

o         Aid is Working. Tell the World

o         Design New Approaches to Optimize Immunization Systems

o         Explore New Solutions in Global Health Priority Areas

o         Protect Crop Plants from Biotic Stresses From Field to Market

Initial grants will be US $100,000 each, and projects showing promise will have the opportunity to receive additional funding of up to US $1 million. Full descriptions of the new topics and application instructions are available at: www.grandchallenges.org/explorations.

 

If you have questions regarding this grant opportunity, please email us at GCEHelp@gatesfoundation.org.

2.       The HIV Diagnostics team is now accepting Letters of Inquiry for the identification of novel biomarkers that can be used effectively to measure HIV incidence at the population level. We are looking for biomarkers that could be used alone or in combination, and that are at the initial development stage. Applicants can be at any experience level; in any discipline; and from any organization, including colleges and universities, government laboratories, research institutions, non-profit organizations and for profit companies.

 

 

Proposals are being accepted online until Friday, May 18, 2012 10:00 AM Pacific Standard Time. Individual grants will not exceed US $1 million. A full description of the new topic and application instructions are available at http://www.gatesfoundation.org/hivaids/Pages/loi-biomarkers-hiv-incidence-measurement.aspx .

 

If you have questions regarding this grant opportunity please email us at HIVDiagnostics@gatesfoundation.org.

 

We are looking forward to receiving innovative ideas from around the world and from all disciplines. If you have a great idea, please apply. If you know someone else who may have a great idea, please forward this message.

 

Thank you for your commitment to solving the world’s greatest health and development challenges.

 

 

Guided by the belief that every life has equal value, the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation works to help all people lead healthy, productive lives. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

By Michael Carter as seen on AIDSmap.com

 

People with HIV reduce their overall risk of tuberculosis (TB) by starting antiretroviral therapy, an international team of investigators report in the online edition of Clinical Infectious Diseases. Despite this, the risk of the disease increased in the first three months of HIV treatment, especially for older people and those with a low CD4 cell count. For severely immunosuppressed people, the risk of TB remained increased in the longer term.

“Physicians should be aware of the potentially increased risk of developing tuberculosis after cART [combination antiretroviral therapy] initiation,” comment the investigators.

The study was conducted because of uncertainty about the level of protection which starting HIV therapy provides against TB.

The immune restoration which accompanies the initiation of antiretroviral treatment should offer protection against the infection. However, it can also be associated with a short-term risk of what is called immune reconstitution inflammatory syndrome (IRIS). This could be because of the paradoxical worsening of previously treated TB, or the ‘unmasking’ of sub-clinical disease. The risk of IRIS is greatest during the first three months of HIV therapy.

Investigators from Europe and the US therefore designed a study involving approximately 65,000 people who received HIV care between 1996 and 2007. All these participants were antiretroviral naive at baseline. The overall risk of TB was compared between individuals who started HIV therapy and those who did not. The risk of the disease was also calculated according to the time since HIV therapy was started and also according to risk factors such as CD4 cell count and age.

During a median of 28 months of follow-up, a total of 712 patients were diagnosed with TB. This provided an overall incidence of three cases per 100 person-years.

Overall, starting HIV therapy was associated with a substantial reduction in the risk of TB (HR = 0.56; 95% CI, 0.44-0.72), leading the investigators to comment: “This study shows a reduction of 44% in tuberculosis incidence among HIV-positive individuals who start cART in high income countries.”

However, incidence of TB differed according to a number of HIV-related and demographic characteristics.

It was highest among people with a CD4 cell count below 50 cells/mm³ (8.4 cases per 100 person-years) and lowest for those with a CD4 cell count above 500 cells/mm³ (2.1 cases per 100 person-years). This difference is explained by the much higher numerical incidence of TB at lower CD4 cell counts.

Incidence also differed according to HIV risk group. It was lowest among gay and other men who have sex with men (one case per 100 person-years), and highest in people who originated from sub-Saharan Africa (7.7 cases per 100 person-years).This difference is explained by the population burden of latent TB infection and by higher infection rates in sub-Saharan Africa.

