MGH Medical Practice Evaluation Center (MPEC)

Harvard Impact Labs announces inaugural group of faculty members working to tackle today’s challenges Ten faculty from six schools will receive funding, training, and public service opportunities to advance solutions-focused research.

Dr. Ingrid Bassett was one of the recipients of the @impactatharvard.bsky.social's Paid Service Leaves. She will be working with @massdph.bsky.social to design & evaluate childhood vaccination outreach and communication strategies. Read more at: www.hks.harvard.edu/announcement...

Congratulations to Dr. Crystal North on being awarded a CHEST/ALA grant to study community air pollution exposure and COPD.

Home-Based Care for Hypertension in Rural South Africa | NEJM Poorly controlled hypertension is a common problem worldwide, particularly in low-resource settings. We conducted an open-label, randomized, controlled trial of a home-based model of hypertension c...

Details published in @nejm.org @ahri-news.bsky.social @mgh-id.bsky.social www.nejm.org/doi/full/10....

Just out in NEJM: Drs. Siedner, Gaziano, Magula & colleagues show substantially improved hypertension care in rural South Africa by transferring treatment from clinic to home w/BP machines for self-monitoring, CHW check-ins, and remote care by nurses with an mHealth app.

Social Determinants of Health and Risk for Long COVID in the U.S. RECOVER-Adult Cohort | Annals of Internal Medicine Background: Social determinants of health (SDoH) contribute to disparities in SARS-CoV-2 infection, but their associations with long COVID are unknown. Objective: To determine associations between SDo...

A new study in @annalsofim.bsky.social found that participants with social risk factors at the time of SARS-CoV-2 infection had greater risk for subsequent long COVID than those without. Read more here: www.acpjournals.org/doi/10.7326/...

These findings from the multi-disciplinary team at MGH, EGPAF, and the WHO underscore the substantial clinical and economic benefits of ensuring the availability and implementation of the WHO-recommended AHD package of care globally. #AdvancedHIVDisease @EmilyHyle @KenFreedberg @MGBResearchNews

Including CD4 testing to diagnose people with AHD is critical; strategies that included CD4 testing were preferred and would result in better clinical outcomes and be cost-effective.

In a simulated cohort of 80 000 people living with HIV initiating outpatient ART in Malawi, the total costs over 5 years would increase by $6.98M (compared with ART only) with the WHO-recommended AHD package.

The WHO-recommended AHD package would reduce deaths due to tuberculosis by 30%, cryptococcal meningitis by 25%, and serious bacterial infections by 38%.

In this time of reduced funding to support the critical mission of HIV care globally, this analysis provides strong new scientific evidence to support prioritizing AHD clinical care as very high value.

AHD is diagnosed in ~30%% of people presenting or re-presenting to clinical care in sub-Saharan Africa; it is critical to ensure access to high-quality AHD clinical care and rapid ART initiation that is life-saving.

Hyle et al. found that the WHO-recommended package for advanced HIV disease (AHD) would improve clinical outcomes and quality-adjusted life expectancy and be cost-effective in Malawi and is likely to be cost-effective in most high burden HIV settings. Read here: www.thelancet.com/pdfs/journal...

Estimating the effect of maternal viral load on perinatal and postnatal HIV transmission: a systematic review and meta-analysis - PubMed National Institutes of Health, WHO, and Massachusetts General Hospital.

Although transmission risk during breastfeeding with an undetectable viral load was not zero, it was very low, supporting evolving US/WHO BF guidelines that recommend shared-decision making about infant feeding. @andreaciaranello.bsky.social

Read here: pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/40652949/

Dugdale et al. found that maternal HIV viral load was strongly correlated with infant transmission risk. These data support #U=U in pregnancy/birth.

