Research-for-Cure Academy

What is your motivation for engaging in HIV cure and remission research?

I am an early career HIV researcher who trained as a medical doctor and epidemiologist. So far, I have mainly been involved in HIV prevention research with particular emphasis on the intersection between HIV and other STIs as well as HIV and contraception. I stumbled upon HIV cure and remission research when working on an assignment on uniquely-infected individuals in our cohort. I was fascinated with the fact that some individuals could spontaneously control their HIV infection without any intervention and I believe it is the next frontier in HIV research. I want to be part of that movement.

What is your current area of research?

I have mainly been involved in HIV prevention research with particular emphasis on the epidemiology of HIV co-infection with other STIs as well as the effect of using hormonal contraception and risk of HIV acquisition and transmission. Currently, I have been interested in the identifying and determining the correlates of uniquelyinfected individuals (especially women) including long-term non-progressors and HIV controllers. I am interested in developing a career looking at the immunogenetics correlates among these individuals.