CFARS unite! How do collaboration and innovation drive the fight against HIV? Midwest D-CFAR representatives joined national inter-CFAR events this fall, exploring partnerships and sharing breakthroughs with fellow researchers, advocates, and community leaders.

The University of Missouri-Columbia has launched the ACCELERATE clinical trial, a groundbreaking study simplifying ART re-initiation for people living with HIV who are out of care.

Grant writing requires grit, passion, and a vision for change. During a transformative week, Midwest D-CFAR co-director Juliet Iwelunmor, PhD, guided 13 participants through the art of crafting grants to drive the fight against HIV in Missouri.

Dima Dandachi, MD, MPH, is associate professor of medicine at University of Missouri, medical director of Columbia/Boone County Public Health and Human Services, and co-director of our Scientific Working Group.

The Midwest D-CFAR and the WashU Global Health Center co-hosted a compelling discussion between Oliver Chukwujekwu Ezechi, a renowned OBGYN and director of research at the Nigerian Institute of Medical Research and Juliet Iwelunmor, D-CFAR co-director. They highlighted the intersection of global HIV research and its real-world impact on communities.

The Midwest D-CFAR officially launched at an event held last month in St. Louis which convened about 100 researchers, advocates, and public health professionals.

Michael Durkin, MD, MPH, is co-director of antimicrobial stewardship at WashU, associate hospital epidemiologist at Barnes-Jewish Hospital, and director of our Scientific Working Group.

The INSPIRE Center seeks to adapt, scale, and sustain evidence-based interventions that reduce HIV inequities for adolescents and young adults in Africa while optimizing the translation of research findings into real-world impact.

Liang Shan, PhD, is an Associate Professor in Medicine and of Pathology & Immunology and co-director of the Midwest D-CFAR Advanced Technology Core.

The 2024 AIDS Conference was held in Munich, Germany, in July, and representatives from the Midwest D-CFAR were there as facilitators, attendees, and presenters.

Rachel Presti, MD, PhD, is medical director of the WashU Infectious Disease Clinical Research Unit (IDCRU) and co-director of the Midwest D-CFAR Clinical Science Core.

The D-CFAR's inaugural HIV Works in Progress (HIP) seminar was held in July 2024, featuring a presentation by Dr. Dima Dandachi, Associate Professor at the University of Missouri. Dr. Dandachi presented her study, "ACCELERATE: A Multisite Type II Implementation – Effectiveness Hybrid Mixed Methods Study of a Simplified Accelerated ART Initiation Protocol for People with HIV Who Are Out of Care."

The burden of HIV is inequitably distributed so that it most heavily impacts historically oppressed communities in the US. Although these communities are most impacted by the HIV epidemic, they are also the most underrepresented in the current field of HIV research. The NIAID-STAR program, led by D-CFAR co-director Juliet Iwelunmor, was created to respond to this gap.

A team from Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis and Saint Louis University have established the Midwest DCFAR to help end the HIV epidemic in the region.

Scientists from Washington University have uncovered new insights into how HIV weakens the immune system of those it infects. Their findings were published in a recent edition of the journal Cell.