The Lancet HIV Highlights HIV and Women Signature Program at NIH

A new position paper, Centering the health of women across the HIV research continuum, published February 26 in The Lancet HIV, outlines a framework for an intersectional, equity-informed, data-driven approach to research on HIV and women, the cornerstone of the HIV and Women Signature Program at NIH.

Leaders from the NIH Office of AIDS Research (OAR) and Office of Research on Women’s Health (ORWH), which spearhead the HIV and Women Signature Program, are co-authors. The full list of co-authors follows:

Elizabeth Barr, Ph.D., NIH Office of Research on Women’s Health 
Leslie J. Marshall, Ph.D., NIH Office of AIDS Research
Janine A Clayton, M.D., Director, NIH Office of Research on Women’s Health
Maureen M. Goodenow, Ph.D., NIH Office of the Director, former Director, NIH Office of AIDS Research
Corette Byrd, RN, M.S., NIH Office of AIDS Research
Lauren F. Collins, M.D., Emory University School of Medicine and the Grady Ponce de Leon Center
Dvora L. Joseph Davey, M.D., University of California, Los Angeles, David Geffen School of Medicine and Fielding School of Public Health
Krista Dong, M.D., Ragon Institute of Mass General, MIT, and Harvard
Mary T. Glenshaw, Ph.D., NIH Office of AIDS Research
Catherine Godfrey, M.D., U.S. President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR)
Jamila K. Stockman, Ph.D., University of California, San Diego, School of Medicine
Noelle St. Vil, Ph.D., University at Buffalo School of Social Work
Sarah M. Temkin, M.D., NIH Office of Research on Women’s Health

Despite tremendous advances in HIV research over the last 40 years, women—particularly women of color, young women, and transgender women—remain disproportionately affected by HIV.¹,² The Signature Program aims to address these gaps by advancing research to understand optimal ways to prevent, treat, and cure HIV and associated comorbidities for “women, girls, and gender-diverse people across the lifespan.”³

The position paper provides an overview of the HIV and Women Signature Program and the NIH approach to advancing research at the intersection of HIV and women. In addition, the paper summarizes key messages from a symposium on HIV and women, co-sponsored by OAR and ORWH during 13th International Workshop on HIV and Women in February 2023. Messages from the symposium emphasized the diversity of topics in NIH research on HIV and women, “including social determinants of health, maternal morbidity and mortality, aging, and chronic conditions among women.”⁴

The position paper notes that the symposium was “an important first step”⁵ in advancing HIV research centered on women, girls, and gender-diverse people across the lifespan, but underscores the importance of “meaningful engagement” with affected communities to ensure ongoing research reflects the needs and preferences of all women with or affected by HIV. To that end, the position paper notes, OAR and ORWH recently issued a request for information (RFI) to gather feedback on opportunities in research on HIV and women. These topics will be further explored during a two-day virtual workshop, NIH HIV and Women Scientific Workshop: Centering the Health of Women in HIV Research, on March 21-22, 2024, which will feature community perspectives.

OAR and ORWH look forward to continued engagement with federal partners, researchers and clinicians, and community members “to ensure cisgender and transgender women and girls, transgender men and boys, and gender diverse people are centered in the NIH research agenda to prevent, treat, and cure HIV so that clinical care and outcomes can be advanced for all, at all stages of the lifespan.”⁶

For more information: 
Learn more about the HIV and Women Signature Program 
Read the The Lancet HIV Position Paper

¹ UN Women. HIV and AIDS. Accessed April 14, 2023. www.unwomen.org/en/what-we-do/hiv-and-aids

² UNAIDS. Global HIV & AIDS Statistics — Fact Sheet. Accessed April 14, 2023. www.unaids.org/en/resources/fact-sheet

³ Barr, E, Marshall LJ, Collins, LF, et al. Centring the health of women across the HIV research continuum. Lancet HIV. Published online February 26, 2024. doi: 10.1016/S2352-3018(24)00004-3

⁴ Barr, E, Marshall LJ, Collins, LF, et al. Centring the health of women across the HIV research continuum. Lancet HIV. Published online February 26, 2024. doi: 10.1016/S2352-3018(24)00004-3

⁵ Barr, E, Marshall LJ, Collins, LF, et al. Centring the health of women across the HIV research continuum. Lancet HIV. Published online February 26, 2024. doi: 10.1016/S2352-3018(24)00004-3

⁶ 6: Barr, E, Marshall LJ, Collins, LF, et al. Centring the health of women across the HIV research continuum.  Lancet HIV. Published online February 26, 2024. doi: 10.1016/S2352-3018(24)00004-3