#05: Hope for a cure

Professor Sharon Lewin is the inaugural Director of the Peter Doherty Institute for Infection and Immunity, a joint venture between the University of Melbourne, Australia, and Royal Melbourne Hospital. She is Melbourne Laureate Professor of Infectious Diseases at the University of Melbourne, a consultant physician at the Alfred Hospital, and Royal Melbourne Hospitals in Melbourne. She is also the inaugural director of the Cumming Global Centre for Pandemic Therapeutics which was established following a gift of $250 million from philanthropist Geoff Cumming to the Doherty Institute. She received her medical degree and PhD in virology from Monash University, Melbourne, Australia and completed post-doctoral training at Rockefeller University, New York. She is an infectious diseases physician and basic scientist. Her research focuses on understanding why HIV persists on treatment and developing clinical trials aimed at ultimately finding a cure for HIV infection. She is the elected President of the IAS and co-chairs the IAS Towards a Cure Initiative. She was the Local Co-Chair for AIDS 2014 – the 20th International AIDS Conference – held in Melbourne, Australia and is the international co-chair for IAS2023. She was named Melburnian of the Year in 2014 for her major contributions to the city of Melbourne and was awarded Officer of the Order of Australia in 2019. She is a fellow of the Australian Academy of Health and Medical Sciences and the Australian Academy of Science.

Adam Castillejo is the second person known to have been cured of HIV. Initially identified only as “the London patient”, he became resistant to HIV after receiving a bone marrow transplant to treat Hodgkin’s lymphoma. The donor carried the CCR5-Δ32 mutation that impedes HIV from entering cells. Adam decided to reveal his identity to the world in early 2020, saying that he wanted to be “an ambassador of hope”. Adam is a British national, born in Caracas, Venezuela. A trained chef, Adam has worked in the hospitality industry for many years. He is passionate about travelling and learning about different cultures and cuisine. Adam was treated by our next guest, Ravindra Gupta.

Ravi Gupta has worked extensively in HIV drug resistance at molecular and population levels. His work, demonstrating escalating global resistance, led to changes in World Health Organization treatment guidelines for HIV. At University College London, he led the team that brought about the HIV cure in the “London patient”. During the COVID-19 pandemic, Ravi focused on RNA virus genetics and biology to report the first genotypic-phenotypic evidence for immune escape of SARS-CoV-2 within an individual, defining the process by which new variants likely arise, and also reporting some of the first data on Pfizer BioNTech vaccine-induced antibody responses against the B.1.1.7 variant that arose in the UK. His group defined poorer vaccine responses in the elderly, particularly concerning variants of concern. Most recently, Ravi’s work has defined the immune escape and transmissibility advantage of the Delta variant as the driver behind its global expansion. TIME named Ravi as one of the 100 Most Influential People of 2020.

Moses Nsubuga is a musician, radio and TV presenter and HIV advocate who has lived with HIV since 1994. Driven by his courage in the early days of his diagnosis, he propelled himself to the global stage as a formidable advocate for HIV prevention, treatment and cure research. Moses actively supports the IAS Towards an HIV Cure initiative and chairs the Joint Clinical Research Centre’s Community Advisory Board, as well as represents the African community on the ACTG, INSIGHT and AIGHD boards. He is now training new prevention and cure research advocates and fundraising for an HIV treatment and adherence centre in Uganda.