My Fred Hutch Highlight
A highlight for me in Fred Hutch was when Jeff made a presentation and shared with everyone at Fred Hutch what the Car-T Cell Cancer Research Study was really about. One thing that really impressed me was how many organizations were involved in Cellular Therapeutics. It really made me appreciate the people who are interested in doing more for others in this medical department. Another thing that made me interested was the science behind Hematopoietic Stem Cells, HSC Engraftment, and Immunotherapy. These things were a great way to inform others about the science leading up to this study. The journey of how a Car- T Cell would go through the body was also interesting to know about. The quote Jeff also shared with us, “If small molecules and biologics are tools, then cells are carpenters—and architects and engineers as well. ” -Fischbach et al., Science Translational Medicine, 2013 was a great quote for others who are interested in Science and Medicine to know about. It shows just the possibilities of what cells can do for our bodies and therefore the world. The products and processing of these studies were also great to know about. This workshop really spoke to me because not only was the study and it’s possibilities fascinating, but I also loved the passion in Jeff’s voice as he was presenting to us. I could tell that he really believes that the Car T-Cell study is really something that can change so many things in the world we live in. This can be a real solution that will improve and impact the world as we know it. That is why this workshop was a real highlight in this Virtual Camp for me.
The research article I decided to study is called “Injectable HIV drug prevents infections”. This article talked about a trial of an injectable drug called Cabotegravir that an antiviral drug that blocks integrase, a blood cell enzyme that HIV uses to destroy a person’s immune cells. According to some data conducted by the Vaccine and Infectious Disease Division of Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center in Seattle, this new injectable dug showed significantly fewer new HIV infections given to volunteers then participants given a once-a-day pill that is also supposed to stop HIV AIDS. According to the article, “The study was intended to run until November 2022 to test whether injections every other month of the drug, cabotegravir [cabo-teg-gra-veer], might be just as effective as Truvada, an HIV-prevention pill proven to reduce HIV infections by 90%. But a planned early look at the data showed that the participants given the shots were one-third less likely to become infected than those who were assigned to the pills.” (Sabin Russell) According to Deborah Donnell, a researcher of the study, “To have something that is long-acting and this successful in preventing HIV acquisition is really a breakthrough for people at risk.”
This study is important to advance in because it can be this new injectable drug that can be a different method for people who want to prevent HIV in a way that works for them. This can be a method that people that may be more useful and accessible to others than a pill they may forget to take. This can be a big step in helping people prevent themselves from getting HIV effectively, impacting society. If these new trials prove effective enough, the world can welcome a new way to control the spread of this disease and change just how much it affects our world. Original Article: https://www.fredhutch.org/en/news/center-news/2020/05/hiv-prevention-cabotegravir.html
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