In episode 64 of Going anti-Viral, we look back at the past year and beyond to share highlights from past episodes of the Going anti-Viral Podcast. In this selection of highlights, we share the remarkable outcomes of scientific research, hearing from researchers, clinicians, and survivors. These outcomes are the result of the tremendous work and innovation of our guests and the entire scientific research community and the investment of the American people in scientific research.

0:00 – Introduction

1:29 – Dr Judith Currier – Next-Gen HIV Prevention and Treatment

1:59 – Dr Anthony Fauci – A Conversation with Dr Anthony Fauci

2:33 – Dawn Averitt – A Personal Journey with HIV and Advocacy for HIV Research

3:18 – Rebecca Denison – 40+ Years of HIV: What’s Changed, What Hasn’t, What Shouldn’t, What Must

3:44 – Dr Izukanji Sikazwe – Innovations in HIV Service Delivery: Building a Path Forward with Those Left Behind

4:19 – Dr Joseph Eron – HIV Cure Research: State of the Art and Navigating Presentations at CROI 2025

4:48 – Dr Diane Havlir – Preview of the 2025 Conference on Retroviruses and Opportunistic Infections (CROI)

5:22 – Dr Peter Hotez – The Measles Outbreak and the Role Anti-Science Plays in Threatening Public Health

5:58 – Dr Steven Grinspoon – The Management of Cardiovascular Health in Patients with HIV

6:18 – Dr Ellen Eaton – Treating Substance Use Disorder in an Inpatient Setting

6:41 – Dr Khalil Ghanem – Demystifying Syphilis: Diagnosis and Treatment

7:01 – Dr Carlos del Rio – Providing Healthcare to Foreign-Born and Hard-to-Reach Individuals

7:37 – Dr Yvonne Maldonado – How Vaccines Get Approved in the US: The RSV Story and the Role of the ACIP

8:00 – Dr Demetre Daskalakis – The CDC without Scientific Leadership

8:29 – Dr Rochelle Walensky – The COVID-19 Pandemic and the Current State of Public Health in the US

9:01 – Mary Fisher – Breaking the Silence: An Activist’s Approach

For full episodes, visit the Going anti-Viral Podcast on Spotify and Apple Podcasts

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Produced by IAS-USA, Going anti–Viral is a podcast for clinicians involved in research and care in HIV, its complications, and other viral infections. This podcast is intended as a technical source of information for specialists in this field, but anyone listening will enjoy learning more about the state of modern medicine around viral infections.

Going anti-Viral’s host is Dr Michael Saag, a physician, prominent HIV researcher at the University of Alabama at Birmingham, and volunteer IAS–USA board member. In most episodes, Dr Saag interviews an expert in infectious diseases or emerging pandemics about their area of specialty and current developments in the field. Other episodes are drawn from the IAS–USA vast catalogue of panel discussions, Dialogues, and other audio from various meetings and conferences.

Email podcast@iasusa.org to send feedback, show suggestions, or questions to be answered on a later episode.

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In episode 63 of Going anti-Viral, Dr Mari Kitahata joins host Dr Michael Saag to discuss the role of outcomes research on clinical decisions for patient care. Dr Kitahata is a Professor of Medicine at the University of Washington (UW) in the Division of Allergy and Infectious Diseases. For more than 3 decades, she has directed the UW/Fred Hutch Center for AIDS Research (CFAR) Clinical Research Core. Dr Kitahata’s research focuses on improving long-term outcomes for people with HIV and she has led studies demonstrating key determinants of increased survival in people with HIV including early initiation of antiretroviral therapy and care managed by physicians with greater HIV experience. Dr Kitahata discusses the significance of outcomes research in clinical settings, particularly in the context of HIV care. She explains the differences between efficacy and effectiveness, the challenges faced in observational studies, and the importance of statistical techniques to address biases. Dr Kitahata and Dr Saag discuss the role of electronic medical records (EMRs) in enhancing data collection and the necessity of data validation through adjudication processes. Additionally, the conversation touches on the importance of patient-reported outcomes and the limitations of EMR data, including issues of misclassification. Finally, Dr Saag and Dr Kitahata discuss the distinction between predictive modeling and etiologic modeling in research, underscoring the complexities of clinical care and the future directions for outcomes research.

