HIV/AIDS research

Findings from a study conducted by experts revealed that children and adolescents living with HIV are
more likely to be affected by oral diseases compared to those without the virus.
Children aged between 6 years and 12 years who are mostly transitioning between primary to
permanent teeth were the targeted children in the stud. A higher percentage of them were found to be
suffering from various dental related diseases.
Untreated dental carries, dry mouth and mouth ulcers were most prevalent in the children who were

HIV-1 transmission dynamics involving men who have sex with men (MSM) in Africa are not well understood. We investigated the rates of HIV-1 transmission between MSM across three regions in Kenya: Coast, Nairobi and Nyanza. We analysed 372 HIV-1 partial pol sequences sampled during 2006-2019 from MSM in Coast (N=178, 47.9%), Nairobi (N=137, 36.8%), and Nyanza (N=57, 15.3%) provinces in Kenya. Maximum-Likelihood (ML) phylogenetics and Bayesian inference were used to determine HIV-1 clusters, evolutionary dynamics, and virus migration rates between geographic regions.

Dr. Marianne Mureithi is among the selected 20 women in science globally to receive the Female Science Talents Intensive Track 2022.She is the current Chair of the Department of Medical Microbiology and Immunology and Senior Research Fellow at KAVI-Institute of Clinical Research at the University of Nairobi.

The University of Nairobi (UoN) virtually joined the world in marking 2020 World Aids Day on 1^st December.

The theme for this year’s commemoration was ‘Global Solidarity and shared responsibility’.

The University of Nairobi (UoN) Center of Excellence in HIV Medicine (COEHM) Project continues to lead the way in the fight against HIV in Kenya.

The University of Nairobi, Central Kenya Response - Integration, Strengthening and Sustainability plus Project (CRISS+ Project) is a 5 year (2017-2022) PEPFAR-funded HIV prevention, care & treatment project in partnership with Kiambu and Kirinyaga County health departments, Kiambu People Living with HIV/AIDS (KIPEWA) and the Jomo Kenyatta University of Agriculture and Technology (JKUAT).

Funding and effort has gone into understanding the body’s immune response to HIV, with scientific investigations of the blood. Now a team of UoN researchers KAVI-Institute of Clinical Research (KAVI-ICR) at the University of Nairobi has been awarded two research grants from the National Institute of Health (NIH) and the Swedish Research Foundation to investigate the body’s defense but this time studying the mucosal tissues of sexual organs.

Tailored services for adolescents and young adults (AYA) living with HIV may improve treatment outcomes.

Although HIV programmes have implemented varied approaches to enhance AYA services that could be leveraged to support transition to adult services, there is need to conduct research on the impact of these services on health outcomes.

The University of Nairobi (UoN) College of Health Sciences (CHS) played host to the funeral service for Prof. Francis Plummer, a renowned HIV researcher from Canada.

Prof. Plummer died on 4^th February, 2020 in Nairobi. He was visiting Kenya to celebrate the 40^th anniversary of the University of Manitoba and University of Nairobi research collaboration he helped to establish.