The last week of May, MHRP hosted its second annual Early Career Investigators Showcase, an event designed to celebrate and encourage the program's bench of up-and-coming scientists. Held at the Walter Reed Army Institute of Research (WRAIR), the showcase provided a platform for junior investigators to present their research to advance HIV countermeasures across a range of disciplines, from AI-assisted vaccine design and adjuvant optimization to global health program implementation and clinical research findings.
This critical initiative in the Mbeya Region, supported by PEPFAR through the Walter Reed Army Institute of Research (WRAIR), is a close collaboration with the Ministry of Health and the National TB and Leprosy Programme (NTLP). It marks a significant step toward improving TB diagnosis for the country’s most vulnerable populations.
In early 2025, MHRP launched its first study in the Eastern European country of Georgia to characterize HIV risks, molecular epidemiology and related infections. As part of the study, MHRP is working closely with WRAIR’s forward directorate in Tblisi, WRAIR-Europe-Middle East, and the Tengiz Tsertsvadze Infectious Diseases, AIDS and Clinical Immunology Research Center.
Researchers with MHRP’s B cell immunology lab are working to screen hundreds of samples from the program’s African Cohort Study (AFRICOS) to identify and isolate the next generation of potent, broadly neutralizing antibodies (bNAbs) that have potential to prevent or treat new and evolving strains of HIV.
As we reflect on 2024, MHRP at Walter Reed Army Institute of Research celebrates the power of collaboration in driving HIV research forward. Through our international partnerships with scientists, healthcare professionals and communities, we’re one step closer to a future without HIV.
