Year 3. December 2.
UCLA CARE Center Celebrates New Progress In HIV/AIDS Research and Care
UCLA has played a critical role in advancing the world’s understanding of HIV and AIDS since the earliest days of the HIV epidemic. In fact, it was here that immunologist Michael Gottlieb, MD and colleagues first described the illness that would come to be known as AIDS — a clinical syndrome characterized by a profoundly weakened immune system as a consequence of the Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV). Soon after, our institution also became home to one of the first “bench-to-bedside” units for people with HIV, where research and clinical care were integrated into one.
That unit is the UCLA Center for Clinical AIDS Research and Education (CARE). More than 40 years after its founding by Ronald Mitsuyasu, MD, the CARE Center remains a global leader in advancing our knowledge of HIV/AIDS, with more than 60 clinical trials ongoing. Based four miles from the UCLA campus in West LA, it has a research portfolio of over $8 million dollars a year and 30 staff and faculty.
“We’re tremendously proud of the legacy of the CARE Center – not only the science we have led, but the clinical care we provide and the community partnerships that we have built,” Director Raphael J. Landovitz, MD, MSc, interim chief of the UCLA Division of Infectious Diseases and professor of medicine, said.
“The CARE Center has also served as an important resource for both clinical and research training,” Judith Currier, MD, executive vice chair of research and former center director, added.
2024 has been an especially productive year for the center, with a pair of new trials and several clinical care initiatives that are already impacting the lives of patients with and without HIV. One trial is an NIH-sponsored phase 2 study on a medicated “douche,” a novel and investigational HIV prevention product used routinely before sexual intercourse by cisgender men and transgender women who have sex with men. The product could act as a “shield” against HIV that potentially complements or replaces the preexposure prophylaxis (PrEP) medications currently available.
“We’ve had broad and exciting engagement around how we’re going to educate the community that we’re opening this trial and get a sense of who might be interested and who might benefit the most from this novel prevention product,” Dr. Landovitz said. “It seems to have really energized the community, which is exciting to be a part of.”
A second trial that kicked off this year is an early look at a vaccine that stimulates the development of what Dr. Landovitz described as a “soup” of broadly neutralizing antibodies against HIV. This initial investigation will assess whether the vaccine can boost the creation of these antibodies in people who have already acquired HIV and reduce how much medication they need to suppress the virus, while later work will study its potential to prevent HIV acquisition in HIV-negative populations.
Additionally, Associate Professor and CARE Center Clinical Research Site Director Kara Chew, MD, MS recently secured a large NIH grant for a collaborative project between UCLA, UCSF and UC Davis to develop a new vaccine platform that could be used against a variety of viruses, including COVID-19 and others with pandemic potential.
“Dr. Chew’s work is innovative and tremendously exciting,” Dr. Landovitz said. “I am very much looking forward to seeing her trial results.”
On the clinical side, in January the CARE Center hired pharmacist Linda Nguyen, PharmD to build and oversee the Center’s program that offers long-acting injectable HIV treatment and prophylaxis, a major step towards making these groundbreaking medicines widely available despite the many insurance and follow-up hurdles that currently keep more patients from benefitting from them. Linda’s work has helped coordinate and streamline the provision of these novel and exciting HIV prevention and treatment tools.
Furthermore, in July the center began piloting a “one stop shop” sexual health clinic that offers treatment and prevention for HIV and other sexually transmitted infections, including “doxyPEP” in which the antibiotic doxycycline is given prophylactically to prevent bacterial STIs. “Despite incredible advances in HIV treatment and prevention, we’ve not had similar advances in STI prevention until now,” Dr. Landovitz explained. “We’ve gotten tremendous interest from communities who are likely to be exposed to STIs about taking up that service – and rates of new STI’s appear to be declining locally, which is the most exciting news. We hope the surveillance data support this observation!"
The outlook for 2025 is bright as well. The center already provides HIV treatment to individuals who are un- or under-insured through the Ryan White Program, and it applied for funding from the Los Angeles County Department of Public Health to add even more services, including “wrap-around” services that help overcome the social and structural barriers that make it difficult for those living in poverty, struggling with their mental health or have substance abuse issues to get care at a world-class facility like the CARE Clinic
“We’re really excited about the success we’ve had with that program thus far, and for the opportunity to expand that program with this new initiative that we have applied for,” Dr. Landovitz said. “Securing additional funding for more services will help us grow that safety-net program and be even truer to the evolving epidemiology of who has HIV in 2024 in Los Angeles — and be able to provide care to everyone who wants it.”
The CARE Center is a vital part of our research and patient care missions here in the DoM, and I am grateful to Dr. Landovitz, Dr. Chew, Linda and the many others who are involved in advancing the world’s understanding of and treatments for HIV. Thank you for your hard work and steadfast commitment to transforming patient care!
