The Future of HIV Care

We are prescribing initial ART to roughly 83% of all people living with HIV in the U.S., but only 62% are taking all of their doses — and we are only retaining 56% in care. This month, University of Alabama-Birmingham clinical professor and researcher Aadia Rana, M.D., joins the podcast to answer the question: Why is this (still) happening, and what can the clinical community realistically do abou...

After years of relatively little movement on the HIV treatment front, we're entering a new period of activity, as fresh FDA drug approvals begin to roll in and the research pipeline grows more intriguing. Longtime clinician-researcher Joel Gallant, M.D., M.P.H., joins us to discuss the current wave of two-drug regimens; the long-acting options on the (not-too-distant) horizon; and the impact of al...

Demetre Daskalakis, M.D., M.P.H., has returned to his roots: He's the new chief medical officer in town at Callen-Lorde, a widely respected, LGBTQ-centric HIV and health care institution in New York City. He joins the podcast to discuss the extent to which HIV has been a "North Star" throughout the unexpected twists and turns of his medical career, as well as the role he sees for U.S. HIV clinicia...

Newly appointed IDSA CEO (and former NIAID Director) Jeanne Marrazzo, M.D., M.P.H., joins us this month to discuss a wealth of important topics that stand at the intersection of HIV research, clinical care, and policy/politics. We touch on highlights from the recent CROI 2026 science meeting — both in terms of the research and the vibes; on how the U.S. clinical community must adjust in the wake o...

  We welcome Oni Blackstock, M.D., M.H.S., to our miniseries of interviews with people who are leading some of the big conversations we're having as a health care community during a time of great change, and great strain, in HIV care provision within the U.S. Dr. Blackstock shares what has motivated her multiple evolutions along the arc of her career from HIV/PCP physician to NYC DOH assistant com...

Regardless of your specific role in HIV care, you are almost certainly feeling the deeply challenging moment we face as science-respecting, empathetic human beings. But even as the U.S. response to HIV is persistently undermined by our own federal government, many clinical leaders are finding paths forward. This month, we speak with one of them -- longtime physician/researcher/advocate Benjamin Yo...

Each year on TheBodyPro, David Alain Wohl, M.D., of the University of North Carolina summarizes and analyzes the 10 new studies and noteworthy events that he feels are most likely to have a palpable impact on the way we approach HIV prevention, treatment, and patient care in the U.S. And each year on this podcast, we welcome Dr. Wohl for a discussion about these keystone moments and their import....

Whether we think about it with excitement or fear (or both), AI has become a part of our daily lives — and, increasingly, it's a force we need to consider in HIV care provision. How can we best adapt to meet the moment? This month, we talk with Sean D. Young, Ph. D., M.S., a University of California-Irvine professor whose recent commentary in The Lancet HIV explores where AI is currently being int...

This month, we're slicing up a feast of guidance and information on HIV treatment switching in the setting of viral suppression. ART, after all, is not a "set it and forget it" proposition: Even when viral load is persistently undetectable, patients and providers alike may come to see value in changing regimens. Brian R. Wood, M.D., of the University of Washington joins us at the proverbial dinner...

This month, we're talking about an infrequently discussed, but quite powerful, implement we have in our clinical toolkit for optimizing patient outcomes: our ears. HIV/sexual health physician, researcher, and author Rageshri Dhairyawan, M.B.B.S., FRCP, joins the pod to talk about the nuances of hearing our patients — i.e., listening to them, understanding and acknowledging their concerns, and inco...

This month, we're taking stock of clinically noteworthy developments from the IAS Conference on HIV Science in July. On the docket: new (definitive?) data on the relationship between weight gain and ART; a range of studies on ART strategy, including treatment simplification, injectable ART in viremic patients, intermittent oral ART dosing, and PrEP safety in pregnancy; and a glimpse at updated WHO...

  This month, we're diving in deep on the U.S. approval of lenacapavir for PrEP -- both the promise it offers in expanding HIV prevention options and the current uncertainty around access, both in the U.S. and abroad. We also discuss growing concern within the HIV clinical community that our gold-standard guidelines for HIV treatment, care, and prevention may be rousted loose from their long-stand...

