PMTCT – Harvard AIDS Initiative

September 16, 2016June 30, 2018

HIV-Exposure and Infant Mortality in Botswana

By Martha Henry The AIDS epidemic has had a devastating impact on child survival in sub-Saharan Africa. In Botswana, under-five mortality almost doubled from 1990 to 2000. Since then, remarkable progress has been made to prevent pregnant HIV-positive mothers from passing the virus to their infants, either in utero or through breastfeeding. Yet in a study published this July in BMC Pediatrics, Harvard AIDS Initiative (HAI) researchers found that HIV-exposed…

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August 26, 2016August 29, 2016

The Future of Nigeria’s Response to HIV: Q&A with Dr. Oluwatobi Victor Popoola

By Belinda O’Donnell From June to August, I was a peer collaborator for the Mandela Washington Fellows, based at Howard University in Washington D.C. There I met the remarkable Dr. Victor Popoola, an HIV clinician and 2016 Fellow.

June 18, 2015January 5, 2016

Roger Shapiro Appointed Associate Professor

Congratulations to Roger Shapiro, a key member of the Harvard AIDS Initiative team, for his recent appointment as an Associate Professor of Immunology and Infectious Diseases at the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health. In the announcement letter below, Dean Frenk lays out Shapiro’s research accomplishments to date.

September 30, 2014June 30, 2018

HEU Infants: How Big and Bad Is the Problem?

By Martha Henry Imagine that you’re a young woman in southern Africa, giving birth to the child you’ve carried for nine months. Between the pain and the pushing, you feel both excitement and dread. At the antenatal clinic several months ago, you learned that you were infected with HIV. The doctor gave you antiretroviral (ARV) drugs to prevent your child from being born with HIV. You pray that they worked.

September 30, 2014January 5, 2016

Q&A with Max Essex: Infants and HIV

For over 20 years, the Harvard AIDS Initiative (HAI) has been conducting research on how best to care for mothers with HIV and their children. Martha Henry, Editor of Spotlight, sat down with Dr. Max Essex, Chair of HAI, to review the progress made and the challenges remaining.

December 1, 2011June 30, 2018

Kate Powis: Plan C

By Martha Henry Plan A As a young adult, Kate Powis loved to solve puzzles. Her father was a Secret Service agent and she planned to follow in his footsteps. She took college courses in criminal justice, financing her education by working as a “loss prevention” officer at a chain of department stores. She questioned shoplifters and employees caught stealing, but she didn’t enjoy the work. She often found herself…

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October 10, 2010June 30, 2018

Stunning Results in Protecting Infants

The Mma Bana Study, led by Dr. Roger Shapiro, an infectious disease specialist at the Harvard AIDS Initiative (HAI), compared three different drug regimens to prevent mother-to-child transmission of HIV though pregnancy, delivery and six months of breastfeeding.