Incidence of the infection was lower in younger people compared to older people (under 35 = 2.4 cases per 100 person-years vs over 50 = 4.8 cases per 100 person-years), due in part to a lower duration of potential exposure to TB among younger people,

“Impaired immunological responses to M. tuberculosis in people starting cART at very low CD4 cell counts and those above 50 years of age warrant further investigation,” comment the investigators.

Despite the overall reduction in the risk of TB associated with HIV therapy, the investigators found that people starting treatment actually had an increased risk of the disease during the first three months of treatment compared to those who remained antiretroviral naive (HR = 1.36; 95% CI, 0.98-1.89).

HIV therapy lasting longer than three months was associated with a 56% reduction in the risk of TB (HR = 0.44; 95% CI, 0.34-0.58).

“The epidemiological pattern suggests that unmasking IRIS may be playing a role,” write the authors.

But even after three months of therapy, people with a CD4 cell count below 50 cells/mm³ were still more likely to develop TB than those who had not started antiretroviral treatment (HR = 1.02; 95% CI, 0.44-2.36).

“These patients remain in a state of relevant immunodeficiency in spite of cART for longer periods and are therefore at higher risk of reactivating latent tuberculosis beyond 3 months after starting cART,” suggest the investigators. “Further follow-up of these cohorts will show whether the risk of tuberculosis does eventually drop with longer exposure to cART.”

The role of IRIS in TB risk was further suggested by the overall reduction in the incidence and risk of PCP (Pneumocystis jirovecii pneumonia) that accompanied the initiation of antiretroviral treatment in both the short and long term.

The authors conclude: “For cART to be useful in tuberculosis control, prompt HIV infection testing is needed so cART can be started when clinically indicated rather than at advanced immunodeficiency. Diagnosis and treatment of M. tuberculosis infection, as national and international guidelines recommend, should be reinforced. Even in countries with low tuberculosis transmission, intensified case finding remains essential.”

 

Reference

HIV Vaccine Study Offers Up Possible Antibody Protection Clues

Scientists continued to unravel clues as to why a combination of two preventive HIV vaccines—ALVAC HIV and AIDSVAX B/E—may have worked for some but not others in a large scale clinical trial reported in 2009. A new paper (see below) published online ahead of print in The New England Journal of Medicine (NEJM) suggests those who produced relatively high levels of a specific antibody after receiving the vaccinations in study RV 144 were less likely to become infected with HIV, compared with those who did not.

Click here to read the full AIDSmed.com article.

_______________________________________________________________

Immune-Correlates Analysis of an HIV-1 Vaccine Efficacy Trial

As seen in The New England Journal of Medicine 

BACKGROUND

In the RV144 trial, the estimated efficacy of a vaccine regimen against human immunodeficiency virus type 1 (HIV-1) was 31.2%. We performed a case–control analysis to identify antibody and cellular immune correlates of infection risk.

The Odyssey of Therapeutic

Vaccines for HIV

by Tim Horn at AIDSmeds.com

While gene therapies that render the immune system impervious to HIV and drugs that potentially purge the virus from resting CD4 cells continue to be watched closely by AIDS cure researchers and advocates, therapeutic vaccines may serve an important supporting role in these efforts, according to a commentarypublished by activist Richard Jefferys in the Spring 2012 TAGline newsletter.

“After a period in which enthusiasm regarding the prospects for therapeutic vaccines waned,” Jefferys writes, “the recent resurgence in interest in research aiming to cure HIV infection has offered new reasons to pursue their development.”

Notable therapeutic vaccines for the virus use HIV particles, sometimes paired with other viruses, or largely intact HIV, to jumpstart the immune system’s perceived ability to control viral replication in the body. Such vaccines have been conceptualized and explored since the mid-1980s. “But the first efforts toward this goal quickly mired therapeutic vaccine research in controversy,” Jefferys writes, “casting an initial pall across the field that was compounded by the failure of any candidate to show significant efficacy.”

