UCLA-led team awarded more than $5 million for HIV prevention projects

A team of researchers co-led byMatthew Mimiaga has received more than $5.2 million in grants from the National Institutes of Health to develop and test HIV interventions in the United States and Brazil.The projects, funded by three separate NIH grants, aim at reducing the spread of HIV, the virus that causes AIDS, through the use of antiretroviral medications for HIV primary, or PrEP, and secondary, or ART, prevention among sexual and gender minority groups.“Antiretroviral medications are highly effective at reducing HIV acquisition and transmission, but its efficacy is highly dependent on uptake and excellent adherence,” said Mimiaga, a professor of epidemiology at theUCLA Fielding School of Public Health and director of the  UCLA Center for LGBTQ Advocacy, Research& Health.Sexual and gender minority groups face specific barriers to PrEP and ART access, uptake, adherence, and retention in care, according to Mimiaga, who added that “because of this, we are testing interventions that are culturally tailored to address the lived realities and barriers among these vulnerable groups.”Read thefull news release on the Fielding School of Public Health website.
Source: UCLA Newsroom: Health Sciences - Category: Universities & Medical Training Source Type: news