ViiV Healthcare, American Academy of HIV Medicine announce HIV prevention fellowship

ViiV Healthcare, the global specialist HIV company majority owned by GSK, with Pfizer and Shionogi as shareholders, and the American Academy of HIV Medicine jointly announced the launch of The Dr. Dawn K. Smith HIV Prevention Clinical Fellowship. 

The fellowship will provide comprehensive HIV training to non-infectious disease clinicians serving communities disproportionately affected by HIV. The fellowship was announced at the Conference on Retroviruses and Opportunistic Infections, one of the world’s largest convenors of the HIV scientific and medical community, in Denver, Colo.

Bruce Packett, II, executive director at the American Academy of HIV Medicine, said, “The HIV epidemic continues to disproportionately affect communities of color and other groups who have faced systemic barriers to healthcare in the U.S. With more proven HIV prevention tools than ever before, now is the time to ensure that all healthcare providers are trained to discuss and promote HIV prevention with their patients. Through The Dr. Dawn K. Smith HIV Prevention Clinical Fellowship, experienced HIV clinicians will provide that training in priority populations and areas, with a special emphasis on pre-exposure prophylaxis.”

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The Dr. Dawn K. Smith HIV Prevention Clinical Fellowship, managed independently by the AAHIVM and funded with a grant provided by ViiV Healthcare, will offer clinicians comprehensive education, starting with online training that transitions into a preceptorship in a clinic that sees a high number of patients. After this, participants receive funding to start a PrEP clinic within their own practices.

Kimberly Smith, head of research and development at ViiV Healthcare, said, “This fellowship will help focus training and resources in the areas that stand to make the biggest impact in changing the trajectory of the HIV epidemic. Dr. Dawn K. Smith was a mentor to me and many researchers, providers and advocates who seek to address disparities in HIV incidence and address HIV prevention in communities of color particularly for women. A fellowship that focuses on training future leaders in this field is a fitting tribute to recognize her many contributions. The American Academy of HIV Medicine is the perfect organization to help equitably connect the community to preventative care, and ViiV Healthcare is pleased to support such an important program that will bring us closer to ending the HIV epidemic.”

The fellowship is intended for non-infectious disease clinicians in the fields of emergency medicine, family medicine, obstetrics and gynecology, pharmacy practice, primary care and other fields of medicine that don’t traditionally provide HIV prevention care and tools to their patients. In addition, experienced HIV clinicians, researchers and educators credentialed with AAHIVM will serve as mentors who educate and train program fellows.

PrEP has emerged over the past decade as an essential tool to prevent HIV acquisition and help society reach the end of the HIV epidemic. PrEP also is significantly underutilized, with about 30% of the 1.2 million people living in the United States who could benefit from PrEP receiving a prescription for the medication. Significant racial and gender disparities in usage of PrEP also persist. In the U.S., estimates suggest 78% of white people who could benefit from PrEP have been prescribed it, compared to only 11% of Black and 20% of Hispanic/Latinx people who could benefit. Further, PrEP coverage also is unevenly distributed among people based on sex, with coverage almost three times as high among males (34%) compared to females (12%).

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Applications for The Dawn K. Smith HIV Prevention Clinical Fellowship are open to clinicians licensed to practice medicine in the United States and can be accessed via a submission form at American Academy of HIV medicine website. The submission deadline is May 15, 2024, and the fellowship begins on July 1, 2024.