Jefferys explains that therapeutic vaccines are now in their third—and potentially most critical—era of development, noting that the first two eras didn’t pan out for important reasons.

In the first era, dating back to the 1980s and early 1990s, therapeutic vaccine candidates of the day faced significant hurdles that were unknown at the time. For example, it was once assumed that HIV is mostly dormant during the asymptomatic and untreated years of infection and that CD4 cells lacked the ability to respond to HIV. Subesequent findings proving these hypotheses wrong, Jefferys writes, “seriously called into question the idea that adding more HIV antigens into the mix via therapeutic vaccination—when the virus itself was failing to induce protective immunity—would be beneficial.”

In the second era, with viral load technology and combination antiretroviral therapy (ART) widely available, therapeutic vaccination plans evolved. One approach was to bolster the immune response to HIV while study volunteers were keeping their viral loads undetectable using available ARVs, followed by treatment interruptions to test the immune system’s ability to control HIV replication in the absence of therapy.

 

Click here to read the full article at AIDSmed.com

 

 

 

 

 

 

Author: Jeannie Wraight 

as seen on HIVHaven.com

So you’d like to attend AIDS 2012 in Washington DC but you’re concerned it will be too expansive or you’d like to cut costs a bit? Before you write off the idea of attending this important conference or break open the piggy bank, read on and check out some of the cost saving measures that will make your dollars go further.

There are a lot of ways you can save money and still comfortably attend AIDS 2012.

Check back on HIV Haven as we’ll be looking for additional ways for you to save money. We’ll post them as they come up.

 

Fundraising and scholarships
The deadline for scholarship applications issued by the conference organizers, The International AIDS Society, has already passed. If you have applied for a scholarship, you will be notified, in early April of the scholarship boards’ decision.

Some AIDS organizations do offer full or partial scholarships to their clients, although in these tough economic times, they may be less obtainable then previous years. If you frequent a non governmental organization or AIDS service organizations, it does not hurt to ask if they have available scholarships or can contribute to your conference expenses.

You can also fundraise yourself. Chipin (www.chipin.com), is a safe, easy way to set up a fund that people can donate to. Send your chipin info along with a request for assistance to friends, family, co-workers and acquaintances, asking for small contributions. You can also post this information on your Facebook page or other social media venues. Ask local businesses to donate as well. You may find one wiling to sponsor you. In order to use Chipin, you must have a bank account as well as a paypal account.

Find other fundraising ideas on the internet. There are lots of sites that can give you tips and suggestions to raise funds. Among them are: http://www.fundraiser-ideas.net/There are many good ideas on this site. Click on the various links even if the titles don’t apply.

 

Hotel
Choosing a hotel can be the most important decision in cost cutting. When judging the price of a hotel, remember to take into account other associated costs that will add or subtract to your total budget.
For example, try to find a hotel that is on the AIDS 2012 website. http://www.aids2012.org/Default.aspx?pageId=319
These hotels offer shuttle service to and from the conference. There are various price levels based on distance and quality of the hotel. Since the shuttle is offered several times throughout the day, distance is less of an issue making hotels further away and cheaper, more acceptable. Always check out additional info on the hotel by going to their full website and reviewing hotel pictures and accommodation lists. Trip Advisors (www.tripadvisors.com) is a must to get a more accurate account of the type of overall experience you will have at a particular hotel.

When looking for the best hotel for you, enquire whether the hotel offers free breakfast. Many hotels and motels offer continental breakfast. This includes some or all of the following: coffee/tea, juice, toast, donuts and cereal. HIV conferences are exhausting, that extra energy boast can help you get through a hectic day.

Some hotels offer a full breakfast for as little as a dollar added on to each day you are booked as a guest. Reading the details on the hotel website can save you a great deal of money. Also make sure they have a coffee machine in the room if you start you’re day off with coffee or tea. If you like a lot of cream and/or sugar in your coffee or tea, ask at the front desk for more additional packets. They rarely provide enough. If you happen to run into the maid, you can ask her for additional supplies and they are usually happy to accommodate. This will save you the cost of your morning coffee/tea.