Congratulations to MPEC Investigator Aima Ahonkhai on receiving the HMS Diversity Inclusion and Community Partnership Faculty Fellow Award. This will support her work on Cutting Out Stigma, which uses barbershop-based interventions to combat HIV stigma among Black men in the Southern U.S.

www.thelancet.com/journals/lan...
@anneneilan.bsky.social @andreaciaranello.bsky.social @mgh-mpec.bsky.social @alirahmanahmed.bsky.social @linda-gailb.bsky.social @clareflanaganmph.bsky.social @lancetgh.bsky.social

Adolescent girls & young women are disproportionately impacted by HIV in South Africa. MPEC investigators & Desmond Tutu Health Foundation & @yalesph.bsky.social collabs show long-acting cabotegravir for HIV #PrEP for AGYW could reduce infections & transmissions and could be cost-saving at $65/year.

Sexually transmitted infection testing integrated with HIV... : JAIDS Journal of Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndromes Methods: Women attending hair salons are offered oral HIV pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP), hormonal contraception, and testing for gonorrhea, chlamydia, trichomoniasis, and syphilis within an ongoin...

STI testing in hair salons in South Africa reaches women with risk factors for STIs and HIV, appears acceptable and feasible, and reveals a high STI prevalence @mgh-id.bsky.social journals.lww.com/jaids/abstra...

Cost-effectiveness of broadly neutralizing antibodies for HIV prophylaxis for infants born in settings with high HIV burdens Background Approximately 130 000 infants acquire HIV annually despite global maternal antiretroviral therapy scale-up. We evaluated the potential clinical impact and cost-effectiveness of offering lo...

@mgh-id.bsky.social @caitlindugdale.bsky.social @andreaciaranello.bsky.social
journals.plos.org/plosone/arti...

In a new modeling study, MPEC researchers found that anti-HIV broadly neutralizing antibodies (bNAbs) could prevent up to 42% of new pediatric HIV infections and be cost-effective for all infants born in high (>15%) HIV prevalence settings akin to a vaccine

Dr. Suzanne McCluskey and colleagues are speaking on a panel today at #CROI2025. Join at 4pm PST to hear about their work on integrase failure and resistance! @mgh-id.bsky.social

On the final day of #CROI2025 , see more MPEC research at the 2:30pm PST poster session @emilyhylemd.bsky.social @ankurfactorial.bsky.social @mgh-id.bsky.social

Dr. Mark Siedner presenting on coronary atherosclerosis among PWH in Uganda today at #CROI2025 ! Join the Cardiometabolic Complications & Aging session to listen!

Come hear MPEC investigators share their research at #CROI2025 ! We have several posters during today’s session at 2:30pm PST. @caitlindugdale.bsky.social @anneneilan.bsky.social @andreaciaranello.bsky.social @iddocjen.bsky.social @mgh-id.bsky.social

The bottom line: In South Africa alone over 10 years: 601,000 HIV-related deaths, 565,000 new HIV infections, and $1.7 billion in increased healthcare expenditure. #PEPFAR @mgh-id.bsky.social

MPEC faculty @anneneilan.bsky.social and long-time collaborator Dr. Linda-Gail Bekker contextualize recent research on the impact of abrupt #PEPFAR cuts in @statnews.com www.statnews.com/2025/03/01/p...

A pilot cluster randomized controlled trial assessing uptake of PrEP and contraception in hair salons in South Africa - BMC Public Health Background Women in South Africa have a high burden of HIV infections, STIs, and unintended pregnancies. Women congregate regularly in hair salons, which may be useful venues for HIV and sexual and re...

Dr. Ingrid Bassett and teams at @ahri-news.bsky.social and @mgh-mpec.bsky.social assessed uptake of PrEP and contraception among women receiving an innovative package of care in hair salons in Durban, South Africa. doi.org/10.1186/s128... #HarvardCFAR

MPEC researchers & collaborators project the impact of abrupt #PEPFAR cuts in South Africa, estimating years of life lost and detrimental epidemiological impacts. @anneneilan.bsky.social @andreaciaranello.bsky.social @mgh-id.bsky.social
www.acpjournals.org/doi/10.7326/...

Dr. Crystal North was awarded the 2025 Young Physician-Scientist Award by the American Society for Clinical Investigation for making notable achievements early in her research career! Congratulations Dr. North! @the-asci.bsky.social