Estelle Everett, MD, MHS Receives an Amos Award
Every year, the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation Harold Amos Medical Faculty Development Program presents up to ten physicians, dentists and nurse-scientists from historically marginalized backgrounds with a four-year grant and stipend to fund a mentored research project. This prestigious program has a strong reputation for producing leaders in medicine and science, including the current director of NIH/NIDDK, JAMA’s editor-in-chief and medical school deans across the country. It is known colloquially as an Amos award. It brings me great joy to share that UCLA endocrinologist and health services researcher Estelle Everett, MD, MHS was selected for this year’s cohort of Amos award recipients.
“I’m very excited to be an Amos scholar,” Dr. Everett said. Under the guidance of Tannaz Moin, MD, MBA, MSHS and Carol Mangione, MD, MSPH, Dr. Everett will develop the “C-Carbs” program, which will show patients with type 1 diabetes how to use continuous glucose monitors (CGMs) to understand how the different foods they eat impact their blood sugar levels, which will allow them to more appropriately dose their meal time insulin.
“There are many patients with type 1 diabetes who struggle with carb counting,” she said. “My goal is to provide them a simple and easy alternative.”
Dr. Everett studies access to type 1 diabetes treatment technologies, such as insulin pumps and CGMs, within the divisions of endocrinology and general internal medicine health services research. She holds a K23 award from the NIH/NIDDK to conduct the Starting Technology in At Risk Type 1 Diabetes Study, a clinical trial that evaluates the use hybrid closed-loop insulin pump therapy in adults with poorly-controlled type 1 diabetes in an academic and safety net setting.
Dr. Everett joins a growing roster of Amos award alum here in the DoM, including Utibe Essien, MD, MPH; Susanne B. Nicholas, MD, MPH, PhD; Kenrik Duru, MD, MS; Arleen Brown, MD, PhD; Donna Washington, MD, MPH; and Karol Watson, MD, PhD. I myself was a recipient of an Amos award and believe it was instrumental to the development of my career. Please join me in congratulating her on this outstanding achievement!
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Elizabeth Tarling, PhD, Recognized for Excellence in Vascular Biology
Another shining example of excellence among our DoM faculty is Elizabeth Tarling, PhD, who was recently awarded the American Heart Association ATVB Council Special Recognition Award in Vascular Biology for 2024. The annual special recognition awards are given to just three council members who have made significant contributions to the council or to the fields of arteriosclerosis, thrombosis and vascular biology.
When she learned she was among this year’s winners, “I was very surprised,” Dr. Tarling recalled. “It felt wonderful, because this is something that’s chosen by leaders in the council, so it’s a real peer recognition award."
This recognition will come as no surprise to those who are familiar with the work of the Tarling lab, which studies the mechanisms that control cellular and plasma lipid levels and their effects on disease. In 2023, Dr. Tarling received a highly competitive AHA Established Investigator Award, which her lab is using to study how the body controls lipid levels in the lungs and how these mechanisms contribute to heart disease and fibrosis. That same year her team published a report on the key receptor that regulates plasma cholesterol, findings that made the cover of Circulation Research.
Then, in early 2024, the Tarling lab published the results of a study conducted in collaboration with UCLA pulmonologists Tisha Wang, MD and Elinor Lee, MD on the clinical manifestations of macrophage-associated lipid levels in the lungs of patients with pulmonary alveolar proteinosis (PAP), a rare but dangerous lung syndrome. This important work moves us closer towards identifying new therapies for the disease, which currently has no approved treatments.
The PAP research “is really opening up this bedside to bench to bedside” approach to studying the disease, Dr. Tarling said. “We’re able to take things that we see in the clinic at UCLA, take it back to the lab, really figure out what’s going on, then take that back to patients and use it to inform the clinical trials and the physicians who are working with these patients.”
Dr. Tarling credits her career momentum not only to “working hard and working smart” — a saying she shares with her children — but to the support she has received from people like associate professor Thomas Vallim, PhD, her husband and scientific collaborator, and many others. She suggests that junior investigators who hope to emulate her try not to do it all on their own.
“Those of us who are successful, we didn’t do it by ourselves. We’ve done it through the support of our peers, our colleagues, our champions and our sponsors,” Dr. Tarling said. “I’m also extremely lucky to have had the continued support of the department of medicine and the cardiovascular community at UCLA at critical junctures in my career from postdoc to faculty.”
Please join me in congratulating Liz on this and all of her achievements!
Karol Watson, MD, PhD Sworn in to HHS Committee on Minority Health
Attending cardiologist, health disparities researcher and Professor of Medicine Karol Watson, MD, PhD has contributed extensively to our knowledge of racial and ethnic disparities in heart disease and diabetes through her work leading major national studies. Now, her experience will directly influence U.S. health care policy through her appointment as a new member of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Office of Minority Health Advisory Committee on Minority Health. Dr. Watson was officially sworn in to her post in early November.