0:00 – Introduction

2:30 – Efficacy versus effectiveness

5:51 – Challenges in outcomes research

8:27 – Statistical techniques in observational studies

16:13 – The role of electronic medical records

19:36 – Patient-reported outcomes and their importance

22:18 – Data validation and adjudication

28:30 – Limitations of observational data

35:08 – The future of outcomes research

__________________________________________________

Produced by IAS-USA, Going anti–Viral is a podcast for clinicians involved in research and care in HIV, its complications, and other viral infections. This podcast is intended as a technical source of information for specialists in this field, but anyone listening will enjoy learning more about the state of modern medicine around viral infections.

Going anti-Viral’s host is Dr Michael Saag, a physician, prominent HIV researcher at the University of Alabama at Birmingham, and volunteer IAS–USA board member. In most episodes, Dr Saag interviews an expert in infectious diseases or emerging pandemics about their area of specialty and current developments in the field. Other episodes are drawn from the IAS–USA vast catalogue of panel discussions, Dialogues, and other audio from various meetings and conferences.

Email podcast@iasusa.org to send feedback, show suggestions, or questions to be answered on a later episode.

Follow Going anti-Viral on:
Apple Podcasts
YouTube
X
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In episode 62 of Going anti-Viral, Dr Rochelle Walensky joins host Dr Michael Saag on World AIDS Day 2025 to discuss her experience as the Director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) during the COVID-19 pandemic and the current state of public health in the United States. Dr Walensky is a Professor of Medicine at Harvard Medical School and has published over 300 research articles that have motivated changes to US HIV testing and immigration policy and promoted expanded funding for HIV-related research, treatment, and the President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR). Dr Walensky reflects on her experience during the early months of the COVID-19 pandemic in Massachusetts where she was the Chief of the Division of Infectious Diseases at Massachusetts General Hospital. Dr Saag and Dr Walensky then discuss her transition to the Director of the CDC and her management of the agency during the pandemic. Dr Walensky and Dr Saag emphasize the dedication of public health professionals and the need for continued support and understanding of the challenges they face. They discuss the risk of proposed budget cuts to the CDC and the impacts this will have on the agency as well as state and local public health departments. Finally, they discuss the future of public health and their shared optimism for public health over the long-term.

0:00 – Introduction

1:41 – Management of the early outbreak of COVID-19 in Massachusetts and reflections on the Conference on Retroviruses and Opportunistic Infections (CROI) in March of 2020

11:50 – Transition to lead the CDC and reflections on the difficult job of management of the CDC during a pandemic

24:00 – Navigating COVID-19 variants and the challenge of public health recommendations for wearing masks and vaccination

28:24 – Outlook on the future of public health and the CDC and the risks of proposed budget cuts on state and local public health agencies

__________________________________________________

Produced by IAS-USA, Going anti–Viral is a podcast for clinicians involved in research and care in HIV, its complications, and other viral infections. This podcast is intended as a technical source of information for specialists in this field, but anyone listening will enjoy learning more about the state of modern medicine around viral infections.

Going anti-Viral’s host is Dr Michael Saag, a physician, prominent HIV researcher at the University of Alabama at Birmingham, and volunteer IAS–USA board member. In most episodes, Dr Saag interviews an expert in infectious diseases or emerging pandemics about their area of specialty and current developments in the field. Other episodes are drawn from the IAS–USA vast catalogue of panel discussions, Dialogues, and other audio from various meetings and conferences.

Email podcast@iasusa.org to send feedback, show suggestions, or questions to be answered on a later episode.

Follow Going anti-Viral on:
Apple Podcasts
YouTube
X
Facebook
Instagram
...