Blog Posts by Carl Dieffenbach, Ph.D.
Carl W. Dieffenbach, Ph.D., serves as Director of the Division of AIDS (DAIDS) at NIAID. Dr. Dieffenbach oversees a global HIV/AIDS research portfolio of more than $1 billion and a staff of more than 150 federal employees. Dr. Dieffenbach is responsible for planning, implementing, managing, and evaluating divisional programs in the following areas: a) Basic laboratory research; b)Discovery and development of therapies and treatment strategies for HIV infection, related co-infections and co-morbidities, and the complications associated with treated HIV disease through basic research and clinical trials; and c) Discovery and development of vaccines, topical microbicides, and other prevention strategies through basic research and clinical trials Dr. Dieffenbach played a key role in restructuring the DAIDS-supported clinical trials research networks and has actively fostered collaboration and partnerships with other federal agencies, international research organizations, professional societies, foundations, community advocacy groups, and industry.
Community Engagement in NIAID’s HIV/AIDS Clinical Trials Networks
Since early in the HIV/AIDS epidemic, the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID) has involved community representatives and advocates in the research process. The nature and scope of the community’s involvement have grown over the years, but the rationale behind these efforts remains the same: the people who might benefit from the research…
New Announcement about PrEP from NIH
The National Institutes of Health National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases just made a significant announcement on pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP). I am proud to share this important update from the NIH with our blog readers. Learn more by reading this Q&A.
What’s in it for Non-AIDS Infectious Diseases Researchers?
Co-authored by Hugh Auchincloss, M.D., NIAID Deputy Director and Carole Heilman, Ph.D., Director of NIAID’s Division of Microbiology and Infectious Diseases So far all of the postings on this blog series have been about HIV/AIDS research or about diseases that are major comorbidities. This is appropriate since we have been discussing the upcoming re-competition of…
Advancing Pediatric, Maternal and Child Health
Co-authored by Edward Handelsman, M.D., Chief of NIAID’s Pediatric Medicine Branch within the Division of AIDS, and Lynne Mofenson, M.D., Chief of the Pediatric, Adolescent and Maternal AIDS Branch within the Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health & Human Development. As a result of our continued dialogue with our collaborators and stakeholders, NIAID…
Future Directions for NIAID’s HIV Vaccine Clinical Research
Co-authored by Margaret I. Johnston, Ph.D., Director of the Vaccine Research Program in NIAID’s Division of AIDS Carl W. Dieffenbach, PhD Margaret I. Johnston, PhD The development of a safe and effective preventive vaccine for HIV remains one of NIAID’s highest priorities. As we look to the future, we are also seeking to expand the…
Looking Ahead: NIAID’s Future HIV/AIDS Therapeutics Priorities
Since the 1980s when the HIV/AIDS epidemic was first recognized, NIAID-supported clinical research has helped to save millions of lives and played a key role in defining the standard of care for treating HIV infection. This blog post describes what we are seeking for the next wave of HIV/AIDS therapeutic approaches. Specifically, we have identified…
Future Priorities for NIAID’s HIV Prevention Research
As we begin to discuss the restructuring of NIAID’s clinical trials networks, let us first focus on the Institute’s HIV prevention research agenda. Developing new biomedical tools that can safely and effectively prevent HIV acquisition and transmission is critical to addressing the global HIV/AIDS pandemic. Currently, we are exploring several promising HIV prevention strategies that,…
Restructuring NIAID’s HIV/AIDS Clinical Trials Networks
Over the next several weeks, the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID) will post a series of entries here on AIDS.gov related to planning for the future of NIAID’s HIV/AIDS clinical trial networks. The awards supporting the six current HIV/AIDS networks are set to expire in 2013 and 2014. Building on the success…
Pursuing a “Cure” for HIV/AIDS – Two Distinct Approaches
Contrary to what you may have heard or read on the Internet, there is currently no cure for HIV/AIDS. While some say that there may never be a cure, I believe there is reason for hope. That’s because some of our best scientists are working on two distinct approaches to finding a cure for HIV/AIDS,…
Putting TLC+ to the Test
If we routinely test everyone for HIV and treat those who are infected, could we bring an end to the HIV/AIDS epidemic? The test and treat concept, modeled on data from South Africa by scientists at the World Health Organization, is a provocative HIV prevention strategy. According to mathematical modeling, a successfully implemented test and…