Hotels book quickly. I strongly suggest you reserve your room as soon as possible. The closer it gets to the time of the conference, the less options there will be in choosing a hotel. The hotels closest to the conference center will be booked first. If you wait, you may end up staying in Virginia or Maryland and not in Washington DC, which will equate to spending more on daily transportation. During major events in Washington DC, it is not uncommon for all reasonably priced hotels to be full.

You can also book hotels at a group rate or attempt to find someone to share a room with to cut costs.
Conference registration
AIDS 2012 offer several registration options at various prices. Prices varry based on the World Bank Country Classification. Check here (http://www.oecd.org/dataoecd/15/29/35876528.pdf) if you are not sure what your country is considered.

Conference delegate
This is the general registration type used by most attendees.
If you are from a middle/low income country and register before May 3rd, the cost will be $690. After May 3rd the registration fee is $765.
If you are from a high income country, the fee is $940 before May 3rd and $1045 after May 3rd.

Youth (under 26)/Student/Post-Doc
For middle to low income countries, before May 3rd, the fee is $180 and $200 after May 3rd.
For High income country citizens, the cost for registration is $280 and $310 after May 3rd.

Accompanying adult
This includes entrance to the conference center and opening and closing ceremony. You may also visit the Global Village which is open to the public. You will not be able to attend any plenaries or sessions or be allowed access to the expo center. This registration is only for someone who is accompanying a person with a full registration. The cost is $155 before May 3rd and $170 after May 3rd regardless of country of origin.

Accompanying child (under age 18)
The cost for this type of registration is $55 and $60 after May 3rd regardless of country of origin.

Media registration
Media registration is free. You have to have a letter of assignment from a recognized publication for this option, as well as copies of, or web links, for three published, bylined articles which you can present during the registration process.

If you have written articles or can get three articles published before submitting for registration, as well as find a publication willing to sponsor you, this may be an option. Publications include some organizational newsletters, if they are active, the content is relative and you can report on AIDS 2012 for them. Bloggers are considered but not guaranteed media registration.
Travel to and from DC

Airfare
IAC 2012 offers a 20% discount on airfare for delegates and one guest as well as group rates. http://www.aids2012.org/Default.aspx?pageId=444

Bus
Greyhound   www.greyhound.com  1-800-231-2222
Greyhound runs from most areas of the country. I used San Francisco, California as a starting point figuring most other places would be approximately the cost equivalent or less.

Standard fare from SF to DC is $261 one way. With advance purchase that fare can be as little as $126. The trip takes 2 day and 21 hours. There is a 25% discount offered for a ticket purchased 2 weeks in advance. It is unclear how long in advance you must order your ticket to receive the full discount, if this discount is available for every destination/departure area and if this discount is continually available. If you are considering this as an option, please call Greyhound with your specific travel details for more information.

Greyhound also offers a buy 1 get 1 free offer.
BoltBus   www.boltbus.com  1-877- BOLTBUS (1-877-265- 8287)
BoltBus in a cheap and comfortable way to travel. Unfortunately Bolt Bus only runs directly to Washington DC from New York City and Newark, New Jersey. However, it is still a significantly cheap option to take Bolt bus from another location to NYC and then by a ticket to DC from New York. Boltbus busses usually run every hour to two hours, so depending on the timing, you may have just enough time to grab a bite or cup of coffee before beginning the second leg of your journey. Check out the phenomenal prices:
Direct
New York, NY to Washington DC: $10- $25 one way
Newark, NJ to Washington DC: $17 -$25 one way

 

With 1 stopover in New York City

Baltimore, MD to NYC: $15-$27 one way
NYC to Washington DC: $10-25
Total: $25 – $52 one way

Greenbelt MD to NYC: $8 – $27
NYC to Washington DC: $10-25
Total: $18-$52

Philadelphia PA – NYC: $8 – $15
NYC to Washington DC: $10-25
Total: $18 – $40

Boston MA – NYC: $15- $25
NYC to Washington DC: $10-25
Total: $25 – $50

 

Travel around DC
Metro
DC Metro offers train service throughout DC and some parts of Maryland and Virginia. The price is based on distance and not a flat rate per trip, thus it is a bit cheaper the closer your hotel is to the conference center.

