Tag Archive for: inflammation

Behind the Science: Improving the Health of Women Living with HIV

Interviewees: Tetiana Povshedna, PhD Student (University of British Columbia Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine); Marie-Soleil Smith, PhD Candidate (University of British Columbia Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine)  Authors/Editors: Romina Garcia de leon, Shayda Swann (Blog Co-coordinators).

Published: March 10th, 2023

Could you briefly explain what your research is about?

Tetiana: My research is part of The British Columbia CARMA-CHIWOS Collaboration (BCC3) Study, which seeks to better understand the process of aging among women living with HIV by examining the interplay between biological, clinical, and socio-structural determinants of health. In my thesis, I examine the associations between latent viral infections, inflammation, markers of cellular aging, and risk of comorbidities in women living with HIV. My work also explores chronic pain, which is often referred to as an “invisible disability” by community members due to its negative effects on all aspects of life and, in the context of HIV, treatment adherence and care. By raising awareness of this important comorbidity, we hope to improve chronic pain care for women living with HIV.

Marie-Soleil: My field of study lies at the cross-section of women’s health, HIV research, and the safety of medications taken while pregnant. My main project utilizes human embryonic stem cells as a model of an early developing embryo to find the safest antiretroviral regimens for use during pregnancy.

What led you to become interested in studying HIV and women’s health?

Tetiana: Historically, the majority of HIV research has involved men, thus limiting generalizability of findings to women, who constitute >50% of people living with HIV globally. The specific needs of half of the population of people living with HIV haven’t been addressed for years, and it’s only been changing recently. After my initial interest in HIV and aging, I was lucky to join the Côté Lab and get involved with community-based women-centered research. We have an amazing team of scientists, clinicians, and community members working together to answer women-specific questions in a meaningful way. 

Marie-Soleil: My interest in HIV research stemmed from my time at the BC Centre for Disease Control working as a co-op student. During my time there, my eyes were opened to the wide world of infectious disease research, particularly the more classically stigmatized sexually transmitted infections. I was energized by my brief stint in the field and was so grateful to find an opportunity to continue this important research in Dr. Côté’s lab. Although it was not intentional, I am very lucky to have landed in a lab that puts a major emphasis on women’s health research. This is especially true as women are now disproportionately affected by HIV.

Could you talk more about why clinical and cellular research are important?

Tetiana: It takes decades of diligent basic science research to advance a field to the point when the results are tangible in a clinical setting. While my work involves human specimens and survey data, a lot of other researchers in Côté Lab work with cellular models. Both types of work provide valuable data that can often guide clinical decision-making to improve quality of life for people living with HIV. 

What does your typical day look like?

Marie-Soleil: My days vary greatly depending on upcoming deadlines and whether I have ongoing cell culture experiments. If I do not have any experiments, I spend my day on the computer analyzing data, reading papers, and working on manuscripts. Experiment days vary widely depending on if it is a day where I am starting up the experiment, a maintenance day where I change the cell culture media, or a big analysis day where I harvest and prep the cells for subsequent flow cytometry. The cell culture experiments I conduct require daily lab work, so I try my best to spread my other work out throughout the week in an attempt to avoid burnout.

What impact do you hope to see from your work in the future? 

Tetiana: A powerful message coming from the community of people living with HIV is “Nothing about us without us is for us”. I hope that research projects that meaningfully involve community, such as BCC3, will address the true needs of the people we’re trying to serve. Ultimately, I hope that our study findings will improve care and everyday life for women living and aging with HIV, and also affect the way the research is conducted in this field. 

Marie-Soleil: My research provides information on the relative toxicity of antiretrovirals in an in vitro model, which may help inform and guide future human trials and strategies for the treatment of HIV in women of reproductive age. I would like to highlight the importance of utilizing relevant preclinical models and including people who become pregnant in clinical trials that assess medications that will undoubtedly be taken during pregnancy. Ultimately, I hope there is a future where all women have access to medications with sufficient pregnancy safety data.

Where can people find out more about your work? 

Tetiana: You can learn more about the BCC3 study on our website.

