The Yale LGBTQ Center is proud to announce that Samuel Neil Byrd, our Director of LGBTQ Resources at Yale University, recently joined the faculty of the 2024 Academy for a Cure in Kigali, Rwanda sponsored by the International AIDS Society (IAS) and AVAC. This prestigious event which took place from June 8-10, brought together experts, advocates, and researchers from around the world to explore innovative strategies and solutions related to HIV cure research.
From left to right: Jessica Salzwedel, Samuel Byrd, Adam Ward, Gabriela Cromhout, Sherazaan Ismail, and Riccardo Maddalozzo
The other 2024 Academy for a Cure faculty included:
The 2024 Academy for a Cure applicant pool was especially competitive with over 308 applications received and 14 participants selected (Acceptance rate: 4.5%). Participant backgrounds included counselors and peer educators, physicians, and communication officers working in Botswana, Brazil, Cameroon, Kenya, Malawi, Namibia, Nigeria, Tanzania, Uganda, Zambia, and Zimbabwe.
2024 Academy for a Cure Group Photo
The 2024 Academy for a Cure’s itinerary reflected a robust and dynamic program, highlighting foundational science, population-specific studies, and advocacy planning. Key sessions included:
Director Byrd engages Academy participants in a conversation about LGBTQ health issues in Africa and Brazil.
Sam’s lecture on Global LGBTQ Health garnered significant interest, prompting a significant extension within the overall program by both the participants and faculty alike for further in-depth discussion. The session Global LGBTQ Health: An Introduction outlined foundational concepts for understanding the LGBTQ community, an examination of LGBTQ issues worldwide, and introduced the new open-access textbook, Global LGBTQ Health: Research, Policy, Practice, and Pathways. This comprehensive resource delves into the intersection of LGBTQ health issues, offering critical insights and practical pathways for HIV cure research in both policy and practice, with particular emphasis on the Global South.
This groundbreaking open-access book that pioneers the intersection of global and LGBTQ health. Addressing the lack of comparative research, it explores health challenges and resiliencies in LGBTQ communities worldwide. With broad socio-political-cultural perspectives, it informs new research, policies, and programs. This essential resource benefits students, researchers, policymakers, and healthcare providers, enhancing sensitivity and competence in LGBTQ health.
Participants and faculty also had the opportunity to visit prominent research facilities, including the Rwanda Zambia Health Research Group and Project San Francisco in Rwanda. This excursion aimed to provide participants with a firsthand look at the groundbreaking research and initiatives driving progress in HIV cure and how the clinics and research scientists work with the local community here in Rwanda to improve public health, especially amongst key populations at higher risk for HIV.
Projet San Francisco is a research site of the Rwanda Zambia HIV Research Group (RZHRG). RZHRG has been a global leader in the fight against HIV/AIDS for more than 25 years, supporting prevention programs and research in Kigali, Rwanda (Projet San Francisco) and in Ndola and Lusaka, Zambia (ZEHRP). Operating from Emory University, RZHRG programs include couples voluntary counseling and testing, couples family planning and counseling with the provision of long acting reversible contraceptives; research among key populations; data management and analysis; molecular work in the laboratories; and financial and administrative management. RZHRG is committed to supporting Couples Voluntary Counseling and Testing (CVCT) as an effective and economical way to decrease HIV/AIDS transmission throughout sub-Saharan Africa. Much of the work RZHRG conducts relies on collaboration with local and international organizations.
Emory University sponsors the location in Kigali. The site hosts a clinic open to the community and a research laboratory.
Participants have prepared numerous questions to ask the clinic director and laboratory manager.
Dr. Ingabire has been working in the fields of HIV research/control and family planning promotion for 10 years. She has received an MD from the National University of Rwanda, and is currently pursuing a Master’s degree in Infectious Disease at the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine. Dr. Ingabire was first introduced to HIV services supervision while working as clinical investigator at the former Treatment and Research Center on HIV/AIDS, Malaria, Tuberculosis and other Epidemics (TRAC Plus). Currently she has been supervising HIV prevention and treatment programs targeting the general population, but focusing on special groups such as HIV discordant couples and female sex workers (FSW) at Projet San Francisco (PSF).