As mentioned above, free shuttle buses between the conference center and certain hotels are available by booking your accommodations at a hotel listed on the AIDS 2012 website:  http://www.aids2012.org/Default.aspx?pageId=319
Food
Food is often not covered, or covered adequately, when your travel and accommodations are paid for by a scholarship or organization. You may be left on your own to cover your meals. This can get extremely expensive. Fortunately at AIDS 2012, this shouldn’t be too much of an issue.

If you are a person living with HIV, The International AIDS Society (AIDS 2012 Organizers) offers free lunch tickets with conference registration. When you are registering you will be asked a series of questions including whether you would like to receive lunch vouchers. Each voucher can be used during lunch time for the five full days of the conference. They can be redeemed at one of the participating shops located in the conference center. Make sure to check ‘yes’ when registering and asked if you’d like to receive lunch vouchers, as this may be your only opportunity to obtain these cost cutting coupons. If you have already registered and did not check ‘yes’ but decide later on you need them, you can try to talk to an AIDS 2012 representative at Registration but there is no guarantee you will be provided with vouchers at that time.

The PLWHA lounge offers snacks throughout the conference. In addition to snacks you will also find a quiet place to relax, beds to take a nap, medical assistance if you are feeling ill (there is also a separate medical area in another part of the conference center) and normally you can schedule a message, though I am not positive this will be offered this year.

Certain sessions/presentations offer buffet lunches but you have to keep your eyes open for these.

Dinner can usually be found at some of the evening affiliate events. Make sure to check the handouts provided with your conference bag, as well as information you find on tables throughout the conference. You may also find additional events by stopping at the booths in the Expo Center. Some events even have open bars or wine and hors d’oeuvres.

Some hotels/motels will provide a small refrigerator upon request. Make sure to ask if there is a fee, as some do charge for this service. With a refrigerator you can find a grocery story nearby and purchase a few items to eat that don’t requiring cooking.

Bottled water will be offered throughout the conference center. Coffee and tea is usually offered in the morning and sometimes through out the day at various sessions/presentations.

 

Contact with home/internet
Few of us are able to leave home for a week without communicating with our family and friends back home. If you live outside the United States, this could become quite expensive.

Some hotels offer free internet while others require a surcharge for internet access in the guest rooms. However, almost all provide free internet in the lobby. If you have a laptop and another computer at home, it’s a good idea to bring your laptop with you. Using Skype instead of expansive phone calls is a great way to cut costs, particularly if you live outside the U.S. If you don’t have internet in your hotel room, you can find a comfortable spot in the lobby to ‘phone home’. Download Skype at:http://www.skype.com/intl/en-us/get-skype/

Free internet is also available at the conference center to email home. Conference attendees are part of a hub that can be used to contact fellow delegates. This can be very useful as the conference center is huge and it’s easy to get separated or lose track of friends at the conference.

 

*Washington DC has what is called ‘hard water’. If you have long hair which gets weighed down or flat easily, I strongly suggest you do not wash your hair in the shower. It is better to use the bottled water provided at the conference.

 

AIDS 2012 is sure to be an amazing event. Don’t miss out on opening and closing sessions, the opening day demonstration and the daily morning and plenaries. Make sure you get plenty of rest and lots to eat. Take vitamins if possible for extra energy as you may need a lift to get through long conference days. Listen to your body and don’t over do it! If you are a person living with HIV/AIDS, be sure to check out the PLWHA lounge to meet up with old friends and make new ones.

 

If you will not be attending, you can access some of the conference sessions by visiting the AIDS 2012 website. The videos posted of the sessions are usually a day behind the live event. HIV Haven will be bringing you as much information from the ground as we can. Check here everyday as well as our twitter account and Facebook page for updates and articles. ‘Let’s Turn the Tide Together’