Marie-Soleil: @MarieSunSmith on Twitter

 

Behind the Science: Examining Inflammation and Depression Through a Bio-Sociological Lens

Interviewee: Tatiana Pakhomova, B.A., M.P.H., Ph.D. student, Simon Fraser University. Authors/Editors: Romina Garcia de leon, Shayda Swann (Blog Co-coordinator).

Published: January 13th, 2023

Could you please briefly explain what your research is about?

My Ph.D. research aims to examine the socio-structural pathways between inflammation and depression. I’m particularly interested in the relationship between depression and chronic inflammation, which refers to persistent immune activation in response to various stressors. We’re interested in looking at socio-structural, biological, and behavioural factors which impact the pathways between chronic inflammation and depression, and their downstream effects. People with chronic inflammation have higher numbers of specific inflammatory markers in their blood associated with increased risk of communicable and non-communicable diseases, like HIV and cardiovascular disease. For my Ph.D. work, I’m interested in how chronic inflammation is associated with an increased risk of poor mental health outcomes. Research shows that people with depression have increased inflammation. However, many pathways are bi-directional, with complex relationships involving hormonal pathways, neurotransmitters, and socio-structural factors. Very little research looks at these relationships in young people or longitudinally. For this reason, we want to look at these long-term trends to better understand this relationship. The study I’m working on is AYAZAZI, a longitudinal cohort across two study sites in Durban and Soweto (South Africa) that was launched in 2014 and investigated intersectional, behavioural, biological, and socio-structural factors that might influence HIV risk among young people aged 16-24. 

What interested you in studying how mental health affects a biological outcome like inflammation?

Part of it is personal. I’ve had episodic depression since my teenage years, but I didn’t seek help or get diagnosed until I was older. Given the barriers to accessing mental health support, my depression was left untreated for a long time. Secondly, from my academic background, my Bachelor’s was in political science and gender studies, and I have always been interested in the political aspect of health. After finishing my B.A., I worked in HIV social services with a regional staff team in Fraser Health for a few years, which led me to do my M.P.H. at Simon Fraser University, where I met Dr. Angela Kaida. I fell in love with the research process and have been fortunate to have worked in research since 2018. I also have a part-time position at the BC Centre for Excellence in HIV, looking at barriers as well as facilitators of healthcare engagement. Given this background, I was very interested in studying mental health from a holistic perspective, considering both the socio-structural and biological factors that interact to influence our health. That’s the great thing about social epidemiology – you get to bring in all of these intersecting concepts, and it’s a much more holistic way to look at health. 

Why do you think it’s important to study women’s health from the social determinants of health lens?

Structural determinants of health are a huge part of my work. Many of the gaps in the literature are centred around factors in the social environment that influence biological relationships. There is evidence out there that indicates that there are both sex and gender differences in inflammation markers among youth and adults, as well as in depression or other mental health outcomes. Gender inequity significantly impacts how people experience life stressors and may influence their health at the biological level, and I am interested in how gender plays a role for both young women as well as young men. As our study participants are aged 16 to 24, we do our work with an understanding that there are numerous fluctuating biological changes in youth and young adulthood that may affect the relationship between inflammation and mental health. 

Could you tell us more about the research projects you’ve worked on before, both in Canada and abroad?

Working with Peer Researchers to co-create knowledge has been a huge highlight of my career. I’ve also been fortunate enough to have a couple of research trips to South Africa. I did my M.P.H. with the AYAZAZI study, which feels like coming back in a circle to finish what I started. My Master’s work was also mental health-focused but focused on factors that are associated with perceived stress. Now, I get to look at mental health outcomes longitudinally. It’s been wonderful to build relationships with researchers in South Africa. I’ve spent a couple of summers at the Perinatal HIV Research Unit in Soweto, which has been an incredibly wonderful experience. 

What impact do you hope to see with your work years from now?

Working from the social determinants of health lens means that a lot of social and structural factors are potentially modifiable. When we’re looking at something like mental health, prevention is key because treatment options are not always accessible for some people. The purpose of this work is to give other researchers, community members, and stakeholders tangible evidence so that they can do something with it. It would be great to see some of this work be applied to policy that is youth-driven and youth-focused, that has real-world impacts, and adds something valuable to the body of research to better understand this important issue.