This month, we're digging into some recent, clinically notable HIV research in the U.S. that leaves us seeing a complex mix of clouds and silver (or perhaps gold?) linings. Specifically: new findings on ART prescription practices; a study on barriers to rapid HIV treatment initiation; and state-level data on PrEP prescribing trends relative to HIV diagnoses.   Support us by visiting the online tra...

In a time of growing uncertainty for the HIV response within the U.S., you may be wondering: What do I do if the public guidelines and resources I rely on to provide HIV-related clinical services cease receiving updates or are permanently removed? Laura and Myles discuss the complexities of our current moment -- and the extent to which our colleagues across the pond in the British HIV Association...

Myles Helfand and Laura Waters, M.D., FRCP, discuss recently published, clinically noteworthy findings from a trio of venerable HIV cohort studies. First, they review new data from the ATHENA study on non-AIDS events among so-called "HIV controllers." They then move on to recent findings from the START study regarding the link between ART initiation timing and cardiovascular disease risk. Finally,...

Laura Waters, M.D., and Myles Helfand recap several noteworthy moments and clinically important studies from this year's Conference on Retroviruses and Opportunistic Infections (CROI 2025), which took place during a deeply uncertain moment in the HIV field, both domestically and globally. Their research conversation includes highlights in antiretroviral therapy strategies; comorbidities; emerging...

Myles Helfand is joined by new co-host and expert HIV clinician-researcher Laura Waters, M.D., to dig into an issue they had once hoped they would never need to spend a podcast episode discussing: The rapidly unfolding impact of a new Trump administration on both the global fight against HIV and efforts to combat the virus -- and provide care and services -- within the United States.¶ ¶ Full episo...

You can't truly look to the future without taking time to make sense of the past. That's why our January episode explores some of the most important studies and events of 2024 from an HIV clinical standpoint, and discusses what those highlights mean for HIV care moving forward.¶ ¶ The guest: David Alain Wohl, M.D., a professor of medicine in the Division of Infectious Diseases at the University of...

GLP-1 Agonists and HIV: Do Weight-Loss Drugs Make Sense for Your Patients?     Three GLP-1 agonist drugs (which originally had been confined to diabetes treatment) are currently FDA approved specifically for weight loss. The rapid uptake of these medications in the U.S. has naturally led to questions within the HIV clinical community about their safety and efficacy in people living with HIV, whose...

For all too many people living with HIV in the U.S., the prospect of facing incarceration because of their status is not an abstraction: It is a real and present danger. And in many states, it has nothing to do with science. This month, Juan Michael Porter II speaks with Joseph Cherabie, M.D., M.Sc., about why it's so important for clinicians to educate themselves about HIV criminalization laws in...

Summer weather is transitioning into sweater weather in most of the U.S., and that means we -- and our patients -- are about to spend a lot more time indoors, inevitably getting exposed to numerous microbes. Accordingly, this month we're talking about vaccinations for people living with HIV: why they're critical, what to consider, how to discuss the topic with your patients, and how to help ensure...

This month, we're clearing the air around integrase inhibitors. They are by far the world's most commonly prescribed HIV drug class -- but that ubiquity has come with long-standing concerns around their potential to cause a range of adverse events, from weight gain to birth defects and more. Our executive editor Myles Helfand speaks with Laura Waters, M.D., FRCP, the head of the British HIV Associ...

This month, Juan Michael Porter II speaks with Tristan Barber, M.D., FRCP, about the challenges we face in determining the precise causes of particular health complications in people living with HIV. As importantly, they discuss how a provider can best make sense of these challenges and work through them to continue to provide exceptional, supportive patient care.     Read the transcript: https://...

The concept of "patient-centered care" can feel both nebulous and obvious: As a clinician treating a patient, are you not by definition providing patient-centered care? There is a key difference, however, between care that focuses on the patient and care that centers each patient as a unique individual in need of a specifically tailored approach.     This month, podcast co-hosts Myles Helfand and...

Your Patients Are Probably Having Anal Sex. Let's Talk About It.       It's Pride Month, so we thought: Why don't we talk about anal health? (Or, as we will frequently refer to it on this podcast, butt stuff?)     We know it's a taboo, and many of us are uncomfortable discussing it with our patients. But even though it is awkward, when we recognize that HIV transmissions often occur through anal s...