HIV

Project ARK and The SPOT have been tapped as a model and mentor to what is hoped will be a similar center in East St. Louis. The new clinic, funded through a federal grant, will emulate The SPOT, a School of Medicine program that celebrated its fifth anniversary in September. The SPOT addresses health risks facing youth ages 13-24 by providing health, social support and prevention services free of charge. Pictured are the center’s medical director, Katie Plax (left), and Kim Donica, the executive director.

The April 12 conference at the School of Medicine is open to faculty, students and the public, but advance online registration by April 1 is encouraged. Shown is Joseph Gondovo, a patient in Nigeria who receives treatment for lymphatic filariasis, a neglected tropical disease that can cause grotesquely swollen limbs. ​

People with HIV have an elevated risk of heart attacks, diabetes and insulin problems, and there are not many drug options to prevent those problems due to concerns that they will weaken the immune system. But a new study by researchers at the School of Medicine has shown that a diabetes drug appears to be safe in patients and does not dampen their immunity.

Nanoparticles carrying a toxin found in bee venom can destroy human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) while leaving surrounding cells unharmed, researchers at the School of Medicine have shown. The finding is an important step toward developing a vaginal gel that may prevent the spread of HIV.  Shown are nanoparticles (purple) carrying melittin (green) that fuse with HIV (small circles with spiked outer ring), destroying the virus’s protective envelope.

New research by Herbert W. “Skip” Virgin, MD, PhD, and colleagues may explain why advanced AIDS patients often develop gastrointestinal disease.

William G. Powderly, MD, will lead global health initiatives as a newly appointed deputy director of Washington University’s Institute of Public Health. He also will serve as co-director of the Division of Infectious Diseases in the Department of Medicine at the university’s School of Medicine. ​

In conjunction with National HIV Testing Day Monday, June 27, Washington University School of Medicine is teaming with the City of St. Louis Department of Health to offer free, confidential tests for HIV and syphilis.

The same powerful drugs that have extended the lives of countless people with HIV come with a price — insulin resistance that can lead to diabetes and cardiovascular disease. Now, Paul Hruz, MD, PhD, and his team at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis have determined why that happens.

A vaginal gel that affords both contraception and HIV protection using nanoparticles that carry bee venom is one of the bold, unconventional ideas that won a 2010 Grand Challenges Explorations grant from the Gates Foundation.

Linda B. Cottler, PhD, will receive the Marian W. Fischman Memorial Lectureship Award at the 72nd annual meeting of the College of Problems of Drug Dependence. The award was established to recognize the contributions of outstanding women scientists in drug abuse research.