ANTIVIRAL RESEARCH - McMillen and Hartman discuss the historical role of Rift Valley Fever (RVF) as a biological weapon and conclude with an outline of the important unanswered questions for ongoing research into this important zoonotic disease.
JANE CAULEY, who has served as the associate dean for research, will be stepping down from that position to take on additional responsibilities as the executive vice chair of EPI. Cauley is also a distinguished professor of epidemiology. VELPANDI AYYAVOO, currently associate dean for faculty affairs and IDM professor, will become the associate dean for research and faculty affairs. Congratulations!
JOURNAL OF VIROLOGY - Delucia, Rinaldo, Rappocciolo demonstrate that the use of SIMV to decrease macrophage-mediated virus transfer should be considered for future HIV therapeutic development.
JOURNAL OF NEUROINFLAMMATION - Guha, Wagner, Ayyavoo conduct first study evaluating the potential role of Ng in the context of HIV-1 neropathogens and conclude that synaptic damage in HAND+ patients could be a result of abrogation of Ng through HIV-1 induced inflammation that dysregulates Ng-CaM interaction and downstream signaling cascades associated with synaptodendritic functions.
The MidAtlantic AIDS Education and Training Center hosted a conference that brought together regional experts to explore ways to increase awareness of the opioid and Hepatitis C epidemics affecting women and infants in Southwestern Pennsylvania. One outcome of note: they identified solutions to improve the current care model of clinical and behavioral health care for women of childbearing age who are opioid users.
SCIENTIFIC AMERICAN - Working with dendrites, what he calls "the quarterbacks of the immune system," IDM's ROBBIE MAILLIARD and colleagues are applying the budding field of TNT research to HIV. Now, they are investigating whether drugs that are commonly used to lower cholesterol levels could be repurposed to control viral infections.
NEW YORK TIMES - Researchers created a device that can test a drop of blood to tell, in about half an hour, who's immune to certain infections and who's not. The goal is to find groups of people at risk of outbreaks, especially in impoverished and remote areas, in time to save lives. "We need to develop cheaper and more efficient ways to detect outbreaks earlier," said IDM's ERNESTO MARQUES. “This may be one step in that direction.”
IDM's GIOVANNA RAPPOCCIOLO presented at the Conference on Retroviruses and Opportunistic Infections ion biomarkers and genetics of cell cholesterol dysregulation in HIV non-progressors. Co-authors include IDM faculty J MARTINSON and C RINALDO and recent doctoral graduate DIANA DELUCIA.
JOURNAL OF IMMUNOLOGY - Wonderlich, Swan, Bissel, Hartman, Carney, O'Malley, Obadan, Santos, Walker, Sturgeon, Frye, Maiello, Scanga, Bowling, Duangkhae, Wiley, Flynn, Wang, Cole, Reed, Barratt-Boyes establish a new nonhuman primate disease model for evaluation of vaccine and therapeutic approaches to prevent and treat infection with highly pathogenic avian influenza viruses.
TITUSVILLE HERALD - Community members and students from Pitt's Titusville campus gathered to hear IDM's LINDA FRANK discuss drug misuse versus drug abuse, the opioid epidemic's relation to to the spread of HIV/AIDS and Hepatitis C, available prevention and treatment strategies, and the implications for health professionals, families, community members, and local organizations.
NEW YORK TIMES - Infectious disease researcher ERNESTO MARQUES says about 3 percent of 1,000 pregnant Brazilian women in a recent sample were infected with Zika. “The problem’s not going away. We are still having cases. And the future of Zika babies already born is complicated by poverty and strained resources. “Most of these babies are from low socioeconomic status and rely on the public health system to provide care. It’s very difficult to mana...
YOUTUBE - IDM's Mailliard presents his research on “kick and kill” strategies at the 9th IAS Conference on HIV Science, the world's largest open scientific conference on HIV and AIDS-related issues. The work demonstrates that naïve T cells have the ability to effectively target the HIV-1 reservoir, highlighting the importance of directing HIV-1 curative strategies towards the induction of de novo rather than memory HIV-1-specific CTL responses.
SAN FRANCISCO BAY TIMES - The reality of AIDS Survivor Syndrome (ASS) is now being confirmed by empirical research. On November 3, 2017, BCHS Associate Chair for Science RON STALL presented his findings on the subject in San Francisco at a provider and community town hall entitled “Research on the AIDS Survivor Syndrome: New Data from The Multi-Center AIDS Cohort Study and Voices of Survivors Themselves.”
WASHINGTON POST - Local transmission seems to have come to a standstill, with one suspected case in Texas and one case confirmed in Florida. Herd immunity may be preventing more big outbreaks. But if Zika behaves like other arboviruses, it will probably stick around. They tend to be cyclical, says Pitt Public Health researcher ERNESTO MARQUES. “You have big booms, then they drop. Then a few years later, they come back again.”