HIV T-32 Recipients Teresa Murphy and Carissa Stover
Written By Brita Ostermeier-GWSOBS Academic Chair and Ph.D. student in the IBS program
A conversation with Teresa Murphy and Carissa Stover on being awarded a new HIV T32 grant to study HIV Co-Morbidities and Therapeutics for Ph.D. students in the Institute for Biomedical Sciences (IBS) Program at the George Washington University (GW).
Source: NIAID, CC BY 2.0 https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0, via Wikimedia Commons
The recently funded HIV Persistence, Co-Morbidities and Therapeutics (supported by NIH T32 AI 158105) is a program that provides PhD students with the training to pursue HIV research within their PhD and beyond. This is the first year this grant was offered for GW IBS students and supports two students per year. I sat down with 2021 HIV T32 trainees, Carissa Stover and Teresa Murphy, to discuss their experience in the program.
BO: What research are you pursuing and how does it relate to the HIV T32?
TM: My research project is studying the fitness costs of viral escape during treatment of HIV using broadly neutralizing antibodies (bNAbs). The end goal of this is to possibly identify a bNAb cocktail that would block feasible escape. This pertains to the T32 grant because bNAbs have come to the forefront of HIV research in recent years as it provides a possible treatment for patients due to the broad nature of the antibodies and their ability to evade escape more robustly.
CS (left): My research project is examining the influence of sex hormones on HIV cure strategy. The “shock and kill” strategy utilizes agonists that induce both reactivation of HIV from latent reservoirs and clearance of reactivated virus. My work considers the effects of sex hormones on both reactivation from latency and immune response. This is important to study for designing cure therapies for women and transgender populations who would potentially be affected. This relevant to the T32 as my research addresses HIV persistence and factors that may influence cure strategy.
BO: What types of training are you exposed to as part of the HIV T32?
TM (left): The T32 program involves forming a committee to aid in my T32 project and have bi-yearly meetings to discuss progress. Dr. Bosque and Dr. Maggirwar have also been instrumental in forming a class that focuses on HIV persistence, co-morbidities and therapies to not only educate Carissa and I, but any others in the IBS program that may have interest in HIV. We are also lucky in the fact that we have resources from multiple organizations such as CROI, DCCFAR and others. We regularly attend hosted seminars to glean other perspectives from researchers in different HIV wheelhouses. Drs. Bosque and Maggirwar are also in the process of planning seminars and retreats specific to the training program to allow us to make deeper connections in the HIV research community.
CS: I think Teresa pretty much covered it!
BO: For future T32 applicants, what would you recommend when preparing the application?
CS: I think a critical component of the application is to be able to articulate your passion and interest in HIV research. I think this is an important because the goal of this grant is to help train the next generation of HIV scientists. So not only is it important to be able to talk about your science, but also why you’re interested in pursuing it. Writing this section of the application was a great reminder of why I decided go into research and why we do what we do.
TM (left): I think the biggest part of my T32 was getting help from a multitude of sources during the application process. I was able to reach out to old mentors for help on top of the large amount of help I received from my lab members when writing my research statement. Reaching out for the advice of others and having outside perspectives on my essays and application was instrumental to my success. I highly recommend that future applicants not be afraid to ask for advice from both their HIV centered mentor as well as any other scientific voices to orient you more.
BO: Finally, why did you apply to the HIV T32 and would you recommend the program to others?
TM: I applied to the T32 to enhance my HIV knowledge and to be able to tap into the resources that it will provide for my future research. It is a prestigious opportunity and one that I do not take lightly. It was an honor to be chosen. I highly recommend that future students apply because it is an amazing opportunity and allows you to build deeper connections with the HIV research community within DC.
CS: I applied to the T32 as I was interested in the holistic training in HIV research that it would provide. I was also excited for the mentorship and opportunities in leadership, writing, and scientific training that being part of the T32 would provide. I feel honored to be part of the first cohort of T32 and I highly recommend applying to this grant. It’s an invaluable addition to your doctorate training!
Carissa Stover is a 3rd year PhD student in the IBS program working in Dr. Alberto Bosque’s lab in the MITM department.
Teresa Murphy is a 2nd year PhD student in the IBS program working in Dr. Rebecca Lynch’s lab in the MITM department.
More information about this program can be found at the following link: https://hivpecottp.smhs.gwu.edu
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