Top 5 stories on injectable HIV treatment and prevention from CROI 2021
March 23, 2021
Dr. Raphael Landovitz presented findings on injectable PrEP to CROI 2021. The conference highlighted that programmes to deliver injectable HIV medications must be practical and affordable. There is great enthusiasm from patients for long-acting agents, while some healthcare providers have concerns about operational challenges. Several details about how injectable cabotegravir and rilpivirine shoul
Four Potential COVID-19 Therapeutics Enter Phase 2/3 Testing in NIH ACTIV-2 Trial
February 12, 2021
Enrollment has begun to test additional investigational drugs in the Accelerating COVID-19 Therapeutic Interventions and Vaccines (ACTIV) program. ACTIV is a public-private partnership program to create a coordinated research strategy that prioritizes and speeds development of promising COVID-19 treatments and vaccines. The new agents entering the randomized, placebo-controlled study are part
Months after fighting coronavirus, some now face heart, lung or neurological problems
February 06, 2021
…“COVID-19 is a disease of extremes. Some people can be asymptomatic and some people can be on a ventilator,” said Dr. Judith Currier, chief of UCLA’s Division of Infectious Diseases in the Department of Medicine. “There’s a full spectrum of outcomes. Most people do recover completely, but there are people who have lingering signs and symptoms.”… Full story on pe.com
FDA approves 1st long-acting HIV drug combo, monthly shots
January 21, 2021
…“Even people who are taking one pill once a day just reported improvement in their quality of life to switch to an injection,” said Dr. Judith Currier, an HIV specialist at the University of California, Los Angeles. She consults for ViiV and wrote a commentary accompanying one study of the drug in the New England Journal of Medicine… Full ABC News story
Meet two doctors fighting for BIPOC representation in clinical trials
January 18, 2021
…How are communities of color disproportionately impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic? Judith Currier, MD: There are several factors that contribute to the high rates of COVID-19 among people of color in the United States. Again, one factor is occupation. Working in frontline positions where you’re exposed to people put people at risk… Full interview on wellandgood.com
Ride Health and ACTIV-2 Partner to Provide Transportation for Nationwide COVID-19 Therapeutic Study
January 05, 2021
…“As we designed the ACTIV-2 protocol, it became clear that we would need to address transportation for study participants," said ACTG Chair Judith Currier, M.D., M.Sc., University of California, Los Angeles. "We didn't want transportation to be a barrier to participation given the sensitivity around travel for people who have COVID-19. We needed a partner who could facilitate a rapid, nation
January 05, 2021
Read what UCLA Health infectious disease experts, including Drs. Judith Currier and Raphael Landovitz, have to say about wearing masks to prevent virus transmission. Full story on UCLA Connect
NIH re-funds ACTG for the next seven years
November 30, 2020
…“The ACTG is honored to have the continued support of the NIH, which will allow us to continue our robust global research mission," said Dr. Currier. "We are committed to working collaboratively with investigators from around the world to conduct clinical studies that improve the lives of people with HIV.”… Full story on eurekalert.org
AstraZeneca Trial Volunteer Faces Fear, Hopes to Help End Pandemic
November 26, 2020
…“I think we’ve all felt so helpless," said Dr. Landovitz. "The ability to be a part of something that’s trying to end this, that’s trying to make progress, trying to move things forward is for a lot of people taking back some measure of that control, and I feel very similarly.”… Full story on spectrumnews1.com
November 16, 2020
…“The ACTG has long been committed to improving treatment outcomes for hepatitis C, and the MINMON study builds upon this history,” said ACTG Chair Judith Currier, M.D., M.Sc., University of California, Los Angeles. “By minimizing the burden of treatment on people living with hepatitis C while ensuring efficacy and safety, this study has the potential to simplify how we trea
The latest on AstraZeneca’s COVID-19 vaccine development
November 12, 2020
Listen to Dr. Raphael Landovitz, lead vaccine researcher for the AstraZeneca trial at UCLA Health, discuss why it is imperative to have a diverse group of study volunteers. Watch the interview on abcnews.go.com
UCLA begins recruitment for phase 3 of The Oxford University - AstraZeneca COVID-19 Vaccine Trial
October 29, 2020
…“The safety of our volunteers and participants is the first priority of everyone working on this trial across the nation and locally here in Los Angeles," said Dr. Raphael Landovitz, the trial's lead researcher at UCLA and co-director of UCLA's Center for HIV Identification, Prevention and Treatment Services. "Having a safe and effective vaccine is critical to ending the pan
UCLA Researchers Testing Effectiveness Of COVID Plasma Transfusions
October 16, 2020
Watch Dr. Currier discuss the plasma antibody trial for people who have tested positive for COVID-19 on CBS Los Angeles. Link to Video
UCLA draws record $1.4 billion in research funding
October 12, 2020
UCLA attracted record support for its wide-ranging research in the 2019–20 fiscal year, receiving $1.427 billion in research funding. 2020 is the third consecutive year that the university has topped its previous best. Research support has grown by 38% since 2015. UCLA now ranks sixth among all universities in total research expenditures. Full story by Bill Kisliuk
Dan Savage Interviews Dr. Raphael Landovitz About Injectable PrEP
October 06, 2020
On Savage Lovecast episode #728, hear Dan Savage interview Dr. Raphael Landovitz about the promise of a new injectable version of PrEP. Podcast on savagelovecast.com
BTAN Empowers the Black Community Through Education
May 01, 2012
Empowering the Black Community: Education as a Foundation for Reducing Health Disparities Founded in September 2011, the Los Angeles chapter of the Black Treatment Advocate’s Network (BTAN) is committed to empowering the Black community in Los Angeles through training and education. As their first community mobilization project, BTAN-LA is targeting post-incarcerated men, women and transgend
Bridging the Gap: HIV research experience for COVID solutions
November 10, 2020
Tuesday, November 10th, 2020. 6:00 PM-8:00 PM Join UCLA Health for a pop-up drive-in event to learn how the knowledge and capacity already developed by researchers at the CARE Center are accelerating the development of new tools to fight COVID-19 and current state/future of treatment and prevention studies. Registration begins at 4:30 PM and the program starts at 6:00 PM. Dinner wi
HIVMA Clinical Fellowship Program is accepting applications for the 2021-2022 cycle
October 09, 2020
Deadline: January 19, 2021 HIVMA and the IDSA Foundation are accepting applications for the 2021 HIV Clinical Fellowship Program. For the first time, the program is supporting one year of HIV clinical training for full or half-time effort awards to allow greater flexibility for physicians to train in community-based settings. The award supports a stipend of $33,000 for half-time training or
