Almost all of the academic positions for HIV research in the US, and also many in other countries, are funded by the NIH.
Now almost all of them are in danger.
“If a young researcher is wondering if they have a future in HIV research, and don’t join this field because of that, in 10, 20, 30 years they’re not going to have created the next big discoveries,” Warren cautions.
“You have to create a constant cycle of new ideas, new investigators, new advocates, and that’s also being disrupted here.”
Why PrEP studies had to shut down
The consequences of research funding cuts have already been felt, explains Beyrer— many studies are on pause.
One such trial is theCatalyst study — withsix sites in South Africa — testing the best ways to roll out a daily anti-HIV pill, a two-monthly HIV prevention shot injection and a monthly vaginal ring.
What is more,Sciencemagazine reports health researchers who work in South Africa are on red alert after hearing last week the NIH could terminate all grants that fund work in the country.
HIV prevention medication, also called pre-exposure prophylaxis or PrEP, especially thedaily pill andtwo-monthly jab, can lower people’s chances of getting HIV through sex to close to zero — but only if it’s taken as prescribed.
And that’s the most difficult part of the equation; just because there’s a pill, jab and ring, doesn’t automatically mean people will use it.
So to get HIV-negative people who have a high chance of contracting the virus to take PrEP, researchers need to know which type different groups of people prefer and from where they feel most comfortable collecting it.
Tyler TerMeer, CEO of the San Francisco Aids Foundation, speaks at a ‘Stand up Against Science’ protest: