Several members of the Midwest D-CFAR, including Drs. Christina Stallings, Ginger McKay, and Emmanuel Tetteh, have received a Transcend Initiative grant for a project titled the WashU Mycobacteria-focused Transcend Program (MycoTranscend).

In St. Louis, young Black men who have sex with men continue to face disproportionately high rates of HIV, while testing uptake remains persistently low. In response, ChampionSTL emerged as a community-centered initiative designed to reimagine HIV prevention through peer leadership, human-centered design, and accessible science communication. Learn more about ChampionSTL and what it means to build hope, equity, and power through community-academic partnerships.

Dr. GG recently defended their dissertation, marking an enormous milestone in their academic and professional career. We sat down with Dr. GG to learn what this accomplishment means for them, and how mentorship has factored into their growth as a scholar and professional.

The Midwest D-CFAR recently hosted the second annual HIV Proposal Bootcamp, where emerging HIV researchers received rapid, expert feedback on grant proposals. Here, we reflect on the event, highlighting the outstanding consultees and consultants who made the day a success.

Brittney van de Water, a certified pediatric nurse practitioner and global health delivery researcher, will visit St. Louis in April to discuss strategies for “empowering the frontline” through nursing leadership and implementation science. Learn more about her career, motivations, and the future of TB/HIV research.

Lindsey Filiatreau, PhD, MPH, Midwest D-CFAR member and Assistant Professor at the WashU School of Public Health, attended the 29th Annual National CFAR Meeting in Denver. We asked Dr. Filiatreau to share some key takeaways from the meeting.

Darius Rucker, M.Ed and Kneeshe Parkinson, B.S. reflect on 314 Day in St. Louis. Throughout the day, community leaders across the city gathered to strengthen relationships and celebrate and support the community.

The Midwest D-CFAR HSSU St. Louis Dept. of Health STAR internship program allows dedicated Harris-Stowe students to gain hands-on experience in the field of HIV research and public health.

Dima Dandachi, MD, MPH, Co-Director of the Scientific Working Group, was accepted to the CAPS Visiting Professor Program at the University of California, San Francisco, which provides intensive training and mentoring to support the development of early-career researchers across the United States.

Thomas Odeny, MD, PhD, MPH received the 2025 Winn Clinical Investigator Leadership Award, which provides salary support, advanced clinical trials expertise, high-impact mentorship, and institutional networks to help participants become independent and highly effective community-oriented clinical researchers.

Dima Dandachi, Co-Director of the Scientific Working Group, recently attended the Mentoring the Mentors Workshop for HIV Researchers in San Francisco. We asked Dr. Dandachi to share her reflections and key takeaways from the workshop.

Meet Dr. Chen Shen, an early-stage HIV investigator at WashU. Chen studies the structural mechanisms of host-pathogen interactions.

At a recent Scientific Working Group Community Collaborative meeting, individuals who submitted to the latest call for Partner Pilot Award applications were given the opportunity to reflect and share feedback about their experience.

Meet the inaugural Scientific Working Group (SWG) Community Champions, San Juan Caffey Jr. and Jourdan Lacey. The Community Champion Program uplifts leaders whose lived experience and professional expertise strengthen our shared mission to equitably end the HIV epidemic in Missouri.

The 2026 Conference on Retroviruses and Opportunistic Infections (CROI), happening February 22-26 in Denver, Colorado, features presentations by several Midwest D-CFAR investigators.

These awards aim to support emerging and established researchers as they expand their focus to HIV-related studies.

Meet Dr. Beau Ances, professor of neurology at WashU and director of the Midwest D-CFAR Clinical Science Core.

The 18^th Annual Conference on the Science of Dissemination and Implementation in Health (D&I) was held this week in Washinton, D.C. and several members of the Midwest D-CFAR were there leading workshops, facilitating discussion forums, and presenting novel research.

Meet Dr. Octavio Mesner, an early-stage HIV investigator at WashU. Octavio focuses on the intersection of methods and LGBTQ+ health, particularly in non-parametric causal discovery. 

When rural communities are left without the resources and support to participate in clinical trials our understanding of HIV is skewed. Blog written by Dima Dandachi, co-director of the Midwest D-CFAR’s Scientific Working Group.