The candidate, Dr. Carey Farquhar, proposes a mentoring program in global HIV/AIDS research for pre- and post-doctoral fellows and students pursuing a career in patient-oriented research at the University of Washington (UW) and in Kenya. Dr. Farquhar has a strong record in mentoring, having mentored more than 25 trainees since completing infectious disease fellowship in June 2002. She currently mentors 2 UW infectious disease fellows,1 UW post- doctoral fellow, 2 Kenyan post-doctoral fellows, and chairs 3 doctoral committees for students in the UW Department of Epidemiology, all of whom are actively involved in clinical or molecular epidemiology projects based in Nairobi. She has several ongoing studies with federal and non- federal funding that will provide opportunities for her trainees and through this award anticipates expanding her research agenda to include new studies focused on immune responses to common childhood infectious pathogens. The proposed research projects build on past collaborative work in mother-to-child HIV transmission, passive immunity and vaccination again common infant pathogens, particularly measles, a leading cause of infant morbidity and mortality in sub-Saharan Africa. The first project, """"""""Impact of Highly Active Antiretroviral Therapy during Pregnancy and Breastfeeding on Passive Transfer of Antibodies against Measles, Rotavirus, and Pneumococcus,"""""""" utilizes data from an existing randomized clinical trial and investigates non-HIV causes of morbidity and mortality in resource-limited settings. The second project, """"""""Sustainable Responses to Measles Vaccination among HIV-1-infected Children on HAART,"""""""" addresses an important gap in knowledge regarding responses to measles re-vaccination among Kenyan children on HAART. Dr. Farquhar proposes to use the K24 award to improve her research and mentoring skills, with special emphasis on building translational research capacity through work with the UW Institute for Translational Health Science and on training infectious disease fellows in Pediatrics and Medicine. The University of Washington is an ideal setting for her proposed mentoring program due to its rich and varied resources in global health and HIV/AIDS research and the increasing number of highly qualified applicants interested in conducting clinical research in a resource- limited setting. Without an understanding of protection against non-HIV pathogens, many children who avoid HIV-1 infection or are successfully treated with HAART will succumb to vaccine-preventable infections, such as measles. These two studies address problems of major public health importance and will allow Dr. Farquhar to continue mentoring US and Kenyan trainees as she broadens her research agenda.
Without an understanding of protection against non-HIV pathogens, many children who avoid HIV-1 infection or are successfully treated with HAART will succumb to vaccine-preventable infections, such as measles. These two studies address problems of major public health importance and will allow Dr. Farquhar to continue mentoring US and Kenyan trainees as she broadens her research agenda.
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