Dr. Ingabire’s work has included testing, monitoring, and evaluating new HIV prevention strategies in these groups, including Couples Voluntary Counseling and Testing, HIV treatment for prevention, and Test and Start. Her research also addresses heterosexual HIV transmission from people enrolled in HIV treatment, challenges with HIV Viral suppression, STI re-infection and treatment resistance, and syndromic STI treatment vs diagnostic based treatment. Dr. Ingabire also leads family planning activities at PSF, including integration of Long Acting Reversible Contraceptives in government partner clinics, research on improving post-partum IUD provision and improving family planning access for FSW.
Jean Bizimana, RN, MSc
Mr. Bizimana has worked in the health field for more than 20 years, and has served as laboratory manager for more than 15 of those years. He received an RN from the Institute of Hospital Technics, Belgium, as well as a BS in Public Health from the Catholic University of Louvain, Belgium, a Diploma in Infectious Diseases from the University of London International Programme, and a Master of Science in Infectious Disease from the University of London International Programme. He also has advanced training in the laboratory techniques of PBMC Isolation and storage using LIMS or LDMS software, ELISPOT assays, flow cytometry, and data analysis using FlowJo software. Mr. Bizimana’s research interests are in the detection of STI, HIV and STI in men who have sex with men, and female sex workers using GeneXpert and using PCR technologies to determine transmitted HIV genetic linkage. Over the last fifteen years, Mr. Bizimana has worked to set up the PSF laboratory in accordance with full accreditation for Good Clinical Laboratory Practices, in addition to being involved in HIV prevention research and supervising other laboratory activities. Mr. Bizimana also directs the laboratory in conducting HIV vaccine and malaria therapeutics clinical trials.
Participants observe researchers hard at work and were impressed with the number of women in science at the facility.
Each machine in the lab allows scientists to perform specialized experiments to further their understanding of public health.
The facility in Kigali has many laboratory rooms for a variety of experiments.
Bio-safety cabinets (BSCs) are enclosed, ventilated laboratory workspaces designed to protect the user, laboratory environment, and experimental materials from exposure to infectious agents and contaminants. They are commonly used in laboratories working with hazardous biological materials, such as bacteria, viruses, and other microorganisms.
Participants are not only gaining cutting-edge knowledge from leading experts but also actively making vital connections between workshop sessions and real-world applications for HIV cure research.
In this room the lab the temperature is monitored 24/7 with alarms and SMS messaging to protect the scientific work and resources of the laboratory.
Liquid nitrogen is used in HIV research labs for several reasons, primarily related to its extremely low temperature, which allows for the preservation and storage of biological samples and reagents.
Flow Cytometry is vital in HIV cure research for profiling immune cells, detecting latent reservoirs, monitoring responses to therapies, and ensuring quality control in gene therapy.
Participants learn that electricity is extremely important for the lab, with 2 generators and a solar array on hand. Also, some specialized materials can take up to 3 to 6 months to order.
The 2024 Academy for a Cure was committed to fostering an inclusive environment where diverse voices and perspectives are heard. The contributions of our center’s director, guest faculty, and students, especially in expanding the conversation on LGBTQ health, underscore the academy’s dedication to addressing the unique challenges and needs of LGBTQ individuals as a key population in HIV cure research.
I found this academy quite different from other conferences or events I’ve participated in within Africa. It was truly a safe space and the faculty were all so welcoming of all our many questions. Before this, I do not believe I had ever met anyone who was gay or trans- it is very taboo in Cameroon. The presentation was so helpful in learning more about the LGBTQ community and I feel more prepared as an advocate.
2024 Academy Participant
The conversation on LGBTQ health was so important right now in my work. It is sad that in my country we cannot have these conversations openly, because they are needed. LGBTQ people can be poisoned or stabbed in the chest there with little to no consequences.
2024 Academy Participant
IAS aims to galvanize the scientific response, build global solidarity and enhance human dignity for all those living with and affected by HIV.
AVAC’s mission is to accelerate the ethical development of effective HIV prevention options and ensure access to those options for everyone who needs them as part of a comprehensive and integrated path to global health equity.