Thursday, July 24, 2014 7:21:14 AM
Science Book a Day Interviews Nathalia Holt
POSTED ON JULY 23, 2014
Special thanks to Nathalia Holt for answering 5 questions about her recently featured book – Cured: How the Berlin Patients Defeated HIV and Forever Changed Medical Science
Nathalia Holt is an award-winning research scientist specializing in HIV biology. Her research has led to major developments in the HIV gene therapy field. She has trained at the Ragon Institute of Massachusetts General Hospital, MIT and Harvard University, the University of Southern California and Tulane University. – From Nathalia’s Homepage
Nathalia’s Homepage: http://www.nathaliaholt.com
Nathalia’s Twitter: https://twitter.com/NathaliaHolt
#1 – What was the impetus for Cured?
We’ve cured two men cured of HIV and yet few outside the medical community are familiar with their stories. Understanding these cases and how they’re influencing research is key to ending AIDS. I wrote this book to shed light on the future of HIV medicine and explain how we got where we are today.
#2 – You trace the histories of the Berlin Patients and the researchers. Why did you find it important to flesh out the people on both sides of this equation?
Both the personal stories of the patients and their physicians are vital to their cures. This isn’t a story about a sterile clinical trial. Instead it’s about two young, inexperienced physicians who took incredible risks and designed innovative therapies for their individual patients. What happens to them in their personal lives is as much a part of their cures as the treatment itself.
#3 – How is our understanding of, and attitudes towards HIV different now (in the 2010s) compared to the previous two decades?
We’ve come so far in the past few decades. Where once those living with HIV faced extreme prejudice and hardship, today things have vastly improved. HIV can be diagnosed from a home kit bought in a drug store and the virus itself can be controlled with antiviral drugs for decades. We could have only dreamed of these advances in the 1980s. Unfortunately, there are still challenges. We see in young people an increasing apathy for the disease. This indifference has resulted in rising HIV infection in adolescents and young adults. The Centers for Disease Control estimates that 60% of HIV+ 13-24 year olds in the US don’t know they’re infected. Besides our scientific goals we also need to address these cultural issues.
#4 – You write about Big Pharma in your book. How do they come across in your book? The bad guys? The good guys? Or something more complicated than that?
Large pharmaceutical companies have played an important role in HIV medicine, unfortunately not always for the better. In the book I discuss how their influence has sunk promising treatments simply because they are not profitable enough and their complicated relationship with HIV investigators. I also describe the little guys, “small pharma,” companies such as Sangamo and Calimmune who, along with their academic collaborators, are generating some of the most promising HIV cure clinical trial data we have today.
http://sciencebookaday.com/2014/07/23/science-book-a-day-interviews-nathalia-holt/
Good luck and GOD bless,
George
Recent BNTC News
- Form 8-K - Current report • Edgar (US Regulatory) • 03/08/2024 09:17:00 PM
- Form 4 - Statement of changes in beneficial ownership of securities • Edgar (US Regulatory) • 03/08/2024 09:13:15 PM
- Form 4 - Statement of changes in beneficial ownership of securities • Edgar (US Regulatory) • 03/08/2024 09:12:19 PM
- Form EFFECT - Notice of Effectiveness • Edgar (US Regulatory) • 03/06/2024 05:15:18 AM
- Form DEL AM - Delaying amendment • Edgar (US Regulatory) • 02/26/2024 02:06:56 PM
- Form S-3 - Registration statement under Securities Act of 1933 • Edgar (US Regulatory) • 02/23/2024 09:09:24 PM
- Form 8-K - Current report • Edgar (US Regulatory) • 02/13/2024 01:15:31 PM
- Form 10-Q - Quarterly report [Sections 13 or 15(d)] • Edgar (US Regulatory) • 02/13/2024 01:01:16 PM
- Form 8-K - Current report • Edgar (US Regulatory) • 12/07/2023 09:15:54 PM
- Form 8-K - Current report • Edgar (US Regulatory) • 11/30/2023 12:31:00 PM
- Benitec Biopharma to Participate in a Fireside Chat at the 35th Annual Piper Sandler Healthcare Conference • GlobeNewswire Inc. • 11/17/2023 01:00:00 PM
- Form 8-K - Current report • Edgar (US Regulatory) • 11/13/2023 01:03:01 PM
- Form 10-Q - Quarterly report [Sections 13 or 15(d)] • Edgar (US Regulatory) • 11/13/2023 01:00:49 PM
- Benitec Biopharma Releases First Quarter 2024 Financial Results and Provides Operational Update • GlobeNewswire Inc. • 11/13/2023 01:00:00 PM
- Form DEFA14A - Additional definitive proxy soliciting materials and Rule 14(a)(12) material • Edgar (US Regulatory) • 10/20/2023 08:31:26 PM
- Form DEF 14A - Other definitive proxy statements • Edgar (US Regulatory) • 10/20/2023 10:04:42 AM
- Form 8-K - Current report • Edgar (US Regulatory) • 10/16/2023 09:29:59 PM
- Form 8-K - Current report • Edgar (US Regulatory) • 09/28/2023 09:19:02 PM
- Form 8-K - Current report • Edgar (US Regulatory) • 09/21/2023 12:05:29 PM
- Form 10-K - Annual report [Section 13 and 15(d), not S-K Item 405] • Edgar (US Regulatory) • 09/21/2023 12:00:53 PM
- Benitec Biopharma Releases Full Year 2023 Financial Results and Provides Operational Update • GlobeNewswire Inc. • 09/21/2023 12:00:00 PM
- Form 8-K - Current report • Edgar (US Regulatory) • 09/18/2023 09:26:00 PM
- Form 4 - Statement of changes in beneficial ownership of securities • Edgar (US Regulatory) • 08/14/2023 09:13:45 PM
- Form 8-K - Current report • Edgar (US Regulatory) • 08/11/2023 08:01:00 PM
- Benitec Biopharma Inc. Announces Closing of $30 Million Underwritten Public Offering • GlobeNewswire Inc. • 08/11/2023 05:00:12 PM
FEATURED Cannabix's Breath Logix Alcohol Device Delivers Positive Impact to Private Monitoring Agency in Montana, USA • Apr 25, 2024 8:52 AM
Bantec Reports an Over 50 Percent Increase in Sales and Profits in Q1 2024 from Q1 2023 • BANT • Apr 25, 2024 10:00 AM
Kona Gold Beverages, Inc. Announces Name Change to NuVibe, Inc. and Initiation of Ticker Symbol Application Process • KGKG • Apr 25, 2024 8:30 AM
Axis Technologies Group and Carbonis Forge Ahead with New Digital Carbon Credit Technology • AXTG • Apr 24, 2024 3:00 AM
North Bay Resources Announces Successful Equipment Test at Bishop Gold Mill, Inyo County, California • NBRI • Apr 23, 2024 9:41 AM
Epazz, Inc.: CryObo, Inc. solar Bitcoin operations will issue tokens • EPAZ • Apr 23, 2024 9:20 AM