“Having been involved in issues of equity, diversity and health most of my career, this appointment is so meaningful to me,” Dr. Watson said. “I get a seat at the big table.”
The committee is composed of individuals from all walks of life who have experience in minority health. It emphasizes equal representation of a wide range of minority groups, such as Asian Americans, Native Hawaiians, Black Americans, American Indians, Alaskan Natives and Hispanic or Latino populations. In her first meeting with the committee, Dr. Watson and the group discussed updates to race-ethnic definitions for data collection purposes that will be rolled out in 2025 and how these could impact diverse communities.
“My goal is to make sure our governmental policies include diverse perspectives on minority health concerns,” Dr. Watson said.
In the image below, Dr. Watson is being sworn in to her position in by Rear Admiral Felicia Collins, Deputy Assistant Secretary for Minority Health and Director, Office of Minority Health. Please join me in congratulating her on being chosen for this vital committee that shares our mission to advance health for all!
UCLA Dermatology Faculty Head to Beach for Retreat
UCLA Division of Dermatology faculty headed to the beach on Oct. 18 for their annual retreat, gathering at the picturesque Annenberg Community Beach House in Santa Monica for a day of learning and festivities with experts and innovators in the field. I joined April Armstrong, MD, MPH to kick things off with highlights from recent achievements and leadership initiatives in the division. Faculty members then engaged in roundtable discussions that explored clinical priorities, research collaborations, and educational initiatives to shape the future of dermatology at UCLA.
Panelist sessions offered valuable pearls for optimizing practice efficiency and shared insights from faculty who have practiced outside academia, while researchers showcased their latest advancements and the ongoing innovations in their labs. In the afternoon, faculty learned more about physician wellness, the division’s mentorship program for junior faculty, and planning ahead for retirement savings. The retreat also featured a special recognition of Vanessa Holland, MD for her contributions to the division.
The retreat featured a dynamic mix of learning and camaraderie, with faculty enjoying a lighthearted trivia session about the newest junior faculty. Fun-filled games such as “Pore-fect Partners” and "Derm Puff Derby” fostered friendly competition among participants. Overall, the event was a memorable experience that emphasized collaboration, education, and celebration. Thank you to all who made it such a success!
A Luncheon of Appreciation for Academic Administrators
Division and departmental academic administrators play an essential role in our faculty’s promotional process and the greater mission of the DoM. To recognize their hard work, the Department of Medicine on Oct. 29 hosted its first staff appreciation luncheon for academic administrators. Sixty attendees gathered at the UCLA Meyer and Renee Luskin Conference Center for a chance to meet face to face, share a meal and enjoy games, trivia and contests. José Escarce, MD, PhD, executive vice chair for academic affairs for the DoM, gave a keynote speech. It was a fun-filled and joyous event to share experiences and time together.
Center for East-West Medicine Marks Three Decades of Integrative Medicine
The UCLA Center for East-West Medicine merges powerful East Asian and Western medical traditions to offer patients holistic clinical care and educate healthcare practitioners on evidence-based principles from traditional Chinese medicine. On Nov. 15, 160 faculty, staff and UCLA community members gathered together to celebrate the center’s 30thanniversary and to honor its founder and Director Ka-Kit Hui, MD. The evening featured remarks from Dr. Hui, UCLA Health System President and Hospital System CEO Johnese Spisso, DGSOM Dean and UCLA Associate Vice Chair for Research Steven Dubinett, MD and former UCLA Department of Medicine Chair and world-renown cardiologist Alan Fogelman, MD, along with updates from team members and community partners about new center initiatives.
When Dr. Hui launched the center in 1993, his goal was to establish a clinical program that offered a comprehensive integrative health model with elements of Eastern and Western medical philosophies. It has since grown from a single location to one of the largest physician-led clinical initiatives in the country, serving more than 40,000 patients per year across three clinics, an inpatient program at the UCLA Santa Monica Medical Center and outpatient program at Westwood Village designed to address the needs of high-risk populations. The past few years have also seen the launch of integrated Eastern and Western medical services to under-resourced patients at a federally qualified health center that serves downtown L.A. and the San Gabriel Valley.
Many patients who come to the Center for East-West Medicine for help suffer from chronic conditions that have not been successfully treated by standard biomedical approaches. Their care plans may include acupuncture, trigger point injections, myofascial release, lifestyle coaching and other integrative treatments that emphasize agency and active participation in their recovery. The center also trains healthcare providers in East-West integrative medicine and conducts studies and clinical trials on treatments, with published articles on the benefits of tai chi for tension headaches and more.
Watch a recap of the center’s 30th anniversary celebration below, and visit this link to learn more about the program’s history and impact. Thank you to all of our LEADERS at the Center for East-West Medicine for their exceptional service to our patients.
Dale
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